Full Speed Ahead: From Basic Subject Librarian Model to Engaged Librarian Model at University of Central Florida Libraries by Barbara Tierney (Head, Research & Information Services Dept., University of Central Florida Libraries) <Barbara.Tierney@ucf.edu>
Building a Basic Subject Librarian Service Model in 2013 In 2013, the UCF Libraries Research and Information Services Department (RIS) initiated a basic Subject Librarian service model which ensured that every student and faculty member had a one-stop librarian to support all library-related facets of their teaching, learning, and research activities. At that time, each of ten generalist RIS Reference Librarians was assigned particular academic departments based on his/her subject expertise, credentials, and experience and was asked to take over the outreach, instruction, research consultations, and collection development for the assigned areas. To allow the newly minted Subject Librarians the time necessary for their new subject-specific duties, the Head of RIS reduced their assignments at the Research Desk and at “Ask A Librarian” virtual reference from ten hours to four hours per week and hired highly qualified part-time librarians to assist with desk and virtual reference responsibilities. In order to make informed staffing decisions, the Head of RIS utilized LibInsight software to analyze Research Desk and virtual reference statistics and created a compelling, evidence-based justification for requesting funding from Library Administration to cover the cost of hiring and training part-time librarians.
Subject Librarian Training To ensure that the new Subject Librarians had the necessary skills to begin their duties, special training was provided for them. An all-day spring 2013 RIS Retreat provided basics on how to tackle curriculum mapping and curriculum-integrated instruction, profile academic programs and faculty, and plan outreach strategies. A summer 2013 series of ACRL Scholarly Communication Roadshow workshops was provided, and UCF Libraries’ Office of Scholarly Communication and Collection Development Departments partnered with the RIS Dept. to provide series of training sessions for Subject Librarians on topics such as open access, copyright, and collection development activities.
Subject Librarian Evaluation At UCF Libraries, each Subject Librarian meets regularly with the Head of RIS to create or update his/her AAPD (annual assignment/position description) and goals, with definite assignment percentages provided for outreach, engagement, instruction, collection development, scholarship and service. The AAPD also serves as the template for a written monthly activity report and an annual self-evaluation that each Subject Librarian shares with the Head of RIS and Library Administration.
Evolution from a Beginning, Basic Subject Librarian Service Model to an Engaged Librarian Model In 2016, inspired by the document “A Framework for the Engaged Librarian” highlighted in the Nov. 2015 ARL SPEC Kit 349 https://publications.arl.org/Evolution-Library-Liai 20 Against the Grain / September 2020
sons-SPEC-Kit-349/153 UCF Libraries began its evolution from a beginning, basic Subject Librarian service model to a fledgling Engaged Librarian model that sought a higher level of sustained, high-quality interactions with academic programs, departments, faculty, and students. Engaged Librarian goals included developing strong partnerships with academic faculty in order to enhance collection building, teaching and learning, research, grant proposals, the development of research assignments for students, and interdisciplinary projects.
Examples of UCF Subject Librarian Activities: Beginning/Basic and Engaged Outreach — Beginning/Basic In 2013, the UCF Subject Librarian service model began by emphasizing the importance of outreach and encouraged Subject Librarians to become more visible and mobile and to proactively interact with their assigned academic programs, faculty, and students. Subject Librarians were asked to work closely with their undergraduate and graduate program coordinators, department chairs, and library representatives; participate in college and department meetings; proactively seek information and news about their assigned subject areas; and inform their constituencies about library resources, services, and research opportunities. Outreach — Engaged In 2020, UCF Subject Librarians are attending discipline-specific professional association conferences such as SPIE Photonics West, the American Physical Society Conference, the Adult Higher Education Alliance Conference, and HASTAC (the Humanities, Arts, Science, and Technology Alliance and Collaboratory) and partnering with their assigned faculty and students by making joint-presentations at these events. Research Support — Beginning/Basic In 2013, the new Subject Librarians began promoting one-onone research consultations to students and faculty and designed an online consultation request form mounted on the library website. Subject Librarians also created online research guides (both general and course-specific) and a basic library research skills webcourse and library toolkit were created and embedded in UCF’s Canvas courseware. Research Support — Engaged In 2020, Subject Librarians are: • creating and embedding their general or course-specific research guides into UCF’s Canvas courseware system through the IMS Global LTI “Learning Tools Interoperability” system; • scheduling research consultation appointments using Springshare’s “LibCal” tool which makes librarian schedules available online to clients; continued on page 21
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