A Review of “Fundamentals for the Academic Liaison.”

Academic libraries have devoted considerable resources as well as a sizable body of scholarship to the concept of the library liaison. Often seen as the face of the library, the academic liaison bridges the gap between the library and university community

Transitioning to a Master\u27s Degree Granting University: Implications for Librarian Instruction, Outreach, and Collection Development

Athens State University is located in Athens, Alabama in the northern part of Alabama bordering Giles County, Tennessee. It is one of the only upper-level universities serving juniors, seniors, and graduate students in the country. The student body consists primarily of non-traditional and first-generation students. In 2014, Athens State University was approved to offer a graduate program in Global Logistics and Supply Chain Management in the College of Business by the Alabama Commission on Higher Education (ACHE). Since then, Athens State University has expanded its graduate offerings to include five additional fields of study: Strategic Healthcare Management and Administration, Strategic Human Resource Management, Strategic Leadership and Business Analytics, Religious Studies, and Career and Technical Education. Currently, more graduate degrees are in the development stages in all three colleges: Business, Arts and Sciences, and Education. All of the graduate programs are delivered asynchronously online with some classes having additional synchronous components. How have library instruction, outreach, and collection development evolved to meet the needs of the graduate student population? How do librarians best serve graduate students in a strictly online environment? How do librarians promote active learning techniques such as providing micro-lectures, including welcome and orientation videos, planning effective discussions with prompts, and increasing motivation in an online environment? What are some effective and reflective techniques and tools to promote inclusivity such as signaling ally-ship and assessing online learning objects for accessibility and ADA compliance? Athens State University librarians hold faculty status and serve both undergraduate and graduate students as subject liaisons. This presentation will share the librarians’ experiences of transitioning from a library serving exclusively undergraduates to one serving both undergraduate and graduate students. Given that the programs are offered solely online, librarians will also discuss the challenges and successes encountered along the way. Future areas of discussion include quantitative and qualitative assessment plans. Participant takeaways include the following: Adjusting collection assessment for budget allocation Adapting collection development for graduate programs Building working relationships with graduate teaching faculty Providing support to graduate students in an online environment Promoting inclusivity and accessibilit

Liaison Librarianship

This book chapter describes the work of liaison librarians. After reading this chapter, you will be able to describe common qualifications and responsibilities of liaisons in order to determine whether liaisonship is suitable for your needs and interests as a new librarian or LIS student. It will allow you to articulate skills and expertise requisite for liaison work in order to evalu¬ate your ability to provide services most effectively. You will be able to establish a plan to gain relevant skills and expertise in order to compete successfully for liaison job openings. It provides information about how to connect with faculty in their areas of responsibility in order to facilitate new outreach and deepen existing relationships. It should help you develop and assess support and outreach initiatives in order to identify gaps and provide greater support for patrons. Finally, it will help you appraise liaison work in order to advocate for promotion/tenure

“But I’m not an Engineer”… Collaboration between a Librarian and an Upper Division Project-Based Engineering Program

Since 2013, a librarian at Minnesota State University, Mankato has collaborated with faculty and students in an upper division project-based engineering program. While having several years of experience in university libraries plus advanced degrees in history, the librarian had a limited background in science, engineering, and technology, and lacked a formal engineering degree. At first glance, this match may appear to be a recipe for failure. Indeed, in those first few years, the librarian’s angst about the missing engineering degree caused many sleepless nights of worry and concern. However, there came a time when the words “but I am not an engineer” fell to the wayside as the librarian grew more confident and embraced the role of library liaison to the Integrated Engineering department and its project-based and co-op-based programs. This paper describes the partnership that went from self-doubt to success in supporting project teams of student engineers. The program operates at off-campus locations so providing service at a distance and developing electronic resources has been crucial for positive interactions with students and faculty. The vertically integrated student teams mean that there is some institutional memory in the student experience about the benefit of working with their librarian. This appreciation supports student learning of contextual research skills and abilities to describe their project information needs to a non-technical audience. While the successes did not happen overnight, the current status is of a positive working relationship where students understand the benefit of working with librarians, including non-engineering librarians, to solve their technical challenges. This paper presents our approach to building relationships between the library resources and engineering students and faculty, our strategies for success, and our future plans for collaboration

But I\u27m not an Engineer ...Collaboration between a Librarian and an Upper Division Project-Based Engineering Program

Since 2013, a librarian at Minnesota State University, Mankato has collaborated with faculty and students in an upper division project-based engineering program. While having several years of experience in university libraries plus advanced degrees in history, the librarian had a limited background in science, engineering, and technology, and lacked a formal engineering degree. At first glance, this match may appear to be a recipe for failure. Indeed, in those first few years, the librarian’s angst about the missing engineering degree caused many sleepless nights of worry and concern. However, there came a time when the words “but I am not an engineer” fell to the wayside as the librarian grew more confident and embraced the role of library liaison to the Integrated Engineering department and its project-based and co-op-based programs. This paper describes the partnership that went from self-doubt to success in supporting project teams of student engineers. The program operates at off-campus locations so providing service at a distance and developing electronic resources has been crucial for positive interactions with students and faculty. The vertically integrated student teams mean that there is some institutional memory in the student experience about the benefit of working with their librarian. This appreciation supports student learning of contextual research skills and abilities to describe their project information needs to a non-technical audience. While the successes did not happen overnight, the current status is of a positive working relationship where students understand the benefit of working with librarians, including non-engineering librarians, to solve their technical challenges. This paper presents our approach to building relationships between the library resources and engineering students and faculty, our strategies for success, and our future plans for collaboration

Library space assessment: A review and professional education case study.

Purpose - The research aimed to review the current state of library space assessment, and to investigate how new professionals, represented by a cohort of graduate students taking a course on academic libraries, approached the task of designing and conducting a one-shot space evaluation project. Design/methodology/approach - A review of literature on academic library space was used to introduce the project to student participants and to put the results of their work in context. Seven student groups were required to define their evaluation criteria, conduct quality assessments at individual sites, and perform a cross-case analysis to inform recommendations for improvements. Findings - The literature confirmed growing interest in learning space assessment, with a trend towards use of mixed (quantitative and qualitative) methods, particularly ethnographic techniques using multimedia, and the development of comprehensive toolkits and frameworks. The students used a range of approaches: three groups developed their own evaluation criteria or categories (informed by their reading), and four groups used existing tools (with modifications). All used observation to collect data. Variations across the cohort pointed to different priorities in professional and/or personal values. Research limitations/implications - The research was based on a small sample of 20 students in one cohort. Replication of the study with future cohorts tasked with the same assignment would strengthen the validity of the findings. Originality/value - The study offers a novel perspective on the desirable qualities of learning spaces by exploring how graduate librarianship students as both student library users and next generation professionals specify evaluation criteria and conduct space assessments

Library space assessment: A review and professional education case study.

Purpose. The research aimed to review the current state of library space assessment, and to investigate how new professionals, represented by a cohort of graduate students taking a course on academic libraries, approached the task of designing and conducting a one-shot space evaluation project. Design/methodology/approach. A review of literature on academic library space was used to introduce the project to student participants and to put the results of their work in context. Seven student groups were required to define their evaluation criteria, conduct quality assessments at individual sites, and perform a cross-case analysis to inform recommendations for improvements. Findings. The literature confirmed growing interest in learning space assessment, with a trend towards use of mixed (quantitative and qualitative) methods, particularly ethnographic techniques using multimedia, and the development of comprehensive toolkits and frameworks. The students used a range of approaches: three groups developed their own evaluation criteria or categories (informed by their reading), and four groups used existing tools (with modifications). All used observation to collect data. Variations across the cohort pointed to different priorities in professional and/or personal values. Research limitations/implications. The research was based on a small sample of 20 students in one cohort. Replication of the study with future cohorts tasked with the same assignment would strengthen the validity of the findings. Originality/value. The study offers a novel perspective on the desirable qualities of learning spaces by exploring how graduate librarianship students as both student library users and next generation professionals specify evaluation criteria and conduct space assessments