Subject Librarians: time for a fresh look? University of Hertfordshire, 20th July 2015

1. I’ve looked at life from both sides now: fostering good
academic & library partnerships
Virginia Power,
Graduate Tutor/Researcher
University of the West of England
University of Hertfordshire
Monday 20th
July 2015

2. But now old friends are acting strange
They shake their heads, they say I've
changed
Well something's lost, but something's
gained
In living every day
I've looked at life from both sides now
From win and lose and still somehow
It's life's illusions I recall
I really don't know life at all
Joni Mitchell
http://www.brocku.ca/brock-news/?p=17529

4. Glynn, T. and Wu,
G. (2003)

5. Phelps, S. and Campbell,
2011
We want the teaching faculty (and by this I mean anyone from
the rank of associate professor on up) to see us as their equals,
as comrades-in-arms in the daily battle to produce good
scholarship, excellent graduates, and better the general welfare
of our shared institution and Knowledge in general. We want a
standing invitation to the faculty club. We don’t want to be seen
as the help. [Comrades-in-Arms: The Professor and the Librarian
by Rochelle Mazar]

6. Perceptions of academics
Cited in Jenkins, P. (2005)

8. Understanding the academic….
• Intelligent!
• Articulate – in pen and voice
• Contemplative and intellectually curious
• Open-minded and tolerant
• Masters in their own field
• Self-motivated
• Need and desire little direct supervision
• Stubbornly independent
Levine, 1978

9. Stubbornly independent
• Solitary researchers
• Absolute subject
authority
• Create own syllabi
• Choose their own
textbooks
• Personal spin

10. However….
• Preparation
• Content creation
• Reading
• Research
• Tutoring
• Staff Development
• Exams
• Marking
• Conferences
• Meetings
• Accountability

11. Teaching staff want you to:
• Understand Higher Education
• Understand the subject areas
• Be full partners – be proactive & visible!
• Be technologically savvy – step by step
• Provide help in accessing databases, etc.

13. What do librarians want
from teaching staff?

14. What makes it work?
Montiel-Overall, P. (2008)

15. Achieving that common purpose
• Meet your teaching staff
• Build relationships
• Communicate professionally
• Position the Library
• Know your stuff!
• Tailor to specific interests
• Collaborate with teaching staff

17. Meeting
• Orientate new staff asap
• Host a ‘published this year’ event
• Attend in-house events they might attend
• Attend their induction not just the library
• Have coffee conversations

18. Build Relationships
• Cultivate & nurture the ‘low hanging fruit’
• Create displays around subject areas
• Announce new resources regularly
• Get on their mailing list
• Visit them!

19. Communicate professionally
• Create specific Faculty Guides
• Create specific Faculty Newsletters
• Publicise a clear Library offer
• Write a welcome letter to new teachers
• Prepare a report on specific expenditure

20. Position the Library
• Know the hot topics
• Apply for grants and awards
• Get on relevant committees
• Have a regular meeting ‘spotlight’
• Participate in learning technology
meetings

21. Knowing your Stuff
• Join professional (subject) organisations
• Ask to observe class sessions
• Join subject mailing list
• Introduce new technology/databases
• Get involved in teacher training

22. Tailor to Faculty Interests
• Create web guides to research tools
• Create a Library advisory board in Depts.
• Develop embedded research components
• Catalogue office collections
• Find out what’s on the horizon

23. Collaborating with Faculty
• Co-author an article
• Create a class assignment together
• Co-design a course specific resource
• Create an annual award for Faculty
• Collaborate on a grant

24. Sources
• Creaser, C. and Spezi, V. (2012) Working together: evolving value for academic libraries
https://libraryvalue.wordpress.com/
• Glynn, T. and Wu, C. (2003) "New roles and opportunities for academic library liaisons: a
survey and recommendations", Reference Services Review, 31 Iss: 2, pp.122 - 128
• Holtz, T. (2002) 100 Ways to Reach your Faculty
http://www.ala.org/advocacy/sites/ala.org.advocacy/files/content/advleg/publicawareness/
campaign@yourlibrary/prtools/academicresearch/reach_faculty.pdf
• Jenkins, P. (2005) Faculty-Librarian relationships. Chandos
• Montiel-Overall, P. (2008) “Teacher & Librarian co-operation: a qualitative study”, Library
& Information Science Review, 30 pp145-155
• Yousef, A. (2010) Faculty Attitudes Toward Collaboration with Librarians
http://www.webpages.uidaho.edu/~mbolin/yousef.htm
• All images courtesy of Creative Commons Search and attributed in Notes fields

26. Virginia Power
Graduate Tutor/PhD Student
UWE
Virginia.Power@uwe.ac.uk