Tag Archives: library liaisons

Research Liaisons: At Your Service

by Sara Baron, Ed.D., Dean of the University Library

Many people start their library research with the indefatigable Google. However, in the library world we agree with author Neil Gaiman that, “Google can bring you back 100,000 answers. A librarian can bring you back the right one.”

On the 2015 Customer Satisfaction Survey (CSS), we received several comments from students who are not sure where to turn with discipline-specific research problems. Here are two sample remarks:

Students:

Research has shown that students with a GPA of 3.5 and higher frequently state that working with a librarian has helped them succeed.1 Library liaisons will:

  • Save you time by directing you to the best resources.
  • Meet with you online (Skype or Google Hangouts), over the phone, or in person. 
  • Help you develop information finding and evaluating skills that will serve you well in your academic and professional careers.Faculty:

    Are you aware of the services your Library liaisons provide? These include:

  • Acquiring resources for your research and classes.
  • Developing research guides for your courses, or even a particular assignment, such as a big research project.
  • Teaching your students research skills in your classroom, in the Library, or online.
  • Helping you embed Library tools into your Blackboard courses.
  • Libraries and the Academy found that university faculty consider four functions of their libraries’ liaison program to be especially important:2

  1. Communicating with teaching faculty.
  2. Providing library services.
  3. Responding to faculty requests.
  4. Providing research expertise in the discipline.
  5. Regent University Library Liaison Responsibilities for Instruction, Developing Research Guides, and Collection Development – 2014-2015:

    Disciplines (Undergraduate & Graduate)

     

    Library Faculty

     

    Business & Leadership

    Business Administration, Organizational Leadership, Strategic Leadership, Business, Leadership Studies, Economics

     

    Harold Henkel

     

    Communication

    Communication, Cinema-TV, Journalism, Theatre, Animation

     

    Instruction & Research Guides
    Harold Henkel

     Collection Development
    Sara Baron

     

    Divinity

    Practical Theology, Theological Studies, Divinity, Ministry, Renewal Studies, Biblical and Theological Studies, Christian Ministry, Theology, Youth Ministry

     

    Melody Detar

     

    Education

    All programs, including: Curriculum & Instruction (including Curriculum Collection), School Administration, Higher Education, English Secondary Education, Interdisciplinary Studies (PreK-6 teacher licensure), Math Secondary Education

     

    Sandy Yaegle

     

    English

     

    Harold Henkel

     

    Foreign LanguagesStudies

    Hispanic Studies, French & Spanish

     

    Instruction
    Harold Henkel

    Research Guides &
    Collection Development
    Georgi Bordner

     

    Government

    Government, Public Administration, International Studies, American Government & Politics, Homeland & International Security, International Relations & Foreign Policy, Political Philosophy

     

    Jason Stuart

     

    History

     

    Harold Henkel

     

    Information Systems Technology, Mathematics,

    Biophysical Sciences

     

    Jason Stuart

     

    Psychology & Counseling

    Human Services Counseling, Psychology, Criminal Justice

     

    Instruction & Research Guides

    PsycCoun- Sandy Yaegle

    CJ- Jason Stuart

    Collection Development
    Sara Baron

     

    _________________________________

    1Steven Bell, “Keep Them Enrolled: How Academic Libraries Contribute to Student Retention,” Library Issues, 29, no. 1 (2008), http://www.libraryissues.com/sub/PDF2901Sep2008.pdf.

    2Julie Arendt and Megan Lotts, “What Liaisons Say about Themselves and What Faculty Say about Their Liaisons, a U.S. Survey,” Libraries and the Academy12, no. 2 (2012), http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/portal_libraries_and_the_academy/v01212.2.arendt.html.