Subject Liaison Research Articles

Diving Deep into Dissertations: Analyzing Graduate Students’ Methodology and Data Practices to Inform Research Data Services and Subject Liaison Librarian Support

We present findings from an exploratory quantitative content analysis case study of 156 doctoral dissertations from Georgia State University that investigates doctoral student researchers’ methodology practices (used quantitative, qualitative, or mixed methods) and data practices (used primary data, secondary data, or both). We discuss the implications of our findings for provision of data support services provided by the Georgia State University Library’s Research Data Services (RDS) Team and subject liaison librarians in the areas of instructional services, data software support and licensing advocacy, collection development, marketing/outreach, and professional development/expansion.

Mapping A Discipline: A Guide to Using VOSviewer for Bibliometric and Visual Analysis

ABSTRACT In the age of information, data collected from database publishers can tell a story. Over time, research publications from an institution can reveal patterns in the work of faculty, students, and researchers. This is illustrated using visualization platforms such as VOSviewer. Information professionals can generate these visualizations to reveal researcher collaborations and trends in research topics supporting subject liaison service and collection activities. In this article, VOSviewer is used to discover the relationship of publications from campus authors within engineering fields. A discussion of the steps taken in this study will help guide information professionals, librarians, or researchers in taking this approach to understanding research and publications.

Using the Linux operating system full-time: Tips and experiences from a subject liaison librarian

About a year ago, I requested and received a university libraries issued Ubuntu Linux computer. Ubuntu is a popular open-source GNU/Linux operating system. Since then, I have used Linux every day for all of my liaison librarianship duties, professional service, and scholarship.

Copyright Online Mini-Series: A Flipped Learning Approach to Disseminating Copyright Knowledge to Subject Liaison Librarians

In the digital age copyright literacy is in high demand. The Association of College and Research Libraries included copyright literacy as a core component of information literacy for higher education in its Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education, which explicitly describes an “information has value” component, including copyright knowledge. However, even at an institution fortunate enough to have a copyright librarian, that one person cannot attend every single information-literacy session on campus that is presented in affiliation with the library. Thus the copyright librarian must form bridges to the rest of campus, and one of the best ways to do so is through collaboration with subject liaison librarians. So far this article has not revealed any groundbreaking revelations—librarians collaborate frequently to make the best use of the talents and resources available to them. What is more novel is the suggestion made herein for copyright librarians to adopt the flipped learning model; in particular, to facilitate liaison sessions.

Curriculum, Departmental, and Faculty Mapping in the Visual Arts Department

AbstractThe role of the subject liaison in academic libraries is evolving from reactive to pro-active. Curriculum, departmental, and faculty profile mapping are tools that liaisons use to gain a be...

“I Wanna Be in the Room Where It Happens”…: Using Curriculum Mapping to Support the Information Literacy Goals of Online Programs

Embedding information literacy and instruction within an online program can be a difficult process to begin. Curriculum mapping guides librarians to the courses where their services can have the most impact. However, curriculum mapping can seem like an overwhelming and unwieldly process. This case study demystifies the process and shows how simple and effective curriculum maps can be designed and utilized. Particularly in environment with a single librarian dedicated to online outreach serving as a coordinator for other subject liaison librarians, curriculum mapping is a tool that allows for clear communication, outreach and systematic assessment. This paper will provide an overview of how the curriculum maps were developed, how they were used for communication and outreach both within and outside the Libraries, and ideas for programmatic assessment based upon the maps.

Recent Research in Religion

This paper reports the results of a study of the citations accompanying research published over ten years in the fields of theology, religious studies, and biblical studies. The purpose of the citation analysis project was to determine patterns of material usage by scholars in the discipline of Religion. The project proposed to seek answers to questions that frequently cross the minds of theological librarians, including, among others, the types of sources used by researchers in our fields, the prominence of primary sources, the currency of sources cited, dominant languages of publication and research, and most frequently used journals. 
 A sample of peer-reviewed articles from these fields, chosen from journals indexed by the ATLA Religion Database, was examined from a variety of angles. 4107 cited references from 96 articles were analyzed for source type, publication language, dating, and authorship; articles were further examined for the peer review status of the publishing journal and the subject area covered. 
 The cited references of the 96 articles analyzed were primarily monographs, published in English, published and created within the decades before the publication of the citing articles, and most had a single author. The 14 most frequently cited journals covered topics in religion and the social sciences.
 The results reported here are expected to be informative to theological librarians in making collection development decisions and building subject liaison relationships. Librarians may choose monograph acquisitions over other types, or consider promoting other types of resources differently to encourage use. Theological librarians might consider subscribing to journal titles which overlap in subject coverage with the social sciences. Librarians and discipline faculty will likely find many conversation points among the data presented here.

Consistent, Holistic, and Objective: Using a Scorecard for Electronic Resource Evaluation and Renewal Decision-Making

Collection assessment is a critical component of collection development and management in academic libraries. The rising cost of subscription resources puts pressure on library budgets and further drives the need for holistic and transparent processes for resource evaluation and renewal decision-making. An assessment instrument enables librarians to critically evaluate resources in a consistent manner and paves the way for objective decision-making. In this article, the author describes the renewal process at Bailey/Howe Library of the University of Vermont which uses an Electronic Resources Renewal Scorecard to make renewal decisions and incorporate feedback from subject liaison librarians for subscription databases.

Iterative Evolution of the Liaison Librarian Role: A Brief Case Study

Recognizing a need to evolve subject liaison responsibilities and related skill sets with an emphasis on digital research and pedagogy, The University of Texas Libraries (UTL) at the University of Texas at Austin has reorganized its Academic Engagement division and related approach to liaison work twice in the past two years.

Book Review: The Subject Liaison’s Survival Guide to Technical Services

What happens when an experienced subject liaison is teamed with a veteran technical services librarian? You get a slim but informative volume that details the fine points of technical services in a way that anyone can understand.The Subject Liaison’s Survival Guide to Technical Services is divided into chapters corresponding to different aspects of library technical services: “Collection Development,” “Budgets and Budgeting,” “Submitting Orders” (from the subject liaison’s perspective), “Acquisitions Ordering” (what the technical services department does with those submitted orders), “Receiving and Processing,” “Cataloging,” and “Collections Maintenance.” While the guide could be read in a single sitting, the way it is arranged also makes it useful as a reference tool. A subject liaison can consult each of the chapters as needed. Each chapter contains a section titled “Questions You Should Be Asking,” which serves as a concise summary of the most important things subject liaisons will need to know during the course of their daily duties.

Assessing and meeting the information literacy needs of incoming transfer students

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to determine the information literacy skills and needs of incoming and current transfer students.Design/methodology/approachThree studies are discussed, two of which were generated from ACRL’s Assessment in Action program. In the first, incoming transfer students were asked basic demographic questions and were tested on several basic information literacy skills. A combination of quantitative analysis and rubrics was used to assess results. A pre-test, post-test method was used in a basic introduction to campus life course for transfer students. Finally, the 2014 cohort of transfer student were resurveyed to test research skills and report interactions they had with reference librarians and library instruction during the previous year.FindingsInitial observations suggested older transfer students, and students transferring from community colleges were least knowledgeable about basic information literacy concepts, and that students who had attended library instruction sessions were more knowledgeable. In the pre-test, intervention and post-test study, students did not show significant improvements in knowledge, but did show a significantly improved comfort level with library research. In the follow-up survey, second year transfer students who had library instruction during the previous year were significantly more likely to have sought out their subject liaison for consultations.Originality/valueResearch studies that focus on the information literacy needs and skills of transfer students and adult learners is somewhat scarce, compared to that of incoming freshmen. It is of use to both academic librarians in institutions that accept incoming transfer students, and to community college librarians who may be designing handoff library instruction.

GIS and the humanities: Presenting a path to digital scholarship with the Story Map app

ABSTRACTWorking collaboratively, a scholarly resources librarian and a subject liaison librarian at a small, public liberal arts college have created a GIS story mapping workshop for fellow information professionals. Using GIS, the librarians are bridging the gap between humanities and sciences in a liberal arts environment. The librarians' experience of being introduced to GIS and creating training for others enabled them to support their library's data services and digital scholarship initiatives. By helping connect the humanities with science and technology using story maps, librarians can create a neutral environment for learners to conduct interdisciplinary research and develop spatial literacy.

Text Mining 101: What You Should Know

ABSTRACTScholars increasingly use text and data mining (TDM) methods to discover trends and relationships within complex digital data sets. In order to support this development in scholarly communication, librarians and publishers need to be knowledgeable about TDM methods, build partnerships with TDM researchers, and address challenges related to licensing and access to large document sets. The presenters of this NASIG session shared their experiences of supporting TDM as a library subject liaison, acquisitions librarian, and publisher representatives. Audience members discussed issues involving TDM of data from multiple publishers, local hosting of data sets and TDM activity by undergraduate students.

Your Personal Librarian: Connecting First-Year Students to the Library at Reed College

Think back to your first year of college. How did you feel? Eager? Excited? Maybe also fearful, anxious about fitting in, making friends, or being successful? First-year students have a lot on their minds. It can be challenging to help them forge a meaningful connection with the library. Amidst the internal cacophony generated by the transition to college and the slew of departments and services competing for their attention when they arrive on campus, they may not realize that the library is here to help, too. The Reed College Library has had a Personal Librarian program for our first-year students since the 2011 academic year.1 We started our program after realizing that we were having a difficult time connecting with first-year students, for many of the reasons listed above. We were also inspired to start our program after realizing that our liaison model, in which each academic department at Reed is assigned a specific librarian as their subject liaison, might not be reaching students who had yet to declare a major. Finally, like many academic libraries, we were often facing slow traffic at our reference desk and were curious to explore alternative service models.

Utilizing syllabi to support access services and beyond: A case study

ABSTRACTNew York University Abu Dhabi (NYUAD) Library receives copies of all course syllabi to provide a number of services to faculty and students related to acquisitions, access, collection development, subject liaison, and library instruction. Access services and acquisitions staff, as well as subject liaison librarians, work together using specific workflows to ensure that subject-relevant materials are selected and purchased on an ongoing basis and access needs are met by course reserves or the learning management system. Additionally, the library works closely with the NYUAD Bookstore, which also receives textbook orders, to ensure that students have access to all required and supplementary materials on the first day of classes.

Subject Liaisons in Academic Libraries: An Open Access Data Set from 2015

The work of subject liaison librarians in academic libraries has morphed to include a variety of roles that reach beyond the traditional. This study captures responses of 1,808 participants from land-grant, Oberlin Group, and Association of Research Libraries (ARL) institutions to a questionnaire about subject liaison librarians. The questionnaire contains eight demographic questions, five questions about liaison responsibilities, seven outreach and instruction questions, three traditional reference questions, two scholarly communications questions, three collection development questions, and an open-ended question. This is the largest data set compiled to date on academic subject liaison librarians. The data set has been made available on an open access basis in hopes that use of the data will facilitate cross-study comparisons.

Developing a matrix and using self-reported scoring to measure librarian engagement on campus

Purpose – The library’s strategic plan calls for the author to “Transform the role of the subject liaison librarian to better engage the campus community.” This statement specifically focusses on the aspect of the liaison role that builds relationships with the campus partners, “to better engage the campus community.” And like the peers, liaison librarians at this mid-size research institution have been struggling not only with implementing but also determining how to measure this new role. The purpose of this paper is to develop one measure of librarian engagement with the campus community. Design/methodology/approach – The author developed a “campus relationship matrix” that articulates dozens of products that could potentially be the result of liaison work, such as co-authoring a grant proposal, developing a class, co-presenting a workshop on article impact metrics, etc. These relationship products were generated by examining the own work and by scanning liaison responsibility statements from other institutions. These products fall into three relationship status levels: emergent, generative, and productive. Each subject librarian was asked to rate his and her relationship with each department he or she serves. Additionally, in order to achieve consistency across the organization in understanding of three relationship levels, the author engaged in an exercise to calibrate the categorization of these work products. During this exercise and through the discussions, greater nuances were revealed about what the author is hoping to achieve with the strategic goal. A review and summary of the ratings is presented. Findings – Baseline counts of relationship types were completed. The author is working to establish goals for next year’s comparisons. In actuality, the specific goals matters much less than the conversations surrounding these results about what work the author should be doing and why and how is valued. Originality/value – This study presents a tool useful for the exploration and measure of librarian relationships with campus.

Using a Data Management Plan Review Service as a Training Ground for Librarians

INTRODUCTION Research Data Management (RDM) offers opportunities and challenges at the interface of library support and researcher needs. Libraries are in a position of balancing the capacity to provide support at the point of need while also implementing training for subject liaison librarians grounded in the practical issues and realities facing researchers and their institutions. DESCRIPTION OF PROGRAM/SERVICE The North Carolina State University (NCSU) Libraries has deployed a Data Management Plan (DMP) Review service managed by a committee of librarians with diverse experience in data management and domain expertise. By rotating librarians through membership on the committee and by inviting subject liaisons librarians to participate in the DMP Review process, our training ground model aims to develop needed competencies and support researchers through relevant services and partnerships. AUDIT OF PROGRAM/SERVICE This article presents an audit of the DMP Review service as a training ground to develop and enhance competencies as identified by the Joint Task Force on Librarians’ Competencies in Support of E-Research and Scholarly Communication. NEXT STEPS AND CONCLUSIONS The DMP Review service creates opportunities for librarians to learn valuable skills while simultaneously providing a time-sensitive service to researchers. The process of auditing competencies developed by participating in the DMP Review service highlights gaps needed to more fully support RDM and reinforces the capacity of the DMP Review service as a training ground to sustain and iterate learning opportunities for librarians engaged in research support and partnerships.

An investigation into the use of LibGuides for electronic resources troubleshooting in academic libraries

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to seek to ascertain how many electronic resource troubleshooting LibGuides are in use and what level of support they tend to provide. LibGuides have become quite popular in academic libraries as a tool for subject and college liaison librarians to deliver library-mediated content to colleges and individual classes. Another promising area for their use is to provide electronic resource troubleshooting support to students and faculty, as well as to other library staff. Design/methodology/approach – A sample of electronic resource troubleshooting LibGuides was obtained through a Google advanced search augmented by additional searches in the limited LibGuides community search utility. These LibGuides were selected according to a standard definition of troubleshooting and were analyzed for content on 36 support variables. Findings – A relatively small number of LibGuides were located, and a thorough treatment of electronic resource access issues was present in only a limited number of the LibGuides found. Research limitations/implications – While some LibGuides may have gone undiscovered owing to an incomplete search strategy for discovery, subsequent efforts to find overlooked pages were mostly fruitless. The relatively small number of electronic resource troubleshooting LibGuides discovered coupled with their simplicity may indicate that the use of LibGuides platform in this capacity has not gained traction. Originality/value – While there have been many case studies discussing the use of LibGuides as a subject and course guide platform, relatively few have explored the use of LibGuides outside of their traditional subject-focused implementation, and none have looked at LibGuides as a potential platform to aid in electronic resource access troubleshooting.

Collaboration and tension between institutions and units providing data management support

EDITOR'S SUMMARYA panel of speakers from three universities explored their challenges and progress in building programs to support research data management, whether within the library system or with research offices or computing groups. Since 2012 Oregon State University has partnered with its research office and graduate school, helping students prepare data for preservation and sharing and developing a graduate course for credit in research data management. Based on needs identified through an environmental scan, the University of Washington hired a data services coordinator to promote the services provided and to increase collaborations, visibility and support. Purdue University pairs data services specialists with subject liaison librarians to reach disciplinary faculty and researchers. The connections identify champions, lead to successful collaborations and, most importantly, provide the opportunity to show data services specialists as peers and collaborators. With basic services established, each institution looks forward to strengthening relationships and expanding services, skills and staffing.