Library Liaison Responsibilities

Liaison responsibilities in collection management Sarah Jeong, Wake Forest University Elisabeth Leonard, UNC Chapel Hill Peggy Ridlen, Fontbonne University

Agenda
Introduction to the survey
Survey results
Practical applications
Discussion

Demographics: W hat department do you work in? Response % Response count (n) Department 2% 13 Reserves 24% 175 Other 58% 430 Reference/research services 3% 23 Interlibrary loan 19% 138 Collection development 3% 24 Circulation 7% 52 Cataloging/metadata services 10% 77 Administration 7% 55 Acquisitions

Demographics: Type of institution Answered question: 736 32.9% 242 Private 67.4% 496 Public Percentage of responses Number of responses Type of institution

Demographics: Approximate full time student enrollment (FTE) Percentage of responses Number of responses FTE Answered question: 732 49.5% 362 10,000 and over 20.5% 150 5,000 to 9,999 23.4% 171 1,500 to 4,999 7% 51 Fewer than 1,500

Demographics: Carnegie classification 4% 27 Other 2% 12 Medical schools and medical centers 0.4% 3 Theological seminaries and other specialized faith-based institutions 8% 59 Associate's college 12% 91 Baccalaureate college I and II 30% 218 Master’s and Universities I & II 47% 343 Doctoral/Research I & II Percent Response Carnegie classification

Which of these are part of your liaison responsibilities? 80 11% Other 277 37% Attending panels, conferences, meetings, etc. in user group area 65 9% Publishing in user group area (rather than librarianship) 550 74% Enables the library’s clientele to communicate their library needs and preferences to the library staff and governing body 608 82% Communicate the library’s collection policies, services, and needs to your user group 586 79% Subject-specific library instruction 702 94% Identify user needs, evaluate existing collections, remove extraneous materials, and locate resources that will enhance collections 557 75% Involve the library’s clientele in the assessment and satisfaction of collection needs Response count (n) Response percent Liaison Responsibilities

Which of these are part of your liaison responsibilities? 10.8% 10.9% 9.9% Other 37.2% 37.2% 37.2% Attending panels, conferences, meetings, etc. in user group area 8.7% 10.3% 5.0% Publishing in user group area (rather than librarianship) 73.9% 75.0% 71.9% Enables the library’s clientele to communicate their library needs and preferences to the library staff and governing body 81.7% 82.2% 80.6% Communicate the library’s collection policies, services, and needs to your user group 78.8% 78.8% 79.3% Subject-specific library instruction 94.4% 93.9% 95.5% Identify user needs, evaluate existing collections, remove extraneous materials, and locate resources that will enhance collections 74.9% 75.0% 75.2% Involve the library’s clientele in the assessment and satisfaction of collection needs Response Percent Response Percent Response Percent Liaison Responsibilities Total (n=744) Public Universities (n=495) Private Universities (n=242)

Subject specific instruction, by department 85% 11 Reserves 89% 383 Reference/research services 70% 16 Interlibrary Loan 75% 104 Collection development 63% 15 Circulation 67% 35 Cataloging/metadata services 66% 50 Administration 56% 31 Acquisitions Percent n Department

What percentage of your time involves liaison work? 9 1% N/A 57 7% 61-100 44 6% 51-60 47 6% 41-50 80 11% 31-40 204 27% 21-30 189 25% 11-20 119 16% 0-10 Response count (n) Response percent Percentage of time

What percentage of your time involves liaison work? 6% 0% 0 5% 3% 6% 7% 51-60 7% 16% 0 2% 6% 5% 11% 61-100 6% 8% 0 2% 3% 6% 8% 41-50 11% 25% 0 3% 12% 10% 13% 31-40 27% 8% 33% 39% 26% 28% 26% 21-30 25% 17% 33% 31% 30% 28% 23% 11-20 16% 25% 33% 17% 19% 19% 13% 0-10 Mean for survey (n=741) Medical schools and centers (n=12) Theological seminaries (n=3) Assoc. college (n=59) Baccalaureate college I and II (n=91) Master's colleges and univ. I and II (n=218) Doctoral/ research I and II (n=342) % time spent

What percentage of your time involves liaison work? 7% 6% 0 10% 8% 11% 4% 4% 2% 8% 61-100 6% 6% 8% 6% 0 11% 4% 6% 0 2% 51-60 6% 5% 0 8% 0 8% 0% 6% 4% 0 41-50 11% 9% 0 14% 4% 6% 4% 10% 7% 4% 31-40 27% 24% 15% 29% 22% 23% 21% 21% 29% 26% 21-30 25% 31% 39% 22% 39% 27% 38% 33% 21% 46% 11-20 16% 20% 39% 12% 26% 12% 29% 21% 30% 16% 0-10 Ave. for survey Other Reserves Ref/ research ILL Coll. Dev. Circ . Catalog Admin . Acquis. % time spent

Administration value your liaison work 39% n=289 43% n=321 12% n=92 4% n=32 1% n=7 Response % Response count Strongly Agree Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly Disagree

Administration values your liaison work, reported by Carnegie Classification Agree Strongly 82% 69% 67 % 78 % 85% 81% 82 % Agree 12 % 33 % 0 % 19 % 10 % 14 % 12 % Neutral Dis a gree 5% 0 % 33 . 3 % 3% 6% 5 % 6% Disagree Strongly Total for entire survey (n=741) Medical schools and centers (n=12) Theological seminaries (n=3) Associate's college (n=59) Baccalaureate college I and II (n=91) Master's colleges and univ. I and II (n=217) Doctoral/research I and II (n=341)

Administration values your liaison work, reported by subject 84% 11% 13% Sciences 83% 11% 7% Social sciences 86% 10% 3% Medicine 85% 10% 6% Humanities 83% 14% 4% Engineering 81% 15% 3% Business 88% 8% 4% Arts Strongly Agree Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly Disagree Department

Faculty value your liaison work 23% n=167 53% n=392 21% n=154 4% n=27 0.8% n=6 Response % Response count Strongly Agree Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly Disagree

Faculty value your liaison work, reported by department 54% 31% 16% Reserves 76% 13% 6% Reference 57% 35% 8% Interlibrary Loan 80% 18% 2% Collection development 37% 50% 12% Circulation 73% 25% 2% Cataloging 78% 22% 0 Administration 71% 25% 4% Acquisitions Strongly Agree Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly Disagree Department

Faculty value your liaison work, reported by subject 74% 23% 3% Sciences 56% 22% 4% Social sciences 86% 10% 3% Medicine 80% 19% 3% Humanities 80% 28% 3% Engineering 69% 23% 2% Business 74% 16% 4% Arts Strongly Agree Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly Disagree Department

What professional development opportunities would you like to see offered?
“ Best practices for engaging faculty in the collection development process ”
“ Online courses with guidelines and suggestions for liaison work in specific subject areas. ”
“ ‘ Liaison 101 ’ for beginners ”
“ Some ideas for how to do liaison work w ith interdisciplinary areas ”
“ Collection Analysis and Collection Assessment ”
“ How to present budget limitations to liaison groups. How to get feedback on journal/serial cancellations ”
“ Collection assessment tools/rubrics for national accreditation purposes ”

Summary of findings
Liaison work is spread throughout the library
Liaison’s would like more training
There is no clear standard for what liaison responsibilities should be

Why is a liaison program needed?
Awareness
Perception
Development
Communication

Practical advice
Make the first step
Build the relationship
Be open minded in approach

More practical advice
Utilize several avenues of communication
Learn to handle requests and feedback
Take cues from peers

What faculty want in a librarian….
Tempered with a sense of when to back off
Clear communication
Directness over grudging acquiescence
Inform and keep informing
Remind me again and again
Subject mastery is not required, but a basic understanding is important
From Macaluso, Stephan J. and Barbara Whitney Petruzzelli. “The Library Liaison Toolkit: Learning to Bridge the Communication Gap.” The Reference Librarian No. 89/90, 2005, 163-177. (Chart based on Stahl, 1997)

Selection and weeding of materials
Becoming knowledgeable about departments
Identifying disciplinary resources
Conducting library instruction
Acting as a contact for library services
Referring faculty questions to others as appropriate
Communicate with faculty

“Ultimately, liaison activities reinforce
team building
open discussion
camaraderie
life-long relationships.”

“ Liaison work is vital for the library . ”

Questions?

Library Liaison Responsibilities

by Elisabeth Leonard on Jan 16, 2008

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