Recently, as of November 21st, 2019, Western’s Board of Governors ratified the tentative agreement reached by the University’s Librarians and Archivists (UWOFA-LA) on November 4th. This deal had been passed by the 42 members representing the UWOFA-LA, with 89 percent voting in favor. With the new collective deal in place, a potential strike between UWOFA-LA and the University had been avoided.
As students, librarians and archivists play a key role in supporting our education. While their role may be much more “behind-the-scenes”, librarians and archivists are in charge of maintaining many important services. If you’ve ever printed something at Weldon or Taylor, you’re already familiar with the PaperCut service maintained by librarians. Librarians also provide free rental back-up chargers in case you forgot them, and not to mention access to staplers, scissors and hole-punchers. If you’ve taken first year chemistry, you might have found the staplers really useful for submitting your lab reports last-minute at MSA!
Other lesser known services include research assistance. Librarians and archivists offer students extensive help throughout the entire research process, from the initial step in gathering primary research articles to properly formatting your citations in the bibliography section. Assistance is available in-person, through online videos, and periodic workshops held at libraries. These techniques are crucial for any undergraduate or graduate student who are heavily involved in research or understanding how to access the wide-range of resources available.
Librarians and archivists are also responsible for maintaining an expansive collection of materials and records in the University archives. These collections carry books, journals, and documents across multiple disciplines, such as business, medicine, and arts and humanities. Archives are also kept up-to-date with regular additions of new materials, which are easily accessible to those who require it. Although an ever-increasing amount of material is widely available online, a significant amount of material, such as historical documents and copies of certain textbooks, remains in hard-copy format or locked behind pay-walls. Having access to these materials may prove useful for research projects, or convenient for those who prefer physical copies of materials available online.
Another unique role that librarians and archivists play is working with course instructors and professors to integrate information literacy into the classroom curriculum. If you’re a science student, you may have encountered some of these lessons in your classes through guides on how to use PubMed/Google Scholar, or other specific databases relevant to your course material. For example, in Methods 2290F/G, students learn the fundamental techniques of searching databases using keyword combinations, finding reliable, reputable articles, and accessing databases using their UWO credentials. These are important, transferable skills which will prove useful for practically any career down the line in the sciences.
In conclusion, as students, most of our education goes through our professors, instructors, and teaching assistants. However, while they may be at the forefront, it’s also important to recognize the collective efforts of the broader Western staff in creating a high-quality educational experience for students, and support them in getting the compensation that they deserve.