ARL has released Evolution of Library Liaisons, SPEC Kit 349, an exploration of the changing role of the library liaison, the shifting goals and strategies of liaison programs at ARL member libraries, and the factors that influence these changes on an institutional level. This study covers liaison services objectives and policies, assignment of liaison responsibilities, level of department participation, administration and evaluation of services, how liaisons are trained, and the benefits and challenges of offering such services.
Some of the major areas of change for library liaisons include skill sets, core duties and responsibilities, the categories of users served, methods of internal and external communication and collaboration, and the definition of impact and success. Catalysts of change include changes in various disciplines, the evolving landscape of scholarship and publishing, library reorganizations, reduced staffing, and new or revised federal policies.
This SPEC Kit includes examples of liaison services websites; descriptions of liaison responsibilities, competencies, and goals; job descriptions of staff who provide these services; and reports on changes to liaison models.
Ordering Information
SPEC Kit 349, Evolution of Library Liaisons
Rebecca K. Miller and Lauren Pressley
November 2015 • 204 pp.
Online Edition
SPEC Kit 349
ISBN 1-59407-950-1 • $50 • Password or IP access
The SPEC Kit Collection provides online access to all titles published from 2006 to the present (SPEC Kit 292– ). Password access is $400. IP access is $300 ARL members/$400 all others.
Print Edition
ISBN 1-59407-949-8 • $40 ARL members/$50 all others
Shipping and Handling
US: UPS Ground, $10/publication
Canada: UPS Ground, $15/per publication
International and Rush Orders: Call (301) 362-8196 or e-mail arl@brightkey.net for quote.
2015 subscription, four issues (346–349), shipping included (additional postage may apply outside North America) • ISSN 0160-3582 • $225 ARL members/$300 all others.
Order online IP access and print copies from:
ARL Publications Distribution Center
PO Box 531
Annapolis Junction, MD 20701-0531
Phone: (301) 362-8196
Fax: (240) 396-2479
E-mail: arl@brightkey.net
Payment by check, money order, MasterCard, or Visa is accepted. Make check or money order payable in US funds to the Association of Research Libraries, Federal ID #52-0784198-N.
Order password access online:
Password access to SPEC Kit 349 or the entire SPEC Kit Collection can be purchased online with a credit card.
About the Association of Research Libraries
The Association of Research Libraries (ARL) is a nonprofit organization of 124 research libraries in the US and Canada. ARL’s mission is to influence the changing environment of scholarly communication and the public policies that affect research libraries and the diverse communities they serve. ARL pursues this mission by advancing the goals of its member research libraries, providing leadership in public and information policy to the scholarly and higher education communities, fostering the exchange of ideas and expertise, facilitating the emergence of new roles for research libraries, and shaping a future environment that leverages its interests with those of allied organizations. ARL is on the web at https://www.arl.org/.
