What Are Subject Liaisons When “Collections” and “Subjects” Don’t Matter?

In this interactive lively lunch discussion, participants explored issues around how the traditional subject liaison role is evolving. Users increasingly require functional information support (e.g., for geographic information system (GIS) or data mining) rather than simply domain-specific. At the same time, reports from the Association of Research Libraries (ARL) Pilot Library Liaison Institute and others have noted self-conscious trends toward developing liaison roles that engage and support the full research life cycle, as opposed to traditional service models focused on building and promoting library collections as more or less fixed products. Hosts Darby Orcutt, Mira Waller, and Scott Warren outlined some the major theme surrounding the future of these new roles and with participants explored questions that include: What does it mean to be a collections librarian in this new world? What new skills do we need to develop? What old skills should we not lose? How do we adapt both our institutions and our individual staff without sacrificing our (or their) very identities