#SubjectLibrarianSaturday is a social media and blog series highlighting LSU Libraries’ subject librarians, whose job is to help students and faculty with their research at any stage.

Narcissa Haskins is LSU Libraries’ African and African American Studies Librarian. The responses below have been edited for length and clarity.

What do you enjoy most about helping patrons with their research and information needs?  

I love helping them connect the dots because finding and understanding information is a skill that must be developed. Being able to assist with that is cool!

Can you share a memorable experience or success story from assisting a patron with their research project?

I would have to say my favorite experience has been assisting the students in their Civil Rights class. Helping them find information on prolific figures through our databases is exciting, especially when you discover through newspapers and correspondence, that many of the activities during that time were also in communities with artists and musicians because they were multitalented.

What inspired you to become a librarian, and how did you become involved in your current field of expertise?  

During undergrad, I was an Africana Women's Study Major, and I was encouraged by a mentor to participate in the Mellon Librarian Recruitment Program which exposed me to the field of librarianship. Due to my field interests and another mentor’s guidance, I later did an internship at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture. These two experiences got me hooked! I knew I wanted to be a librarian in the field of Black studies.

Outside of your work as a librarian, what are some of your interests or hobbies?    

I love to go bowling!

Contact a subject librarian to book a research consultation and become familiar with the most frequently used library databases and information sources in your specific area of study.