Assessing Liaison Librarians: Documenting Impact for Positive Change

Following in the footsteps of Joseph Matthew's Library Assessment in Higher Education, which focuses on the broader aspects of assessment in academic libraries, Mack (associate dean for collection strategies and svcs., Univ. of Maryland Libs.) and colleague White (associate dean for public services) narrow their work to the ever-changing area of liaison librarianship. The profession gives many names to this all important role which can take on different forms depending on the institution. However they all carry five of the same responsibilities: research services, scholarly communication, collection development (in a less traditional sense), teaching and learning, and outreach and engagement. Editors Mack and White provide logical models, evaluation and data-gathering plans, and rubrics for professional development in each of these areas. They pay particular attention to the liaison role in the university setting, laying out examples for proving impact on existing initiatives. They provide a new definition for what it means to be a liaison librarian and stress the importance of embracing these new roles and responsibilities, including professional development.