Academic Liaison Saves the World?

Dr Alice Crawford

Academic Liaison Librarian (Arts & Divinity)

University of St Andrews

Once upon a time….

Our Library?

The Background

• Starved of cash• Losing staff• Lacking focus in key appointments• Deteriorating building

Photo courtesy University of St Andrews

All Change!

• Arrival of new Principal• New Director of Library Services• Proposal for new or refurbished building

Photo courtesy University of St Andrews

2 New Academic Liaison Posts!

• Develop new information literacy programmes

• Act as a point of contact between the Library and the Schools

• Represent the Library on University committees

• Help re-professionalise the Library

The small print…• Liaison with academic schools

• Development of information resources and services

• Working with colleagues in Collection Management to ensure that Library resources are exploited to maximum effect

• Delivering information literacy and research skills programmes

• Providing specialized information assistance/interventions

• Developing liaison, communication and user training strategies through participation in University Committees

• Supporting the general enquiry service

• Providing specialized subject support for designated subject areas

• Engaging in a full range of staff development activities, including presenting at conferences, writing articles and engaging in scholarly activities

• Developing strategy & providing services relevant to research and teaching needs of the University

• Finding new ways to communicate with customers and promoting Library resources

• Assume cross Library responsibility for Official Publications and Reference Services

• Any other duties appropriate to the role

Our Key Skills…

• Teaching

• Communication

• Negotiation, marketing, persuasion

• Experience of academic libraries

What we have done

• Developed Information Literacy teaching• Written WebCT modules• Talked to people!• Raised the Library’s profile• Introduced Web 2.0 applications

Photo courtesy University of St Andrews

The problems

Photo courtesy University of St Andrews

There are only two of us

We need to know everything!

Arts & Divinity:-

• Anthropology

• Art History

• Classics

• Divinity

• Economics

• English

• Film Studies

• French

• German

• History

• International Relations

• Italian

• Management

• Music

• Philosophy

• Russian

• Spanish

Science and Medicine:-

• Astronomy

• Biology

• Chemistry

• Computer Science

• Geography

• Mathematics & Statistics

• Medicine

• Physics

• Psychology

Welcome to our new subject

librarians!

Other people doing parts of our jobs

• Collections team• Acquisitions &

Periodicals• Electronic Resources

Library Staff Structure

L o ts o f p e op le !

H e ad o f C a ta lo gu ing A ca d em ic L ia ison L ib ra ria ns

L o ts o f p e op le !

H e a d o f A cq u isit io ns E le c tron ic Re so u rce s L ib ra rian

S o m e pe op le !

C o lle c tion s T e am

L o ts o f p e op le !

H e a d o f C ircu la tion

D e p u ty D ire c to r/C o lle ctio n s M a n a g er H e a d o f S pe c ia l C o llec tio ns

D ire c to r o f L ib ra ry S e rv ices

Is the rug being pulled out from under us?

• “Library Managers”

• Where do these leave us?

Other tasks…

• RAE

• UKRR

• Enquiry service

• Reference Collection

• Official Publications

• Friends of the Library

The Library Climate

• We’re all librarians now!

• What’s our role in a Google-dominated landscape?

Where to now?

• Grasp the nettle of the staffing structure problem

Find somewhere to stand…

“Give me a place to stand, and I shall move the world.”(Archimedes)