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Evolving the Liaison Program Shared methods for success Tracy Gabridge MIT Libraries Associate Director, Research and Instructional Services tag@mit.edu

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SBU Goals 1.Stony Brook University will implement innovative strategies to enhance undergraduate and graduate education to develop world-renowned academic programs that foster student productivity and success. 2.We will renew our commitment to excellence in research and scholarship throughout the academic enterprise and find new and innovative ways to support and reward faculty and students for research and creative activity. 3.We will increase access to Stony Brook University, including the number of undergraduate and graduate students from underrepresented minority groups, while enhancing student quality and implementing strategies to improve retention and graduation rates. 4.Stony Brook University will have a global impact through focused and well-resourced engagements with select international partners in critical areas of education and research, and by increasing the number of students who engage in international programs. 5.Build and maintain a state-of-the-art energy-efficient campus with outstanding facilities, student support services, an IT infrastructure and an advancement effort that meets the programmatic, physical, aesthetic and cultural needs of our students, faculty and staff. 6.Make Stony Brook University the regions undisputed leader in improving economic growth, health and quality of life as it becomes one of the top 20 public research universities in North America.

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Guiding Principles Promote Academic Engagement We are committed to participating in the entire life cycle of the research, teaching, and learning process that emphasize critical thinking and innovative forms of expression. We identify priorities that guide strategic efforts to foster academic collaborations and cultivate enduring partnerships to enable student, faculty, and research success. Build, Preserve, and Provide Access to Rich and Diverse Collections We equip students, faculty and researchers with the means to reach their fullest potential by ensuring an equitable and balanced collection development profile that (a) reflects and anticipates the University's teaching, research and clinical requirements; (b) deploys seamless and flexible technology in discovery of relevant information in all formats; and (c) implements sustainable policies and procedures to ensure the availability and integrity of information resources now and into the future. Develop Responsive Library Spaces for Diverse User Communities We design library space to increase productivity and develop communities of learning. We benefit curricular and research initiatives with library facilities, technologies and services and we design flexible/multi-purpose spaces in a high technology environment Foster an Innovative Culture of Learning and Assessment We encourage and enable all staff to contribute to the development of the library as a learning organization that acquires knowledge and responds appropriately to a rapidly changing environment. Learning organizations (a) create a culture that encourages and supports continuous employee learning, critical thinking, assessment, and risk taking and innovation of new ideas, (b) allow experimentation, and value employee contributions, (c) learn from experience and experiment, and (d) disseminate the new knowledge throughout the organization for incorporation into day-to-day workflows.

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How do we, the Stony Brook University Libraries, position ourselves to deliver the expertise, services, and resources that will be differentiators in SBUs academic work and success? How do we shift the focus away from the work of librarians to that of scholars and to develop engagement strategies based on the needs and success indicators of our academic departments https://www.flickr.com/photos/colinkinner/2200500024

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A case study in two parts 2. Supporting each other on the journey 1. Developing a focus on users University and Library strategic changes

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Part 1 1. Developing a focus on users

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Photo diary study - 2006

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Who did it? And how? About a dozen librarians involved in design and interviews Study design came from here:

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What we learned

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Raise awareness Reduce barriers to services Focus on customer service Close the skills gaps for undergraduates Assist with personal information management

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What came next? Usability tests, e.g. OPAC Standards collections survey and interview NIH publishing study Space utilization studies Digital scholarship study Bioinformatics program assessment Triennial survey

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Services built after focusing on needs Personal Content Management services Research Data Management services Copyright, scholarly publishing services Renovation planning Additional group study spaces Service improvements (loan times, delivery options, etc.)

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ProfDEHProfDEH pixabay.com Commute by bicycle = benefit multiplier by 4

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User studies = benefit multiplier x 5! Your focus is automatically outside of the libraries You build relationships with the community You increase their awareness of services and expertise You learn about their needs so that you can tailor and/or evolve the services you provide The studies and results are research https://www.flickr.com/photos/salforduniversity/4011208734

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Activity interlude

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How do you currently learn about how research and learning is done in your assigned communities?

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In pairs or threes - What assumptions do you have about how your communities create and manage their information? Or: what would you like to know about the research of your community? Examples: I believe that of all my faculty who receive funding from the NIH know how to achieve compliance and are compliant on all of their grants meeting the open access requirements. My students learn best about credible information sources when I teach them directly in the classroom. Ive always wanted to know if the undergraduates in my community know how to find and use primary sources in their studies.

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How can you challenge your assumptions about your communities? Generate possible user study experiments Examples: Get a list of faculty and NIH grants from the office that supports sponsored programs, interview faculty and their supporting staff about how they apply for funding and how they manage the requirements of the funders. Query the NIH database about their past grants and see if the requirements have been met.

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Report out one potential study per group https://www.flickr.com/photos/umich-msis/6172745365/

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Part 2 2. Supporting each other on the journey

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The old way at the MIT Libraries Engineering and Science Libraries Rotch LibraryDewey LibraryHumanities and Music Libraries

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http://www.flickr.com/photos/wildphotons/

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http://www.flickr.com/photos/thefangmonster/352439602/#/

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Developing a networked approach Find commonalities across all disciplines Identify universal services and approaches Make those things easy so that liaisons can concentrate on the special

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Universal supports, 1 st year Characteristics of a successful liaison program New faculty toolkit Selector toolkit Regular meetings for all liaisons Common departmental goals, customized for each liaison

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More universal supports Sample instructional materials, e.g. drop in slides and scripts for teaching about GIS 101 topics, Mendeley, open access Easy links to see what your community is asking via email and chat Open access paper recruitment toolkit Lists of activities that fellow liaisons have done with their communities Materials used in marketing Checklists for database sponsors Distributed blog story writers, with template emails to send to communities pointing to the story. Reducing time on service desks, streamlined processes for central collections purchases, investing in self-help documentation, knowledge bases, template emails

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Examples of engagement Co-authoring books Providing competitive intelligence for a research program Teaching TAs to evaluate student assignments for information skills Bringing together documentary filmmakers across the university to collaborate Sitting in on journal discussion groups with a goal of creating a new class Helping a faculty member conceive of how to structure a database to hold the data for their project

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More Working with lab administrators to demonstrate the value of co-locating researchers in a single building through publishing patterns Doing original research and writing with faculty in areas of overlapping interest Finding sources of large data sets to be repurposed in research Doing a technical analysis of RSS feeds to enable faculty to manipulate incoming publishing data for their research Working with faculty to create meaningful conference programs, identifying speakers of relevance, etc.

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New faculty contact practices 100% of new faculty contacted 67% result in a face-to-face meeting 61% of new faculty have contacted their liaison librarian in their first year. 92% of new faculty are aware of their liaison librarian, compared to 72% of faculty overall.

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How do CoPs spend their time?

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Liaison quote The department meetings have been a valuable space for sharing information within the department and across the organization. It provides the broad perspective that a liaison needs to represent the libraries to the DLCs. The Community of Practice structure works well for more detailed discussions about collections and outreach. The structured approaches to approaching new faculty, Open Access paper recruitment and other efforts supports outreach.

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Activity interlude - 2 Creating a new faculty toolkit at SBU https://www.flickr.com/photos/sbconnect/8720270495/in/album- 72157633450419442/

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What kinds of things would you want to accomplish by contacting new faculty?

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What activities would help you accomplish those goals?

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How could you take it up a notch what could you do that would make your contact with new faculty truly outstanding or special? E.g. What could increase the rate at which faculty would want to have a face-to-face meeting with you?

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What of these things could be systematized so that the concepts could be reused?

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Youve gotten a great start!

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How do we, the Stony Brook University Libraries, position ourselves to deliver the expertise, services, and resources that will be differentiators in SBUs academic work and success? How do we shift the focus away from the work of librarians to that of scholars and to develop engagement strategies based on the needs and success indicators of our academic departments https://www.flickr.com/photos/colinkinner/2200500024

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Thank you! https://www.flickr.com/photos/benmarvin/3552123084

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MITs new faculty toolkit List of new faculty provided each summer Minimum expectations set (all new faculty contacted, aim for a face-to-face meeting (try more than once), learn about them) Email samples for initiating the contact Things to do to learn more about the faculty member Look at CV, check for news articles, find grants, learn about their library from their previous university, dissertation title, etc. Questions for discussion during the meeting including brief elevator pitches (e.g. responses for I never go to the library anymore, open access, data management, etc.) Information to take with you Data gathered afterwards Contacted? Face-to-face? Any unmet needs identified?

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About MIT The community 11K students, 60% graduate, 40% undergraduate 1K faculty 9K staff/researchers ~70% of students in science and engineering (problem-set focus) Highly decentralized departments Strong, common value system Libraries: ~170 Staff ~14 FTE liaison librarians about 27 people with liaison roles. Librarians are not on a tenure track ~$24M budget