Part of a 2019 NASIG presentation: "Interactions between technical and public services: perceptions from different librarians." Career transitions can provide an opportunity to both give and gain new perspective. After working eight years as an electronic resources management librarian, starting a position as a liaison librarian was challenging, but also illuminating. In this presentation, I will share what skills I brought to the new position that have been an asset, as well as what skills I have had to develop. I will also share what librarians in both resource management roles and education roles should understand about each other in order to help build relationships between library units and ultimately improve the ecosystem for resource acquisition, management, outreach, and use. Presented by Heidi Zuniga.

1. Interactions between technical
and public services: perceptions
from different librarians
June 6, 2019
Raymond Pun, Xiaoyan Song, Heidi Zuniga
NASIG 2019

2. Notes From the Field:
from Electronic Resources Management Librarian
to Liaison (and back)
Heidi Zuniga, MSLS, MA
Electronic Resources Librarian
Colorado State University
Heidi.Zuniga@colostate.edu
NASIG 2019
Civil Engineering field work. University Historic Photograph Collection, Archives and Special
Collections, Colorado State University

3. • My background
• Skills I brought
• Skills I had to develop
• Lessons learned/ecosystems
• Parting thoughts Morgan Library – model. Archives and Special Collections, Colorado State
University

4. My Background…plus an update
• Electronic Resources Management (ERM) Librarian for 8 years.
• Switched to a liaison
librarian position
…and back to ERM
librarian
Deer Ridge Highway – Estes Park, RMNP. Switchback. University Historic Photograph
Collection, Archives and Special Collections, Colorado State University

5. The Skills I Brought
• Troubleshooting skills
• Knowledge of of publishers,
products, etc.
• Why solving access problems
can take a while
• Alma and Primo Auto Repair Shop. University Historic Photograph Collection, Archives and
Special Collections, Colorado State University

6. The Skills I Needed
• Instruction
• Reference
• Departments and
subjects
• Buying things!
• Searches
• User’s perspective
Forestry Classroom. University Historic Photograph Collection, Archives and Special
Collections, Colorado State University

7. What Did I Learn?
Library Interior. University Historic Photograph Collection,
Archives and Special Collections, Colorado State University;
• We all care about users
• We all want to connect
people to information
• We are in the same
ecosystem

8. Library = Ecosystem
Everything is connected. A community of living and non-living things that work
together. It is balanced, diverse, and resilient. Every species has a niche that
keeps the whole system healthy.
–Nature Works: Ecosystems. New Hampshire PBS
Dowdy Lake.
University Historic
Photograph
Collection, Archives
and Special
Collections, Colorado
State University

9. Ideas to try
• Work on projects
together
• Lunch and Learns
• Task forces and
committees
• Post workflows
• Updates at meetings
• Say hi!
Military Camp. University Historic Photograph Collection,
Archives and Special Collections, Colorado State University;

10. Parting thoughts
• Communicate
• Build relationships
• Boundaries=yes; tribes=no
• Proactive, not reactive
• Respect and empathy
Campus scene. Agronomy. Man in picture. Agricultural and
Natural Resources Archive, Colorado State University