Nick Okrent will help you write your research paper.
He can get you hard-to-find library books and unusual online sources. He even tells entire history classes how to get started on long-term projects.
Okrent is a research librarian, and he's here to help.
As the librarian and history liaison at Van Pelt Library, Okrent assists dozens of students every semester with finding the resources they need for their papers and projects.
For Okrent, the job is also a great learning experience.
"It's a lot of fun for me. On the one hand, I get to work with students and learn about what they're interested in, but I also learn about the topics they're working on as well," he added.
Each of Penn's libraries is staffed with librarians, like Okrent, who help students with their research.
For example, Okrent often directs students to esoteric catalogues -- like directories of advertisements or databases of World War I posters -- or helps them find rare books. He even tracks down items from libraries across the country.
Although Okrent primarily works with students doing research in history, he does help with other subjects as well.
Aside from assisting undergraduate research, he makes presentations to classes, fraternities and sororities about how to use the library's resources.
"I think I get a positive response for the most part. I think that generally it is useful and that the students do appreciate it," Okrent said.
But Okrent didn't always plan on being a librarian. As a philosophy graduate student at Columbia University, he found that he enjoyed hunting down sources for his research more than the actual writing.
"I found the writing process sort of painful," Okrent said.
And when his dissertation didn't work out, a career in the library was a natural choice.
"In the end I'm glad that it didn't work out because I enjoy what I do," he said. "For me, the most enjoyable part of the job is working with students individually."
One of the first things he tells students in his presentations is that he and other librarians are very approachable.
"That's why we work here: to try to make the students' lives a little bit easier, to help their research be a little bit more complete," Okrent said.
When students don't want to make an appointment to see a librarian, they can call, e-mail, or even Instant Message their requests -- the AIM screen name is UPennLib.
By getting help from a librarian first, Okrent says students can save time and effort in the long run.
"I think sometimes they're surprised it's as helpful as it is," Okrent said. "I think sometimes I'm more excited about the research than the students are."
As a tip to students working on research papers, Okrent says it's important to know that they can get help, especially if students are having difficulty making progress.
As for himself?
"My goals are to become a better librarian every day," he said.
