Abby Johnson is a psychology and neuroscience subject specialist librarian you’ll find working primarily in the Price Science Commons Library. Through her work at UO Libraries, Abby is able to help students with narrowing their research topics and exploring the resources that the library provides. She also does consultations and provides support to students throughout their time at the UO. 

Abby grew up in Iowa and only recently moved to Eugene, Oregon, for the Psychology and Neuroscience librarian position. She was excited for this opportunity because she'd be able to help people research topics she truly specializes in. Wanting to pursue a master’s degree, she decided to attend library school to grow her skills in research and library science. There, she discovered how broad a field library and information science truly is.  

"You can become an archivist, you can work in special collections, you can [work in] public libraries, school libraries, [or academic libraries],” Abby shared.  

A large aspect of Abby’s work as a subject specialist is connecting students with the plethora of resources available via the UO Libraries’ She emphasized how resources go beyond the “basics like books and articles.” An example she shared is how students have access to resources such as Anatomy TV. Abby also helps with building and expanding the collections in the library, making her very knowledgeable about what exactly would be important for different research topics that students and faculty members might want to explore. 

Abby is available to help any student or faculty member at Price Science Commons, not just science majors. Members of the UO community can make appointments and consultations with her online. You can also reach out to Abby via email for quick questions or if you can’t fit a consult into your schedule. She also occasionally teaches classes to help students with their research.  

Some advice Abby has for students is to have “patience with yourself and with the databases because research is messy.” She encourages students to reach out to a librarian to gain access to resources and citation management tools. Abby shared that her favorite part of her job goes beyond just answering questions, but also “learning with people... And then you can sit and figure it out together.” 

Visit the Subject and Area Librarians webpage to find other subject specialist librarians and follow #MeetYourLibrarian and @UOLibraries on social media to learn more about how subject specialist librarians serve the UO community.