ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries


5 3 2 /C&RL New s ■  M a y 2001

C o l l e g e  & R e s e a r c h  L i b r a r i e s ews N

Librarians who lunch

Liaisons with new faculty

by David Isaacson

I get paid for going o ut on dates w ith new  faculty. Nice w ork if you can get it, and I 
get it every fall sem ester in our liaison p ro ­
gram. The idea of soft-selling library services 
over a meal or a drink originated in 1993 
w ith Lance Query, th en  d ean  o f libraries and 
now  d ean  at Tulane University. “Lunch with 
a Librarian” has proved to b e well w orth the 
time and money.

It’s a sim ple idea: m ake the new  faculty 
m em ber feel special. The entertainm ent part 
of the library’s b udget can justify this as 
similar to sweet-talking a donor. What 
w e are selling is service and good will.
H ere’s how  the p ro ­
gram works: As soon 
as th e  lib r a r y  
k n o w s  th e  
nam es and d e ­
p a r t m e n t s  o f 
n ew  faculty at 
th e  b e g in n in g  
o f th e fall s e ­
m ester, library 
liaisons call o r e-mail them  individually with 
an invitation to the library for a “d ate” to have 
a personalized orientation to library resources, 
follow ed by a meal or at least a drink.

W e a lm o st never g e t sto o d  up
Nearly all new  faculty take us up on this of­
fer. W ho’s going to pass u p  a free lunch? New 
faculty also enjoy being asked for advice in

developing library holdings in their subject 
specialties.

I like to start these m eetings w ith a brief 
tour o f the parts of the library housing books 
and journals in the professor’s research area. 
Then, w e go to my office w here I give them  
a packet of liaison brochures and handouts 
and try to get a conversation started about 
their dissertation subject. (Even if they are 
not newly hatched from graduate school, ask­

ing about their disser­
tation is still a good 
w ay  to  m a k e  th e m  

feel at ease.) H ow ever 
y o u  c h o o se  to  en ter 

› into it, the m ain fo­
cus o f the office 
visit shou ld  be 
the p ro fe s s o r’s 
m ajor research 
i n t e r e s t . It 
s h o u ld  n o t be 
the overw helm ­
ing task of “pri­

m ary resources in anthropology I w an t to 
m ake sure you kn o w  ab o u t.” This session is 
about this faculty m em ber’s specific interests, 
n ot the w hole discipline h e o r she is part of.

In the coziness of the office, I invite the 
professor to w atch me as I give brief dem os 
of the major databases pertinent to his or her 
research. Focusing o n  the professor’s subject 
specialty virtually guarantees undivided at-

About the author I

David Isaacson is humanities librarian in the Waldo Library at Western Michigan University, e-mail: david.isaacson@wmich.edu

mailto:david.isaacson@wmich.edu


C&RL News ■ M ay 2001 / 533

Librarians are much more likely to 

persuade faculty to consult us 

about sources they w a n t us to 

acquire or library instruction 

sessions they w a n t us to teach if 

w e  establish th is personal rapport 

first.

tention. Usually, if I d o n ’t k n o w  som ething 
a b o u t th e research specialty, I can at least 
ask questions ab o u t it. T h ere’s nothing m ore 
interesting to m ost p e o p le  than a few  well- 
p laced  questions ab o u t their life’s w ork.

Im portant relationships w ill be 
form ed
In th e seven years since o u r liaison program  
started, I have m et scores o f n e w  faculty and, 
incidentally, gain ed  som e n ew  friends. The

social part o f this first liaison m eeting is criti­
cal to the success o f the intellectual exchanges 
b e tw e e n  librarian a n d  n e w  faculty m em ber. 
Librarians are m u ch  m ore likely to p ersuade 
faculty to consult us ab o u t sources they w ant 
us to  acquire or library instruction sessions 
they w an t us to teach  if w e establish this p e r­
sonal rap p o rt first.

It is helpful to take notes in th ese ses­
sions so you can surprise th e professor later 
w ith a call o r a n o te ab o u t som e n ew  re­
source in his o r h e r area. But try n o t to over­
sell library services; y o u  d o n ’t w an t to p ro m ­
ise th e m oon.

I lo o k  forw ard to these m eetings because 
they pro m o te th e library a n d  they are fun. In 
fact, m ost o f m y requests for research and 
teaching assistance com e from  these n ew  fac­
ulty.

If w e h ad  the time an d  m oney, it certainly 
w o u ld  b e  profitable to invite every faculty 
m em b er (ev en  those ab o u t to retire) for a 
liaison date. ■