Article note: On assessing and communicating liaison librarians' work

The authors start by asserting that the academic libraries' narrative has been moving from telling the story of collecting resources to telling the story of libraries connecting to their campus communities, going outside the library. This is not exactly new; this has been going on for a while now, and they show some of that ongoing narrative in their literature review. Anyhow, this article looks at the efforts and roles of liaison librarians at Rutgers University Libraries, New Brunswick. The highlight is their account of the creation of a Liaison Assessment Committee. 

My interest in the article is that, like many academic librarians, I do some liaison work at my library. Here are some things I took away from the article. 

• Some things have not really changed. The authors cite Laurence Miller, who was writing in the 1970s or so that when it came to liaison relationships "those relationships required more than occasional contact and speculated that they would likely result in routine work receiving priority over more creative but less tangible activity" (286). Here we are in 2021, and more often than not when it comes to liaison work it is basically something you do if and when you can get to it because you have to prioritize the routine work that keeps the library functioning. We often start out with great intentions, but as soon as the daily priorities take over, the intentions do not go very far. After all, given how busy we often are, the higher ups never have a good answer to the question of "if you want us to do this, what are you willing to drop?"
  
• Along with that are the ever popular budgetary concerns: "As budgets tighten, liaisons have assumed more roles that require new skills and more specialized expertise. No longer can liaisons become proficient themselves in each new capacity; rather, they must partner with other specialized colleagues and, at the same time, communicate their own expert capabilities more efficiently" (290).  
• However, more often than not, money is not as much of an issue as time is, especially since no higher up wants to drop stuff being done to add or exchange for additional more focused liaison work. Collection development per se lessens as libraries become more reliant on things like patron driven acquisitions, standing order plans, and buying resources by the bundle. This makes the acquisitions process less humane (but that is another question for another time).
  
• Later on, a bit more of the same in 2009, this time the authors cite Karla Hahn writing for Research Library Issues: "While research libraries may agree on the importance of the position, how to reconfigure liaison work has become a topic of broad concern. Identifying emerging roles and determining how to develop corresponding liaison capabilities are common challenges" (288). 
• We do need to keep in mind that this article was written pre-pandemic. I have not seen much on liaison work in light of the pandemic, but I have seen more on things like services to students, which is fine by me, they should be our main focus in my humble opinion. But still, if things were difficult to keep up liaison work, the pandemic has not done any favors for us. 
• Keep in mind also that Rutgers is a very large campus, and their librarians have a lot of specialties. That level of specialization is not an option in a small campus like mine. Liaison work here can be specialized subject or functional. We do both here to varying degrees. 
• Recommendation from the article: "redefining job descriptions for new recruits to reflect a variety of functional specialties to engage more actively on campus on issues related to data, copyright, Web and digital services, the undergraduate experience, and instructional design" (292).
• We did that here, for example, when a position was created and filled for a Digital Initiatives Librarian. 
• Recommendation from the article: "It was also recommended that the liaison librarians create an internal, online portal that includes policy documents, tools to aid in the delivery and assessment of instruction, outreach strategies, and information about how to articulate and communicate liaison activities efficiently" (297). 
• Another idea from the article: "In addition to centralized, virtual reference services, the librarians offer local, pop-up reference assistance at the Cook Campus Stephen and Lucy Chang Science Library" (298). The idea of doing pop-up reference in locations outside of the library is something I have considered in and out since before the pandemic. I think it would be nice to offer it, but for me, the question is besides me, who else would be willing to put the time for it? I do not anticipate others jumping at the idea. But still, maybe once the pandemic slows down enough to allow some degree of movement. 
• An example from their art librarian: ". . . the art librarian began in 2014 to hold weekly office hours in the lobbies of those distant units to meet with potential users. Arranged to suit student schedules, the art librarian brings a sign, laptop, brochures, candy, and sometimes library materials or a button maker" (299). In addition to the benefit to students, this additional visibility meant more engagement with the art faculty for the librarian. For me, something like this remains a nice idea, but then I get reminded of time factors and the question of whether the administration would support it or not (and support it more than just saying, sure go for it but you still have all the other stuff you have to do). 
• Still, there are benefits according to the authors that can make this worth it: "This successful initiative demonstrates that spending as little as two hours a week in a place where users learn and convene reaps big benefits for the library and its users, building stronger relationships with a liaison librarian and fostering a solid foundation for engaging with departments" (299). If nothing else, two extra hours does not sound that heavy in terms of load. I am not too likely to carry a button maker; we have one here, but it is an older extremely bulky model you can barely move. Such an initiative does have potential to help increase library support for students in addition to research consultations, virtual reference, and visits to the reference desk.  
• From the article, some ways to get more engagement include: 
• "work more proactively with their community, not just provide services to it" 
• "assess skills needed to achieve their goals" (this implies goals are being set and there is some commitment to do the professional development to develop skills plus administrative support)
• "tell their story more effectively to both library and campus colleagues" (building and maintaining communications is a key point of the article)
• Article includes checklists to help assess liaison efforts and for planning. 
  

 

 

Citation for the article: Kranich, Nancy, et.al., "Moving from Collecting to Connecting: Articulating, Assessing, and Communicating the Work of Liaison Librarians." portal: Libraries and the Academy 20.2 (April 2020): 285-304.