Personal Librarians @ Atkins Library, UNC Charlotte

Keywords

Subject Librarians; Personal Librarians

Abstract

As a strategy for increasing student success, retention, and information literacy, UNC Charlotte's Atkins Library unveiled a brand new "Personal Librarian" initiative to new and returning students and faculty during the Fall 2010 "Week of Welcome." Each visitor who entered the library was given the business card of his assigned liaison librarian and was encouraged to contact her for personal library assistance. The library's twelve subject liaison librarians sent out electronic postcards to all students and faculty members in their assigned academic disciplines, inviting them to take advantage of one-on-one research consultations, library instruction sessions, classroom visits, and new course proposal collection evaluations. During the first weeks of the Fall Semester, Liaison Librarians fanned out across campus to visit their assigned academic departments, attend academic departmental meetings, and welcome new instructors with library departmental newsletters, information packets and 'welcome gifts. Liaison Librarians also participated in student "Week of Welcome" (WOW) library activities. At various times during the semester (especially at mid-term and the weeks leading up to Final Exams) Liaison Librarians sent out emails to individual students in their assigned subject areas to offer assistance with research assignments and library resources. Each Liaison Librarian now has her photo displayed on her Faculty Web page as well as on all of her LibGuides and Research Guides. The new Atkins Library Home page now prominently features a "Contact Us" section with a drop down menu introducing each Liaison Librarian. Also, both the Atkins Library and UNCC home pages have public relations photo loops that feature photos and information about the Atkins liaison program and individual liaison librarians. Critical questions to be raised in the presentation: (1)What strategies are most successful in encouraging students and faculty to contact their assigned liaison librarians for library assistance? (2)Does a student's academic success and information literacy increase by working with a "personal librarian"? Liaison Librarians Barbara Tierney (Sciences), Donna Gunter (English Language Studies) and Stephanie Otis (First-Year Writing; Levine Scholars; Honors College) will give first-person accounts of their experiences as "Personal Librarians."

Date Created

June 2011

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