1. Small Private Liberal Arts Colleges: The Role of a College Librarian
John Repplinger
Science Librarian Mark O. Hatfield Library, Willamette University UIUC Grad 2002

2. Three Topics… My role at a small private liberal arts college
Trends & opportunities for Science Librarians
Preparing GSLIS students for this role

3. The Liberal Arts College
Salem, OR. Population ~250,000
Small private liberal arts ~1,800 stu. ~318 fac. = 1:10 ratio “Law Library”
Two campus libraries Undergrad & Law
Hatfield Library serves CLA, Law, Business, Education, Tokyo International University, public

4. Regional Perspective 36 Acad. Libs OR & WA, ID? SALEM 4 Gov. Libs
2 Public Libs
3 Acad. Libs
6 Special Libs

5. Unique Qualities of Small Liberal Arts Libraries
Any ideas?

6. Unique Qualities of Small Liberal Arts Libraries
Size (small = 1,000-5,000 students)
Subject librarians (fewer & serve as generalists)
Flexible environment (love it!)
Connect with community (awesome!)
Interdisciplinary (lots of interaction – nature of L.A.)
Spread too thin (my problem)

7. My Role (Main responsibilities)
Liaison to 7 depts. (Biol, chem, comp. sci, earth & env sci, exercise sci, math, & phys)
Library instruction (one-shot sessions; educator)
Reference (individual consultation & reference)
Office hours (outside of library)
Source:

8. My Role (More...) Collection development
Evaluate resources (Analyst & statistics)
Administrative (RefWorks, InfoGuides, Sr. theses, Facebook)
Committees (Library, campus, off-campus: grants, searches, OLA, ACRL)
Graphic designer (Informal consultant)

9. The Average Day 8:30-9am Email & blog
9-10am Research consults & Library office hrs
10-11am Meetings
11-12:30pm Work on project
12:30-1pm Lunch/prof. reading
1-3pm Reference desk
3-4:30pm External office hrs/ Research consultations/ Library instruction class
4:30-5pm Collection development
5-5:30pm Project time/ Prep for tomorrow (Panic!!!)
5:30-6pm & daily tasks
Source:

10. Unanticipated Roles (When things go wrong)
Adult in charge of library (evenings & weekends)
Default computer “specialist”
Substitute for circulation staff
Peacemaker (when patrons have problems)
Source:

11. Trends in Services
Any ideas?

12. Service Trends Technology (More ways to interact… or get lost!)
Scholarly communication changes (E-communicate & cooperation, blogs & tenure)
Outreach & privacy (Go to your students & faculty)
Source:

13. Collection Trends
More e-material consumption, less print (E-books, e-journals & articles, multimedia, & raw data)
Rise of mobile devices
Libraries as producers of information
Help patrons be more efficient & organized
Source:

14. Opportunities for Science Librarians
Study users information needs
Meet patrons where they’re at
How do students study
Know your competitors (S.W.O.T. analysis)
Be proactive, not reactive Find users’ true needs AND determine if its worth pursuing. Ask question -- don’t wait to be asked.

15. Prepare for the Future
Read professional literature regularly (Aware of current events in the library profession)
Take classes (Public speaking, writing, computer networking)
Understand basics of copyright laws (Able to summarize copyright for others)
Source:

16. Prepare for the Future
Join professional lists (STS, ACRL, MAPS-L lists)
Create a digital portfolio (Include at least one LI videos or tutorials you created or participated in.)
Volunteer!!! (Volunteering opens many doors. Committees, website/book reviews...)
Record your daily tasks (Write down daily tasks & update your e-portfolio annually.)
Audit classes relevant to your job

17. Questions? Source: http://www.unshelved.com/2003-8-31
***Acknowledgement: The Unshelved comic strips are under copyright (c) by  Bill Barnes & Gene Ambaum of Unshelved.com, and are used with their permission.