On December 5 and 6, 2006, the ALL-SIS Faculty Services Committee hosted an online discussion, “Boundaries in Faculty Services: Are there any and how are they communicated?”
Well over 50 emails were exchanged in rapid succession. Every email expressed the determination of each librarian to provide exemplary service, and there were various different ways this was being done. No one suggested another library’s decision was not as good as their practices. Participants viewed the variety of approaches with interest and the constant curiosity we’re known for.
The following is a sample of the exchange.
How do you approach the “I need it in an hour” requests?
Why are law librarians expected to provide higher levels of direct service to law faculty?
The structure and responsibilities of librarians within their institutions have a major impact on what types of services are offered to faculty and other patrons, and this in turn affects the boundaries you must set in terms of your service offerings.
Setting boundaries is also about managing resources.
Sometimes we simply don’t have the means to do what they want.
Did anyone have conflicts in the level of service that different librarians within the same library provide to faculty?
“Valuable services” are such because they are valued - if we’re unwilling to set boundaries, then the professional library services we offer lose or have no value.
Librarians should be concerned with “status” and not just for selfish reasons … For us not to be impacts on how seriously others take the librarian profession - and that can have a negative impact on us and our profession.
Establishing, communicating and reiterating service parameters are essential elements in formulating faculty-library relationships.
This past year we have been transferring all sorts of clerical responsibilities to the faculty support staff, photocopy center, etc.
Bluebooking and/or cite checking entire articles are beyond the scope of what some libraries will do. However, we will help with the toughies. I like to get questions in the form of a question, rather than as a 30-page sheaf of papers.
We’ve never formally set boundaries on the nature or length of requests, but when we initially meet with new faculty to discuss what we can do for them, we usually don’t get into what we can’t do. But I think our faculty is pretty reasonable in this respect.
Our motto regarding faculty is to say YES to most everything they request.
We try to find some way to do or get what they need.
And my personal favorite,
Some projects aren’t “appropriate” for the library, but I think it’s always appropriate to be part of the solution!
If you missed any of the discussion there is an archive in the AALL Academic Law Libraries SIS Faculty Services Roundtable (all-fsr) forum at http://share.aallnet.org/read/all_forums/. Click on “show more.” Earlier discussions on “Managing Research Assistants” and “Services to non-law faculty” are also archived at this site.
Look for another ALL-SIS faculty services committee listserv in the Spring moderated by co-chair, Margaret Schilt.