Meet Your Liaison Librarian

This article was featured in Library Notes, #43 (Winter 2007).  

As part of the Galter Health Sciences Library’s ongoing efforts to meet the information needs of our users, the library recently unveiled its new liaison program. The program creates ongoing partnerships between the library and its constituents by pairing librarians with departments, centers, institutes, and programs at the Feinberg School of Medicine (FSM). This endeavor will enhance communication, collaboration, and the effectiveness of the library in supporting the education, clinical, and research needs of the FSM community. While the library has spent years forging relationships with individuals and departments at FSM, the liaison program serves to formalize these connections and provides a model for establishing further partnerships and collaboration.

Stephanie Kerns Head, Education and Outreach/Curriculum Librarian	Mark Berendsen Education Librarian	Jim Brucker Instructional Design Librarian	Linda O'Dwyer Education Librarian	Pamela Shaw Biosciences Librarian

So what can the liaison program do for you? Each department, center, and program at FSM has a designated liaison librarian. To find out who your liaison librarian is, see the Liaison Program page. Liaison librarians will:

• Actively foster communication with the assigned department or center
• Provide education services to inform and teach users in the departments how to use the library’s resources and find information
• Market library services and resources to the departments and centers
• Inform library users how to access library resources and services
• Be a contact for collection development and requests for resources or services
• Participate in professional development activities to enhance skills and knowledge to support assigned departments

Your liaison librarian can attend departmental meetings to demonstrate new resources; teach users about MEDLINE, EBM resources, biostatistics tools, or EndNote; assist with literature searching and systematic review creation; create handouts and guides on subject-specific resources; and anything else you can think of! A full listing of potential opportunities for collaboration and education are available on the Liaison Program Description page.

Liaison librarians are in the process of contacting their assigned departments, programs, and centers to ascertain how they can best meet your information needs. But why wait? Contact your liaison librarian today and let the learning begin!

Written by: Linda O'Dwyer, MSLIS, Education Librarian 

This article was featured in Library Notes, #43 (Winter 2007).