"Affective competence," managing the feelings and emotions that students encounter throughout the content creation/research process, is essential to academic success. Just as it is crucial for students to acquire core literacies, it is essential that they learn how to manage the anxieties and emotions that will emerge throughout all phases of the learning process. Librarianship that acknowledges students' affective learning needs can be messy, but is always intensely rewarding for the student and the librarian. This article describes a librarian's research sessions with students, in which she asks students questions guided by informal assessment of students' affective needs, and focuses on guiding each student toward continued personal library creation and information management.