Becoming a liaison librarian Embedded in academia

In the 1990s and early 2000s, the liaison model in academic librarianship has developed around three roles: reference services, instructional services and collection development, collection management being the core around which the other two roles are organised. This liaison model of academic librarianship is closely tied to the model of the academic library as the gateway to the collection and hence to the knowledge encoded within it. However, these explicit functional roles (reference, instruction, collection) mask a communicational role which is likely to be of far greater importance going forward: relationship building. The building of relationships is the nexus or linking principle of an engagement model. The engagement model enables an emerging field of practice to be recognised, whereby those engaged in liaison may develop their roles through an ever-deepening engagement with learning practices at several levels: the development of academic learning, teaching and research; organisational learning and organisational development; and institutional learning and institutional development. The practical implications of an engagement model for higher education institutions are explored, from the perspective of the University of Westminster.

Evidence Based Library and Information Practice, 2022

A Review of: Johnson, A.M. (2020). Reference and liaison librarians: Endangered species or “vital partners?” Views of academic library administrators. Journal of Library Administration, 60(7), 784-799. https://doi.org/10.1080/01930826.2020.1786979 Objectives – To investigate the current state and prospects of reference and liaison librarianship. Design – Structured interviews consisted of 10 questions that lasted between 30 and 75 minutes. Setting – Fourteen medium-sized, urban universities geographically spread across the United States of America. Subjects – Fifteen library administrators with at least 10 years of experience. Methods – The author contacted academic library leaders from 17 benchmark institutions and head librarians from other R1 institutions whose libraries were members of the Association of Research Libraries (ARL) or whose campus size and characteristics mirrored the author’s institution in that they were medium-sized urban universities. The study examined five p...

"Roll With the Times, or the Times Roll Over You", 2017

Are you considering establishing a new or re-invigorated subject liaison program in your library but don't know how to begin? Why not partner with an established liaison program at another library? Throughout the spring and fall of 2015, key public service managers at Louisiana State University (LSU) Libraries visited six Association of Southeastern Research Libraries (ASERL) to see, among other things, successful liaison programs. The LSU librarians were particularly impressed with the University of Central Florida (UCF) Libraries' three-year-old reimagined subject librarian program. Following this visit, LSU managers began reworking their program by fine-tuning liaisons' program assignments and creating a liaison training program that focused on academic program profiling, faculty profiling, curriculum mapping, curriculum integrated instruction, increased liaison visibility and accessibility, and proactive outreach to faculty and students. In this article, public service heads from UCF and LSU discuss how their liaison programs are the same and how they differ, how librarians collaborated in finding new ways of reaching faculty, what the challenges are in their current programs, and what the future may hold. Hopefully, lessons learned by UCF and LSU will provide insight for other academic libraries wishing to create liaison programs designed to support student and faculty success at their own institutions. (Please see http://guides.ucf.edu/ucflsu for graphics.

Research Library Issues, 2017

College & Research Libraries, 2003

In spring 2000, the authors undertook a study to explore the interaction between academic librarians and faculty at the University of Manitoba, the impact of librarians' contributions, and the future roles of librarians. The following five areas were investigated: teaching/instruction, infor mation services, information technology, research, and collections. The results clearly show that when faculty interact with librarians, librarians have a very positive and considerable impact on both faculty and stu dents. In addition, the faculty responses indicate that they are receptive to collaborating with librarians at a higher level of interaction than cur rently experienced.

New Review of Academic Librarianship, 2011

The paper presents the findings of a small-scale study undertaken at a UK university. The purpose of the research was to investigate the perceived impact and value of the Academic Library Liaison service at the university. This was considered to be a critical issue of concern, in the light of drivers threatening the UK higher education library sector to de-professionalise-or worse, remove-such services. A mixed methods approach was adopted, combining an online questionnaire disseminated to academic staff, resulting in 29 responses from three academic departments, and in-depth interviews with eight members of academic staff. The results indicate that although academic staff do value the service provided by Academic Liaison Librarians (ALLs), there is scope to increase awareness of the range of services on offer. The study also demonstrates that academic staff prioritise the contribution that ALLs can make through the possession of in-depth subject knowledge, IT skills and well-developed communication skills, and through the provision of advice on copyright matters and assistance with institutional repositories. This holds implications for curriculum design on the part of LIS educators.

Liaison librarians and faculty in chemistry, English, and psychology departments at colleges and universities in the United States were surveyed. They answered questions about services provided by the liaison and satisfaction. Liaisons' satisfaction with their performance was associated with active liaison service, such as recent contact with the department and more time spent on liaison work. Faculty satisfaction with liaisons was associated with contact with their liaisons. We did not find associations between liaisons' descriptions of their work and faculty satisfaction with their liaisons for the pairs of faculty and their liaisons we were able to match.

2010

Today's academic library provides resources that users can access both physically in the library and virtually from academic offices. This increasing availability of online access means that information resources are no longer confined within library walls and librarians need to rethink how their constituents' information needs are being met. Embedding librarians in academic departments and programs is one way to expand library services within this new information landscape. This article describes the background and process for embedding librarians and provides case studies from three librarians who successfully embedded themselves in academic departments.

College & Research Libraries

Journal of New Librarianship, 2020

This paper examines the relationships that developed over a 10+ year span at a comprehensive college in upstate New York. When the library was reorganized into a generalist model of library support, the faculty members felt unsupported. The paper explains the origin of the department-wide collaboration and then uses reflections to analyze ways in which the relationship with a liaison librarian support the faculty members work. Specific themes include overcoming library anxiety, online teaching support, and scholarship support with suggestions for librarian practice.