Fight library anxiety

Cornell University Library is here to support you through your college career. Never be afraid to ask for help. We want you to be amazed by all the resources and services that the library can offer you, but we don't want you to feel overwhelmed by them. Cornell has lots of materials, but we also have lots of librarians here to help you navigate them. 

Library anxiety is a well-documented phenomenon that involves:

  • feeling intimidated by the physical space of the library, particularly its size
  • feeling overwhelmed by all of the materials, and not knowing where to start
  • feeling afraid of asking for help, and even afraid of librarians themselves
  • feeling like you are alone in not knowing how to use the library and not wanting to reveal that you don't know to others

You are not alone! Many students, especially first-year students, experience library anxiety. The best way to beat library anxiety is to ask for help! 

Personal librarian program – Get paired up with a library expert who can help you navigate your first year on campus.

Library reference staff can help you: 

  • search, navigate, evaluate, cite, and connect to the information you need.
  • find databases, books, articles, texts, maps, statistics, images, news and more. 

There are many ways to Ask a Librarian!  Chat/ Email/ In-Person 

Ask Us Anything!

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Some real questions asked librarians

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During the semester, Cornell is online Mon.-Fri., 10 am-5 pm. Non-Cornell librarians are online all other times.