Departmental Liaisons: Program Information

Purpose
The liaison program was created to improve communications between the Library and the academic departments in order to provide outstanding service to both the faculty and their students.

Structure
Each academic department has been assigned a Liaison Librarian from the professional library staff. This liaison should be the department’s first point of contact for comments or questions about library services and resources. The liaison, of course, does not take the place of direct contact with library staff for known services, e.g., contacting Circulation about putting items on reserve. But a good relationship with the liaison can go a long way to improve communication and make sure that concerns and needs are addressed. Each department is encouraged to designate a Faculty Liaison who works closely with the Liaison Librarian.

Contact us:
https://library.albright.edu/contact

Responsibilities of the Liaison Librarian
As the primary contact person between the library and the designated department, the Liaison Librarian is responsible for:

• Informing the department of the library’s resources, services, and policies and clarifying any questions about library services and policies in effect;
• Becoming familiar with the curriculum and programs offered by the academic department;
• Providing assistance in evaluating the library’s resources and in developing the collection, especially as new courses are proposed and the department curriculum changes;
• Supporting faculty scholarship;
• Providing or coordinating information literacy instruction;
• Providing specialized research services, such as creating and maintaining subject and course guides;
• Collaborating with instructional designers to ensure an active presence in Canvas;
• Notifying the faculty of “What’s New” in the library;
• Providing library orientation for all new full and part-time faculty;
• Meeting with the Faculty Liaison (if designated) regularly and attending at least one departmental meeting each academic year; and
• Funneling all requests for increased funding from the department and acting as departmental advocate;

Responsibilities of the Faculty Liaison
As the department liaison to the library, the Faculty Liaison is responsible for:

• Informing the liaison librarian of new courses being proposed and developed by the department;
• Informing the liaison librarian of the research interests of the faculty members in that department;
• Conveying the opinions, concerns, and questions of the academic department faculty regarding library services, resources, or policies;
• Coordinating collection development or collection management issues for the department; and
• Developing an understanding of the library’s resources, services, and policies as they relate to that department.