Collins Unbound

24 Hrs. The Liaison Edition
Every hour counts when you’re a liaison librarian. Now you can witness a liaison’s life at work for a day.

8 a.m.-9 a.m. You can hear a pin drop in the library as liaison librarians enter their office doors.  It’s quiet… for now! They check Outlook for messages, meetings, and tasks for the day. One liaison heads to an Academic Integrity committee meeting in the McCormick room.

9 a.m.-10 a.m. The Learning Commons coordinator sent out libref emails to the appropriate liaisons, Ask a Librarian 24/7 has been checked, and liaisons are answering questions from all disciplines. A liaison librarian meets with a faculty member about learning objectives for an upcoming class.

10 a.m.-11 a.m. A humanities liaison teaches an English class. Another librarian goes on call. Until she gets a drop in question, she browses an approval plan for psychology and notes new books to add to the collection. Two liaisons meet to plan student training for a mystery shopper experience.

11 a.m.-12 p.m.  A liaison reviews a spreadsheet to weed the video collection, noting areas that need new purchases. She discards some videos on using superseded computer programs. Another liaison receives a call from a faculty member who is looking for a film about the civil rights movement.

12 p.m.-1 p.m. Lunch time… at least for some liaisons! A Science liaison goes mobile to Harned hall for an hour of visiting reference. The liaison on call receives a drop in visit from a student working on a music paper about Vivaldi’s critical reception.

1 p.m.-2 p.m. For liaisons who didn’t get a chance to go to lunch, they grab a quick bite while checking their email.  A librarian has an appointment with a business student, to assist in detailed research on the production cycle of tennis rackets.

2 p.m.-3 p.m. Librarian meetings! This week, librarians focus on information literacy and pedagogy, discussing an article on new approaches.

3 p.m.-4 p.m. A liaison librarian received a faculty request for an art book. After checking the price and curriculum relevance, the order is sent in. She then finishes a course guide for a class assignment on the art of Mexico and Mesoamerica. As she works on the guide, a faculty member calls and asks how to download images from ArtStor to a PowerPoint presentation.

4 p.m.-5 p.m. A liaison gets an email from a student doing research on the Decline of French cuisine and Obesity. Another email comes in requesting help on “the forbidden forest” in fairy tales and children’s literature. She forwards that one to the humanities liaison. The phone rings! A desperate student asks where to start his legal research on kosher slaughterhouses and the Humane Methods of Slaughter Act. Another liaison attends a meeting of the Race and Pedagogy Partners Forum. Busy day!

5 p.m.-6 p.m. The liaison “late shift” begins. Questions never sleep! Other liaisons tie up loose ends and plan for the next day.

6 p.m.-7 p.m. The evening liaison librarian finishes up her last question:  How to analyze prices for (sushi) fish, including yellowfin tuna, bigeye tuna, bluefin tuna, and atlantic swordfish, including data from the Tsukiji fish market in Tokyo. She ensures the student is satisfied with the answer. Time to close up office, and she’s got the taste for sushi. She posts the reference sign directing students to email, Ask a Librarian 24/7, and more options for research help until tomorrow morning.

7 p.m.-8 a.m. Now that liaisons are home, 35 libref emails pour in with requests for more research help on topics including Male nurses and the glass escalator in female-dominated occupations, philosophy of comic books, to even tongue piercing in African Society. A student uses the Ask a Librarian 24/7 service.  How do they cite a government document using MLA format? They get suggestions that let them get started via IM, and the message is recorded for a Puget Sound librarian to follow up with. By 8 a.m., students must be sleeping in late. Because you can hear a pin drop in the library as liaisons arrive.