The Instruction and Research Services (IR Services) department contributes to the mission of the Consortium Library. In addition to other services, we provide general research assistance to students, faculty, and staff at University of Alaska Anchorage (UAA) and Alaska Pacific University (APU), as well as to all Alaskans.
Research Help services are part of the Consortium Library’s instruction mission. The librarians and Research Help staff involve patrons in the information-finding process as a means of teaching information literacy skills. Generally, we provide instruction on the use of a resource while the patron does the searching. Assistance is provided in person and via chat, text, phone, and email. Students, faculty, and staff may set up subject-specific research appointments with individual subject librarians. Faculty at UAA, APU, and Wayland Baptist may schedule library instruction for their courses.
This page details policies for the first floor general Information and Research Help desk managed by IR Services. Separate policies are available for Alaska Medical Library and Archives and Special Collections, other Library departments that provide specialized research assistance. For more information about each of the Library's three research service points, visit the Research Services page.
General information and research help services are available to all. Questions from the UAA and APU communities take priority.
The strategies utilized and the amount of time that can be devoted to a question are at the discretion of the librarian or staff person based on their experience and knowledge as they balance the needs of all patrons.
If unsure whether we can assist, feel free to Ask Us.
We reserve the right to deny service to anyone who, in our judgment, makes an unreasonable or inappropriate request or displays disruptive or concerning behaviors.
Questions regarding this policy should be directed to Page Brannon, Head of Instruction and Research Services, 907-786-1873, plbrannon@alaska.edu.