Reference Services
The IAS Library employs library subject and area specialists in all areas of the International and Area Studies Library’s collections. If you need help answering a reference question, these professionals are available to assist you. Please consult our list of affiliated faculty and staff to find the subject specialist that fits your needs. Please refer to this full list of subject specialists if further searching is required.
You may also fill out the International and Area Studies Library Reference Information Request Form to have a subject specialist contact you.
Instructional Services
Need someone to come talk to your class about research resources? Need someone to teach your students how to conduct scholarly research? Need a web page or library guide created to help your students access materials?
If you would like to request any of these instructional services for your classroom, please fill out this Instructional Session Request Form or contact your subject area specialist. We will get back to you within 24 business hours.
What We Do
Library subject and area specialists are available at the International and Area Studies Library to provide support for your classroom for learning about the research process and the tools that are available to students and scholars at the University Library. Library instruction is provided at the request of the instructor for all International and Area Studies departments. With the ever-changing faces of information access and retrieval, the development of research skills continues to become more and more important. Competent research skills allow students to become independent critical thinkers and more successful in their academic pursuits.
We provide a variety of instructional sessions to fit your needs, from intensive sessions in your classroom to web pages and LibGuides to support the research assignments of your students. If you would like to request assistance in the creation of information literate, life-long learners, please click here to fill out the Instructional Session Request Form.
In addition to scheduling personalized sessions for your classes, you might also want to have your students attend any of the regularly scheduled Savvy Researcher workshops. These sessions provide instruction for students in areas ranging from tours of the Library to advanced research tools. Please click here to learn more about Savvy Researcher Workshop series.
Finally, in addition to these opportunities, librarians in the International and Area Studies Library have regularly scheduled office hours for drop-in questions, and we can also set up appointments with individuals or groups to review specific questions students might have regarding their research.
Translations on “Using the University of Illinois Library”
Our PDF guide “Using the University of Illinois Library” is currently available in multiple languages. More translations are upcoming. Click on the languages below to open the corresponding translated PDF.