SPEC Kit 349: Evolution of Library Liaisons · 23
As a national library, we don’t directly serve faculty or students and most researchers who use our services have a
primary library.
The library is not at a degree-granting institution.
This role is changed amongst various roles in the library.
PROGRAM BEGINNINGS
3. In what year did your library begin offering liaison services? N=66
Range: 1890 to 2012
Year Responses
Pre-1960 13
1960s 5
1970s 10
1980s 10
1990s 14
2000s 12
2010s 2
Comments N=53
Pre-1960
Can’t pinpoint the year since we have always had engagement models with faculty, students, and departments the use
of the term became more prominent in around 2008.
Evolved out of decades of previous systems of subject and bibliographic librarians.
Good question! Not sure!!
It seems that we have been providing these services for at least 40 years.
Liaison service has been in place for as long as anyone here can remember.
Library liaisons may have been present as far as back as the 18th century.
The first librarian hired by the Libraries was the Chemistry Librarian, in 1947, and that individual served as a direct
liaison to the Department of Chemistry.
The library has always had liaison type role (1930).
This year (1890) relates to the first established subject library.
Very long ago.
We have always had librarians who fulfilled the traditional subject librarian/liaison role. In 2011 we made a deliberate
decision to move toward an engaged librarian framework.
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