Organizing the Liaison Role: A Concept Map

Building and sustaining relationships with university faculty and students can be challenging for liaison librarians. Using a concept mapping approach to organizing librarian liaison activities provides a frame of reference for planning outreach. Activities were grouped by four main elements of proactive customer service: visibility, relevance, usefulness, and timeliness. Liaison effectiveness can be enhanced by choosing complementary activities from each of the four elements. The best options for engagement will vary depending upon the type of customer, setting, and disciplines. The concept map is useful for envisioning how research and instruction activities interrelate and contribute to academic community engagement.