Rethinking Liaison Programs for the Humanities

For generations, most research libraries have had employees with deep subject expertise. Once known as bibliographers, these scholars and librarians originally focused their efforts on selection for collection building. Today, there is real anxiety about the role of subject expertise and academic liaisons in research libraries. For example: Is a disciplinary structure the best way to organize library liaison programs? My colleague Danielle Cooper and I argue that evidence about scholars’ practices and needs should be a key input into reorganizing library subject expertise.