The pivotal relationship between librarians and postgraduate researchers: a case study

The role of librarians for PGRs

During postgraduate study, many PGRs view their supervisor as the ultimate – and sometimes the only – source of valuable support. Though the role of a supervisor is undeniably central during this time (Madan, 2021), the contribution of librarians to the PGR journey is often underexplored, despite the distinct expertise and perspectives they bring.

While supervisors guide the methodological soundness, depth and relevance of the research, support academic and professional development and often signpost key references and conferences within the field, librarians complement this support in different but equally valuable ways. They offer strategies for locating relevant sources, introduce concepts such as inclusive citation practices and support PGRs in understanding the publishing process, including embargoes, open access, journal selection and copyright considerations. These were all resources that were fully utilized during my PhD journey. In other words, while supervisors often function as academic authority figures, librarians frequently act as approachable experts – professionals whose specialized knowledge is paired with an accessibility that can be validating for doctoral students navigating unfamiliar aspects of research. Particularly in cases when supervisors do not provide sufficient support for PGRs, which has even led some to leave academia (Kis et al., 2022), other support, such as that provided by librarians, could help make the PGR journey less overwhelming.

However, during informal conversations with fellow PGRs, I realized that many were unaware of the range of assistance librarians provide for doctoral researchers. This contrasted with my own experience, as librarians have been an essential source of academic support throughout my PhD journey. In the first year of my PhD, as an international student new to both the country and the university, I actively sought resources that could enrich my doctoral experience. Adjusting to unfamiliar research conventions and scholarly norms also formed part of this transition, particularly as I had previously studied within a slightly different academic environment that was more hierarchical than collaborative. This led to my active engagement with library services, which manifested in a variety of ways. Initially, I used the resources provided by the library, including interlibrary loans, but as I experienced further support – for example, with referencing and publishing – I saw first hand how librarians’ expertise can shape and strengthen a PGR’s journey. This perspective became clearer while serving as Student Journal Editor (Shamshun, 2023) of the Essex Student Journal (ESJ) – a role I undertook between 2022 and 2023. Working on the ESJ, a multidisciplinary journal managed by the library team but run primarily by students (Crago, 2023), strengthened my doctoral journey, in no small part due to my interaction with the library team. Below, I reflect upon my engagement with the library throughout my doctoral journey.

How library support enriched my PhD experience

When starting my PhD, I had very little knowledge of the publication process, having never published prior to starting my doctoral studies. At that stage, I also assumed librarians’ roles were largely limited to facilitating access to sources such as books, articles and journals rather than supporting PGRs throughout the whole research process. My interaction with librarians during my master’s degree was brief, limited mainly to learning about Boolean operators and understanding the distinction between journals and articles. During my PhD, however, my engagement with library services expanded.

I was amazed to learn how extensively the library team could advise on publication‑related matters, including journal selection, embargo policies, copyright considerations and the rationale behind open access. I attended workshops, explored the extensive resources on the library website and reached out to librarians for support. In my first year, I booked a one‑to‑one consultation about building my academic profile, where I learned about platforms such as Google Scholar and ORCID and began to understand how research visibility is key to disseminating research.

Additionally, my experience as the editor of the ESJ was a turning point in my understanding of the broader ways librarians support PGRs. Working closely with the library team revealed the extent of their involvement not only in resource provision but also in cultivating scholarly development. The ESJ, for example, provides a platform for PGRs to strengthen their peer reviewing skills – skills that extend beyond critique to include the ability to offer constructive, balanced feedback. This experience challenged a common misconception: that peer review is reserved only for academic staff in established publishing contexts. Acting as a reviewer and later as an editor also encouraged me to reflect more critically on my own writing – for instance, whether sentences were clear, arguments flowed logically and language was accessible to the target audience. Given that not all universities have a student journal like the one at Essex, this rare opportunity plays a significant role in strengthening PGRs’ academic confidence and communication skills.

Beyond formal editorial roles, librarians also foster supportive scholarly environments through initiatives such as writing retreats. At the University of Essex, PGRs and academic staff come together to write alongside one another in a structured yet encouraging setting. Such spaces create a sense of accountability and shared purpose, demonstrating that academic development is not only an individual pursuit but also a collective practice. More broadly, enriching the PGR experience often involves maximizing the resources available within and beyond the university, including academic writing workshops, methodological summer schools and opportunities to discuss research data with peers and academics.

As my recognition of the breadth of support provided by librarians grew, I began sharing what I had learned through conversations with peers and occasionally on social media, where I discussed topics such as building digital research profiles and developing productive working relationships with librarians. Responses from readers and conversations I had suggested that this information was appreciated and, for some, entirely new. This reinforced my earlier observation that many PGRs – whether in the early or later stages of their PGR journey – may be unaware of the breadth of support available to them. Through sharing experiences within my PhD cohort, awareness of the library’s PGR support increased, and my peers began referring others to me for information about upcoming events. Additionally, my discussions with the PGR Director contributed to the development of a resource document for Psychology PGRs that included library information, which was later uploaded to the Psychology PGR Moodle page for future cohorts.

In sum, upon reflecting on my time as a PGR at the University of Essex, it is clear that librarians played a significant role in shaping my experience. It is difficult to imagine that my PhD would have been as smooth without the guidance and expertise of librarians. Thus, I would strongly encourage current and prospective PGRs to actively build working relationships with librarians and to view them as integral resources in their research development.

A practical first step for PGRs is simply to explore their university library website, identify their subject librarian and initiate contact early in their PGR journey. I would also suggest that awareness of these services should be emphasized more explicitly during PGR induction or welcome programmes. This could also include regular reminders throughout the academic year about workshops and resources through communication with PGR administrators, who often forward such information to PGR mailing lists. Ultimately, learning how to make full use of available institutional resources is itself an essential doctoral skill – one that extends well beyond the PGR programme and into future academic and professional contexts.

Librarians’ engagement with PGRs

A central aim for the Research Services team at the University of Essex is to support PGRs. In leading this team, I dedicate a fair amount of time, thought and energy toward this. This manifests in several different ways, reflecting the varied nature and needs of PGRs, including how they may interact with research services specifically and library services more broadly.

While librarians generally engage with PGRs in a wider sense – for example, in leading inductions and providing support with searching and referencing the literature – the focus of this discussion is around the interaction between PGRs and research services specifically. This includes providing support, guidance and first hand experiences on topics such as publishing, open research, research visibility, peer review and online research profiles.

PGRs as collaborators

The role of a PGR is complicated, as they are often categorized somewhere between academic members of staff and students. Even when surveyed, PGRs appear to be unclear on where their status lies (Glorieux et al., 2025). However, university‑level support is often either for staff or students, leaving PGRs somewhat in the middle.

Resultantly, at the University of Essex, we have a network that focuses on the concept of neither staff nor students. The Network of Early Career Essex Researchers, known as ‘Newcomers’, bridges the gap between PGRs and research staff, integrating both. Under the Newcomers name, the Research Services team and other professional services colleagues deliver training for both PGRs and research staff, allowing PGRs to find their place amongst their colleagues and thus become collaborators and peers.

This concept of collaboration is carried across much of the Research Services team’s work, as we aim to work with PGRs, as opposed to simply delivering training for them. This is especially evident in the involvement of PGRs with the Essex Student Journal (ESJ), which is built upon the idea of PGRs as collaborators. Since launching in 2020, all editors of the ESJ have been PGRs, and all peer review is completed by PGRs. The ESJ is therefore a learning tool for PGRs to experience publishing firsthand. Multiple editorials written by our previous editors explore this in more depth (Achoki, 2025; Aghasoleimani, 2024; Shamshun, 2023).

Collaborating with PGRs has allowed a greater understanding of the PGR journey. This understanding of PGRs’ needs and behaviours has been described by Warren (2018) as integral to successful library research support, which became particularly evident to me at Essex when working on Time to Write (AdvanceHE, 2021) and subsequent writing retreats, as both focused on bringing PGRs together to write in supportive environments.

During these writing retreats, alongside motivating PGRs to focus on their writing, we gained invaluable insights into the overall journey and day‑to‑day work patterns of PGRs. Through our conversations with them, our understanding of the aims, challenges and motivations of PGRs grew, and with that came an appreciation of how we could better shape our support for PGRs based on these insights.

The mutual benefits of working with PGRs

In addition to better understanding how we can support PGRs, collaborating in the ways described thus far illustrates the self‑motivation, commitment and creativity that PGRs often demonstrate. Appreciating this allows the work between librarians and PGRs to thrive and become mutually beneficial.

In 2023, for example, the Research Services team ran a project called ‘food for your thoughts’, where we hosted a lunch that PGRs enjoyed while completing a survey we designed. The PGRs provided feedback and shared their creative ideas for engagement between the library and the PGR community, before going on to network with our team and, more importantly, their peers. Having worked with PGRs prior to this event, we better understood their want for social interactions with peers, alongside the need for a reason to take a break from busy schedules. Even if that reason may have been a free lunch!

Similarly, in 2024, we ran a PGR‑focused event about demystifying the peer review process. After working with PGRs through the ESJ, we knew peer review could seem daunting and wanted to provide a space where free discussion, myth‑busting and confidence‑building could happen in tandem. We continued the theme of PGRs as collaborators and peers by inviting academic colleagues to speak about their experiences of peer review, bridging the gap between PGRs and the wider research community. The success of this event was helped in no small part by some individual PGRs, including Aisyah herself, who volunteered to lead discussion tables. It was only through previous collaboration with Aisyah and her colleagues that I felt confident to assign this role. Again, we were peers and collaborators, and it was mutually beneficial.

This concept of working as collaborators and peers is further illustrated through my invitation to deliver a guest seminar for a PhD module called ‘Writing Support’. Aisyah herself organized this with her module supervisor, as she felt there were others in her class who were less aware of the support offered for PGRs through the library. Embedding this within a module is a luxury we rarely have, and it allowed our offer to reach a captive audience. The idea was entirely Aisyah’s, demonstrating again the potential value of collaborating with engaged and self‑motivated PGRs.

This collaborative relationship with PGRs evidently had a major impact during Aisyah’s time studying and working at the University of Essex, but the true effect goes beyond this. Since incorporating greater collaboration with PGRs, we have seen an increase in the number of PGRs subscribing to our Newcomers mailing list, as well as more PGRs signed up as peer reviewers and interested in becoming editors for the ESJ. This demonstrates a general increase in PGRs’ awareness of and engagement with the support and services we can offer.