The September 2018 issue of College & Research Library News features an article by Rita Vine on “Realigning Liaison with University Priorities: Observations from ARL Liaison Institutes 2015–18.” Vine, head of faculty and student engagement at the University of Toronto Libraries, has served as visiting program officer for the Association of Research Libraries (ARL) Reimagining the Library Liaison initiative 2017–2018.
In the article, Vine describes the top 10 lessons learned about liaison attitudes, values, fears, and desires from listening to hundreds of participants in eight ARL Liaison Institutes held over the past four years. Vine also presents three recommendations for research libraries to consider in supporting their employees as they explore new modes of engagement with library stakeholders and transition from asking, “What’s in it for the library?” to asking “What’s in it for the university?”
About the Association of Research Libraries
The Association of Research Libraries (ARL) is a nonprofit organization of 125 research libraries in Canada and the US whose mission is to advance research, learning, and scholarly communication. The Association fosters the open exchange of ideas and expertise, promotes equity and diversity, and pursues advocacy and public policy efforts that reflect the values of the library, scholarly, and higher education communities. ARL forges partnerships and catalyzes the collective efforts of research libraries to enable knowledge creation and to achieve enduring and barrier-free access to information. ARL is on the web at ARL.org.
