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Academic Liaison Program
Ten Years of Progress
Scott Kennedy, Head, Research & Information Services
The Libraries' Academic Liaison Program was begun in 1989 with
the goals of:
- Establishing an on-going dialogue between the University Libraries and the university's academic programs
- Building effective working relationships between library staff and faculty
- Improving library services
- Enriching the job assignments of library staff
- Enhancing the role of library staff as spokespersons for the library
The Liaison Program has proven its value in a variety of ways-by strengthening communication channels between the library and academic programs, by providing a framework for major projects involving cooperation between the library and the faculty, and by increasing the involvement of library staff in work the university. Today, liaison librarians have become integral members of the academic community and are regularly called upon to take an active role in enhancing academic programs across the system. A liaison librarian is a library staff member who has been formally designated as the primary contact person between the Libraries and an academic unit (school, department, center, program) of the university. The library liaison is expected to be well-informed about the Libraries' collections, services, policies, and resources, and skilled in interpreting and promoting these to faculty and students in his or her academic unit. The liaison is also expected to become knowledgeable of the subject matter and nature of the teaching and research conducted by the academic unit, particularly with regard to changes in teaching and scholarly communication within the discipline. Liaisons are expected to work with teaching faculty to ensure that relevant information access skills and tools are incorporated into academic programs at all levels. The traditional duties of a liaison librarian involve performing collection development in their areas of subject expertise; providing instruction sessions for students, faculty, and others in these subject areas; and developing and maintaining a continuous flow of communication with their constituents. In the pre-computer age, these functions were relatively straightforward. But as the world of information resources grows ever more expansive, more expensive, and more complex, the role of the liaison grows ever more critical to the success of students and researchers alike. No longer can we assume that this, or any other university, has the resources to purchase, catalog, and house all the relevant journals, monographs, proceedings, reports, documents, archives, indexes, and data requisite to serve the information needs of even the most fundamental of academic disciplines. And no longer can we assume that the average library user comes equipped with the skills and knowledge requisite to navigate, explore, and comprehend the vast information world of today. In an environment where critical collection choices have to be made on a daily basis and where information literacy stands at the heart of learning empowerment, the need for faculty and library staff to work together to determine areas for collecting priorities and to ensure effective information learning skills is greater than ever before. Although staff resources at the Libraries have declined significantly over the past ten years, the liaison program has been actively fostered, and it has blossomed magnificently. We have discovered that wherever a liaison relationship has been established, truly excellent things begin to occur: library resources become more relevant, library services become more responsive, library and information literacy improves, and most important of all, student learning and learning how to learn takes a giant leap forward. The liaison program has been an unqualified success, and we look forward to its continual development well into the future. For more information about the Liaison Program, please visit the Libraries' Web site, www.uconn.edu, or contact Scott Kennedy, chair, Liaison Program, 860-486-2522 or scott.kennedy@uconn.edu.
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