SPEC Kit 349: Evolution of Library Liaisons · 27
It is difficult to confirm so I am making an assumption.
Librarians approached the library administration about the need.
Librarians were tenured in the schools they served.
Library reorganization
More recently, liaison librarian roles are determined and assigned by branch heads, in consultation with the Libraries’
Strategic Leadership Team, and roles are formalized for individual librarians through annual expectations.
Our model has been that every academic department has a liaison, though we have librarians who are liaison to
multiple departments or schools.
Some disciplinary interests, as well as current positions, were considered, while this remained overall an
administrative decision.
The original decisions that created the subject librarian role have been lost in the mists of time.
The review process was initiated in 2010 at the request of the dean of libraries. Professional librarians from across
the university library were constituted as a task force to review the variety of services offered across the eight campus
libraries, in the context of developing a broad paradigm of liaison services applicable across the diversity of subjects
and schools.
This was so long ago, no one clearly remembers the exact process.
To the best of our knowledge this is how it was determined.
Unknown
Unknown how the service was established.
Unknown. We don’t have any staff members that were here when the service was established to know the answer to
this question.
Wow! Another good question! We should likely know this!
5. Please briefly describe where liaisons are positioned in the organizational structure of the library.
N=65
Academic liaisons are positioned throughout the libraries system.
All liaisons report through to the same AUL, though they may have different direct reporting supervisors.
All library faculty (MLS) are liaisons. They all have departments assigned to them.
All members of the HSCL “reference and instruction” department (actually called Biomedical and Health Information
Services BHIS) are also liaison librarians. They report to the Head of BHIS/Associate Director of the HSCL.
All of the liaisons apart from the health sciences librarians are part of the Research and Information Services Division.
Some are in special libraries. Most are in the main library, formerly in the Reference Department. We have recently
reorganized reference into Research Services, Instructional Services, Online Services, Government Information &Data
Services, and User Engagement departments, but almost all librarians in these departments have liaison duties.
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