Team-based Subject Liaisons: A Model for Successful and Sustainable Engagement
Free Online Presentation
Friday, February 25, 2022
1:00 PM to 2:00 PM CDT
Presented via Zoom
Registration Link
Liaison librarians are essential to the success of academic libraries; yet many libraries have struggled to define the role of the subject specialist within contemporary academic libraries. This disconnect has resulted in a proliferation of service models and deployment strategies; the two most common being the discipline specialist and the functional specialist. Despite the widespread adoption of these models, neither of these approaches has been consistently successful. Managers and administrators within university libraries using these models have struggled with how to achieve greater and more uniform success. While library administrators may aspire to design equitable opportunities for everyone to succeed in these roles, most university libraries have some liaisons that are viewed as “superstars” while others are seen as less than. Likewise, some liaisons are viewed as “dynamic” and able to learn new skills, while others are seen as prioritizing more traditional roles and responsibilities. A truly successful model must create mechanisms for enabling the success of every liaison.
In this webinar, Honora Eskridge and Alex Carroll will present a team-based liaison model that can achieve more consistent, sustainable outcomes. The webinar will cover:
- How a team-based model benefits liaison librarians and the managers who oversee them;
- How to transition to a team-based model – first steps in the first 3 years;
- The roles and opportunities for team members; and
- A framework for team-based outreach and engagement
Attendees will leave this session with an understanding of the benefits of a team-based model and strategies for designing team-based services at their local institutions.
Presenters
Honora Nerz Eskridge is the Director of the Stevenson Science and Engineering Library at Vanderbilt University, where she leads library services to the science and engineering disciplines. She speaks and writes on library management, service models, and information literacy for engineers. Eskridge has a Master of Library and Information Science from The Catholic University of America and a Bachelor of Engineering from Manhattan College.
Alex Carroll, MSLS, AHIP, is the Librarian for STEM Research at the Vanderbilt University Libraries, where he supports the research of faculty and develops curriculum-integrated information literacy instruction programs for students in the sciences. He has published on these topics in journals such as College & Research Libraries, portal: Libraries and the academy, The Journal of Academic Librarianship, and is currently the Interim Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of the Medical Library Association.
Additional Information:
This presentation is sponsored by the ACRL University Libraries Section Professional Development Committee.
If you can’t make this session but wish to view a recording later, please register so that you’ll receive an email that includes a link to the video of the presentation.
Please direct questions and concerns to Laura Gariepy (lwgariepy@vcu.edu) or Sam Harlow (slharlow@uncg.edu), co-chairs of the ACRL ULS Professional Development Committee. A full list of the committee’s past and future programs are available here.
