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Many academic library users, particularly incoming college freshmen, are unsure about what the library offers, how it is useful, where they can receive assistance. A library guide or handbook, if designed to appear interesting and relevant to students, can address these issues. This article examines the creation, distribution, and assessment of a library survival guide given to incoming college freshmen. The goal of the guide was to decrease library anxiety and familiarize new students with library resources and services. Results and revisions of future editions of the guide are also discussed.

he demands, rigors, and expectations of college research can often leave incoming freshmen feeling overwhelmed because they are not aware of the services available at the library. Libraries are undergoing a metamorphosis that is bewildering at times to librarians and library users alike. As libraries gradually transform from information warehouses into a third space for collaboration and learning, perhaps it is understandable that library users are unaware of the vast array of resources and services encompassed by the word library. In many libraries, quiet rooms have been replaced by collaborative workspace, laptops and projectors check out alongside books, and databases have invisibly expanded information access to the smartphone in each student's pocket. All libraries struggle to reach patrons who do not ask for help, do not know they need help, and are unaware of the services available to them. While librarians devise and provide innumerable instruction classes and helpful Web sites, a print guide can reach those too anxious to approach with questions.