[724] in Public-Access_Computer_Systems_Forum
Summary for electronic liaison
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Pat Ensor)
Mon Jul 13 09:38:09 1992
Date: Mon, 13 Jul 1992 08:33:28 CDT
Reply-To: Public-Access Computer Systems Forum <PACS-L%UHUPVM1.BITNET@ricevm1.rice.edu>
From: "Pat Ensor" <LIBPLE%INDST.BITNET@ricevm1.rice.edu>
To: Multiple recipients of list PACS-L <PACS-L%UHUPVM1.BITNET@ricevm1.rice.edu>
----------------------------Original message----------------------------
CROSS-POSTED to LIBREF-L, PACS-L, and BI-L.
Following are excerpts from replies I received to an inquiry I
made a few weeks ago, about electronic information services
liaison and consulting on campus.
_______________________________________________________________
"I fulfill that role now here. However, I work very closely with
Information Technology Services (Computing & Comms) because we
share the same view of (1) creating more awareness of what is out
there for faculty and (2) the enormous complexity of wading
through the plethora of resources.
I have found the most challenging part to be that of motivating other
librarians, i.e. subject specialists, to do the same. Hence the team
effort by ITS staff and me to seek solutions to creating better interfaces
to networked resources (esp. Internet ones). Right now we are sounding out
several members from each faculty here to act as guinea pigs in assessing
some of the Internet resources which we feel most appropriate to them, i.e.
evaluate user friendliness, relevance, etc. So rather than strictly
"lecture" academics, we try to involve them in the process. Good
fun!"
_______________________________________________________________
"My job is somewhat related to what you describe as your new
post. I'm "Campus Services Librarian," a post created about 10
months ago. My assignment is to find and exploit ways to help
all segments of the campus community make the best possible use
of the library. In the process of pursuing this goal, a major
emphasis on the electronic consulting you describe has
developed--interestingly, especially in the realm of Internet-
accessible discussion groups.
The rest of my job, as it has developed, includes making class-
room presentations as requested by faculty members (as opposed to
in-the-library B.I. functions fulfilled by the Reference staff),
making presentations to departmental faculty when requested
(faculty meetings), shepherding the library liaison system (which
I also recently redesigned) for library contacts with departments
and colleges, and putting out a small bi-weekly library "newslet-
ter" for the campus. Those are the "big chunks," but there are
lots of "little bits" that quickly consume my time--making hand-
outs, notifying departments of new Bitnet lists,
etc.
As for how it's gone this year: the creation of this new post was
something of a problem at first. It threatened the hell out of
the Reference staff, but was deliberately created to *supplement*
their activities and work outside their bureaucracy. I feel this
outsider (consultant-type) status has been key. It has taken
time to build up a campus awareness of my existence. This has
been accomplished primarily through personal contact with folks I
know, telling them "I'm here to help." Visibility was also
increased by my personal project of monitoring the New Groups
list on Bitnet and sending out announcements of appropriate new
lists to department heads, deans, etc., on a regular basis.
Gradually, a "clientele" has developed; and gradually the Refer-
ence staff has figured out I'm NOT doing anything they're already
covering.
_______________________________________________________________
"We've just finished interviewing and hope to fill a position
very similar to the one you currently occupy. I was interested
to see that you have been charged with the task of outreach to
the ISU community. It is our hope that each of our librarians
will take that responsibility as a natural part of their liaison
duties (each librarian has 1-3 academic departments to which
they are assigned responsibility for collection development,
library instruction, research/SDI with faculty, etc.) To this we
hope to add responsibility for alerting and training faculty and
students in the use of internet, cd-rom indices, etc. The
Coordinator of electronic reference sources will, in addition to
being a reference librarian, will have overall responsibility for
recommending equipment for the CD-ROM LAN (to be chosen this
year), keeping up to date with software releases, being *first
among equals* on the NET, etc. S/he will also be responsible for
keeping the rest of us up to date on developments which will
enable us to be better liaisons with our departments. As a part
of this, s/he will teach us to use the technology as
appropriate."
________________________________________________________________
"I'm very interested in the issues you've raised in thinking
about your new responsibilities. So often these types of out-
reach programs are simply added to existing positions with no
allocation of additional time. I've been becoming more active in
teaching and meeting one on one with faculty, staff and students
outside the library building and have found these efforts to be
extremely productive. I teach classes each quarter through our
Computer Center in their labs, conduct large in class presenta-
tions for undergraduate courses in Sociology, Psychology and
(yes) Computer Engineering. I've also taught smaller sessions in
the dorms using our laptop and a phone line. UCSC is also provid-
ing increasing access to local, systemwide, national, and inter-
national databases and it becomes ever more interesting to cover
even just the basics in a one to two hour class."
________________________________________________________________
And, an extremely informative final answer -- I wish he _would_
write a book...
"I could almost write a book to answer you. I was the Computer
Services Librarian at the Physical Sciences & Engineering
Library at McGill between 1988 and 1991 - a job that had just
been created by a new Head. In addition to doing online
searches for people, I was supposed to promote online services
and soon buy and install CD stations, write a user's manual,
train staff and students. One of the things I did to promote
our services was indeed to go and talk to people. Your
administration has it right, and I cannot stress too highly the
importance of direct face-to-face communication with your
users, especially faculty.
In any organization, it is said, one third of the people are on
your side, one third is against you, and one third is
undecided. Your job is to keep your one third happy and woo the
rest to join you. The first thing I did was to get appointments
with the chairmen of the various science and engineering
departments (12 in our case) and tell them about our new
services and ask if I could have 10 minutes to address the
faculty at the next departmental meeting. Make sure you get
your appointments through their administrative secretaries;
they know everything, they are more important than the
chairperson, and you'll need them in the future. Most chairmen
agreed. At the meeting I gave faculty a 5 min. (literally, 300
seconds - no more) talk about what we are doing, our service
philosophy and that I will be calling them soon and getting
appointments with them individually. A few questions took
another few minutes and I was outta there in 10 minutes. This
way, you avoid completely cold calls, you don't catch people by
surprise and you're able to project a more professional image.
I gave people no library jargon, no heroics. I tried to
basically impress on them that I was there to join their team
as support staff and that now (if never before) they had a
direct contact person in the library ready to help them.
Once I got individual appointments, I asked faculty members
about their work, their research, courses they taught, graduate
students, types of graduate work they do, about their
satisfaction with the library in general and how they expected
electronic tools to support their work. I gave them an
explanation about the types of databases available to us, the
variety of information available and how we can instantly
obtain THAT reference for them and what we were hoping to
accomplish in the near future.
Almost all faculty want access from their offices and labs.
They don't want to be bothered with coming to the library, and
I don't blame them. They have too much to do. One other thing I
did was to ask the library rep of each faculty whether they
would be interested in a demonstration of our products at one
of the regular departmental seminars. Most agreed. There were
some technical difficulties. Imagine trying to make your CD
station mobile, finding a book truck large and reliable enough
to cart all your equipment across buildings and floors! Often
there were more graduate students in the audience than faculty
members, but then, it is them who use these things more often.
What sounds so simple from these few lines did not necessarily
work out smoothly. There were some difficult moments,
disappointments and run-ins with cocky or hostile faculty. In
some cases they were right to criticize us and I told them so.
In some other cases I stood my ground and gave back as much as
I took. I think one of the most important things is to look
professional and behave professionally, not to be too shy and
DEFINITELY not let them treat you as a secretary. Even the
computer science people who design and make the machinery we
use don't know much about information retrieval. Their
impressions definitely changed after one demo. Some faculty
will ask for things that you have never dreamt of. Tell them
so. If it is not possible, say honestly why. If it is a matter
of cost, give the dollar figures.
You will definitely get questions about money and cost. What I
did was to ask them to make a departmental donation ($1000
each) and in turn promised to give them free CD access forever.
That way, they don't pay personally and every departmental
chairperson has a few thousand dollars here and there in
discretionary money that they can put to a good cause. I was
able to collect enough that year to buy an extra CD station,
paper, ink cartridges and credibility to last us at least 4
years. (As far as I know, people are still not being charged to
use the CDs).
It's important to know your facts (computers, databases, but
also library policy) and to have the backing of your superiors.
Your activities will definitely get back to the ear of the
administration (they have friends among the faculty), and it is
important that they support you privately (never mind
publicly).
I hope you don't mind this lengthy description. We had no
policies, no written descriptions, no paper. They take too much
time and serve no one. If you want to get into library
consultation, and I suggest it is the BEST way to serve people,
you have to make the one-to-one contacts. Demonstrate that you
are there to support their work and help them any way you can -
not to promote the library; that comes on its own. Those who
like and trust you will be back and send their students to you.
Never mind about written announcements, memos and posting
signs. They are a waste of time and there are too many sings to
read everywhere anyway. The best is for people to get to know
you and to recognize your face. Every time some major product
is being marketed by the library get back to the departmental
meeting and make a short announcement. Of course, make sure
everything is working out technically, or you'll lose face.
One last detail. Don't expect to work 9-5 and get away with
that. If you want to do a good job, and your faculty
constituency includes more than a couple of hundred people, get
ready to put in 12 hour days. It's the only way to make it.
From past experience in two separate university libraries over
11 years I can tell you it is definitely worth the effort. It
is also a sure way to future promotion."
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Pat Ensor
Coordinator, Electronic Information Services
Editor, Information Standards Quarterly
Indiana State University Libraries
Terre Haute, IN 47809
Voice:(812)237-2580; FAX:237-2567
Bitnet:libple@indst
Internet:libple@indst.indstate.edu
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