46 · Survey Results: Survey Questions and Responses
subject specialists now encompasses more liaison with faculty and other library users. Awareness of new options arising
from the digitization of content is a growing necessity as well.
Bibliographers need to keep up with trends in electronic publishing for their areas of study, and with new databases
and electronic resource. At the same time, the digital infrastructure is not available for some parts of the world. Also,
research and teaching is increasingly cross-disciplinary, requiring bibliographers to expand beyond traditional areas of
collecting.
Changes are not limited to the role of global resources librarians but affect all liaison librarians. They must be aware of
the institutional repository and advise faculty on how to access the services related to it and to other digital collections
initiatives, such as data preservation, digitization, and use of digital platforms for collaborative research.
Do not have librarians assigned by global regions.
Electronic tools amplify the work you can do with East Asian legal materials.
Generally, there is more focus and emphasis on global and international studies than ever before. The University of
Michigan (UM) has a deeply rooted commitment to international studies, which our President, Mary Sue Coleman,
has strengthened and expanded through a variety of initiatives. That focus extends to the library, where we continue
to build and expand our already significant international collections. Within this environment, global resources
librarians must increase their level of awareness, collaboration, and communication. Like subject librarians, global
resources librarians are challenged not only with keeping informed about electronic publishing, copyright, institutional
repositories, etc., but also developing methods of sharing and promoting this information with faculty and students.
To do so, global resources librarians increasingly participate in library-wide discussions and look to colleagues, such as
our Copyright Officer, to facilitate these questions. Global resources librarians also collaborate more on reference and
instruction with subject librarians, who increasingly find themselves working with students engaging in research on
international or global topics. Global resources librarians are also called to evaluate and purchase electronic resources.
This requires developing new evaluation and negotiation skills as well as an understanding of licensing terms and their
impacts. In addition, global resources librarians must contend with global information providers whose platforms with
pricing models are evolving. At UM, electronic resources are almost always purchased by broad disciplinary teams,
but inevitably, global resource librarians must serve as the main contact with global publishers on purchases and
maintenance of resources. Because global resources librarians at the library are scattered throughout three separate
departments, traditionally these groups worked in isolation. With the recent creation of an International Studies
Collection Coordinator, there is more emphasis on sharing information and collaborating across Area Programs and the
Graduate Library Reference Department where possible. Recently, Asia Library added a public services librarian, who has
also served to bridge the communication gap. Another recent addition is that of Coordinator, Library Global Initiatives,
a half-time position that acts as a liaison to campus programs and coordinates library efforts to provide information
resources to these programs. This Coordinator does not have collection or selection responsibilities, but does collaborate
with global resources librarians on promoting their expertise and services to visiting researchers and international
students on campus. Subject guides and collection descriptions on the library’s website have increased the visibility of
the library’s international resources. As a result, global studies librarians are answering more inquiries about collections
and resources as well as providing research assistance to patrons both locally and internationally. HathiTrust has also
generated many inquiries from researchers abroad looking for access to digital materials not available to them locally.
Global resources librarians in Asia Library and Area Programs are responsible for cataloging. Keeping up with changes
in cataloging practices also impacts their roles. Where possible, we are moving to purchased MARC records and shelf-
ready books for some of our Western European materials (Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish). Taken together, all of these
shifts in the roles of global resources librarians are significant.
German Studies: For my area, German Studies, electronic publishing trends (to the extent that the question refers to
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