31 Association of Research Libraries Research Library Issues 294 2018 The University of South Florida Libraries’ Evolving Service Model: From ROLES to Research Platform Teams Maryellen Allen, Director of Academic Services, University of South Florida Libraries Todd Chavez, Dean, University of South Florida Libraries Responding to the profession-wide challenge to articulate the value and impact of academic library programs, the University of South Florida (USF) Libraries Academic Services department embarked on an ambitious exploration of the institution’s need for and expectations of research and instruction services. Initiated in 2015, the study of USF’s academic landscape concluded that it was time to substantively reconfigure the existing Liaison Program to meet requirements for the coming five to seven years. The Re-Imagining Our Library Engagement Services (ROLES) project began in March 2016 and teams were created to examine various aspects of the Liaison Program and to determine how the program could be re-imagined to more effectively support the research and teaching mission of the university. In early March 2016, the assistant director for research services launched the project with a thorough exploration of the literature concerning liaison programs, and later developed a reading list of key sources to serve as a common foundation for all ROLES participants. The department’s leadership team (director of academic services, the assistant director for research services, the assistant director for instructional services and the assistant director for digital learning initiatives) formulated the questions that would serve as the scaffolding for any liaison program emerging for the first time. From the initial exhaustive list, the group narrowed the questions to five areas of focus: 1. How are liaison programs in other universities structured and how do they work? 2. What are the strengths and weaknesses of the current liaison
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