Librarians are professionals with an important role in the management and utilization of university library resources. In an era of rapidly advancing information technology and increasingly complex academic demands, librarians are no longer simply tasked with managing collections — they play an active role in supporting the implementation of the Tri Dharma of Higher Education, encompassing education, research, and community service. The presence of competent librarians has a significant bearing on the quality of library services and on the achievement of institutional goals. In keeping with this, the librarians of the UGM Faculty of Law Library continue to work toward developing library services that genuinely prioritize the needs of their users.
In this effort, librarians play an important role in managing collections, developing services, and supporting library users in academic, research, and learning activities within the FH UGM environment. The primary role of a university librarian is to manage information resources professionally — encompassing not only circulation services such as borrowing and returning books, but also the acquisition, processing, classification, and maintenance of library collections, both in print and digital formats. This systematic management makes it easier for the academic community to find relevant and accurate information suited to their scholarly needs.
In the context of teaching activities, librarians serve as partners to both lecturers and students. They assist students in tracing references, making use of electronic sources, and navigating library facilities. Librarians also support research activities — helping to locate academic literature, access national and international journals, and manage citations and references. In the context of academic publication, librarians offer guidance on academic writing ethics, reference management, and plagiarism prevention. The UGM Faculty of Law Library, for example, provides the LitClass LawLib service, which equips library users with skills in using journal databases, reference manager tools, and information retrieval techniques — including the use of Boolean operators. Librarians also assist users in making effective use of artificial intelligence (AI) tools, thereby enhancing their ability to access and optimize the use of information sources.
Did you know that librarians play different roles depending on the information needs of their users? Librarians are unique and distinctive in the sense that their roles are highly specific to the context in which they work. University librarians, for instance, have different roles from those in regional public libraries — as is clearly the case with the librarians of the UGM Faculty of Law Library. This library holds a collection that is approximately 90% legal in nature and even includes a collection of Dutch legal materials. One might wonder: does a librarian therefore need to understand law in order to provide accurate information? According to Sunarno, Coordinator of the UGM Faculty of Law Library, the answer is yes — though not to an in-depth level. As he put it: "Librarians are not only responsible for borrowing and returning books — they also provide services that emphasize a humanistic approach and a focus on user experience."
User experience — or what is now more commonly understood as the overall experience of library users when interacting with the services, facilities, collections, and systems provided by the library — encompasses the ease of finding information, the comfort of using library spaces and technology, the quality of librarian service, and the degree to which information needs are met.
The UGM Faculty of Law Library delivers user experience in the form of direct librarian assistance in helping users search for and make use of information. Librarians here are not merely custodians of the collection — they serve as active companions who listen to the needs of their users, then guide them through library facilities such as the OPAC, journal databases, and other digital services. This effective accompaniment allows users to feel supported, comfortable, and confident in accessing information — creating a positive experience that encourages them to return and make use of library services again.
To fulfill these varied roles effectively, the librarians of the UGM Faculty of Law Library do not work alone — they are also assisted by Student Library Assistants (SLAs). One such SLA, Nur Izzatul, noted that her involvement at the Faculty of Law Library has given her a deeper understanding of the breadth of the librarian's role. She has come to appreciate that librarians are not only engaged in borrowing services, but also in back-office work and collection management — functions that play an important role in supporting library services as a whole. In practice, SLAs are involved in a range of activities — from providing information services to supporting back-office operations — and assist librarians in the processing and management of the library collection.
The role of librarians at the UGM Faculty of Law Library shows that a university library is far more than a storage space for collections — it is a dynamic academic service centre oriented toward the needs of its users. With professional competence, a humanistic approach, and technology-based service support, librarians are here to assist the academic community across the full spectrum of education, research, and community service. Strengthening the adaptive and innovative role of librarians is hoped to continue improving the quality of library services and to reinforce their contribution to the academic goals of the UGM Faculty of Law.
Authors: Aulia Putri Usmani, Dwi Ashfia Romadhoni, Nanda Pratiwi, Putri Rumaita Sayyi'ah (PPL Law Library Students)
