The research problem and the starting point of this thesis is the issue of the ill-defined role of librarians who provide individual assistance to students seeking information during the completion of learning tasks that require seeking and using information. It is unclear to what level the librarian should assist the student in seeking information taking into account the expectations and perceptions of professors who assign students such tasks, as well as the expectations and information needs of the students themselves. The research explores how librarians in academic libraries provide such assistance while providing in-depth insight into the professors’ perceptions and expectations from librarians and students regarding the importance of the information seeking process and the participation of students and librarians in it. The research also provides an overview of student participation in situations where they receive help from the librarian and the ways of experiencing such help. The methodology used in this research was predominantly qualitative in combination with quantitative, which provided a complete in-depth understanding of the phenomenon. The provision of assistance was explored trough the methods of observation, survey, and the interview. The interviews provided an in-depth insight into perceptions, expectations and into the way of experiencing such help from librarians. The method of observation investigated the actual situations in which librarians' help occurs, while the survey provided an overview of library services and assistance activities in academic libraries in the Republic of Croatia that make up the research context. The modalities of librarians' participation in providing assistance to students with the information seeking process were based on research results and theoretical assumptions in the field of information behavior and library services. The modalities are primarily based on the different ways of providing assistance and the different perceptions and expectations of the three participant groups involved – students, professors, and librarians. The modalities show different ways of providing help depending on the context. They provide new insights into assistance to students while providing a theoretical foundation for practical guidelines for assisting students in the information seeking process, as well as a theoretical foundation for developing library services, especially those aimed at individual student assistance in the information seeking process as part of the academic educational process.