Through a survey of more than 200 US academic science librarians, we investigated the perceived value of subject specialization; looked for trends toward or away from science subject specialization; and analyzed predictions about the future of science liaison librarianship. Results showed that science librarians perceive subject specialization positively and predict it will continue to be necessary in the future. They also perceive that liaison relationships will remain crucial.
Source: https://doi.org/10.5860/crl.82.4.584
While functional roles appear to be growing, they were not seen as replacing traditional subject responsibilities. Results suggest a shift toward a more generalist approach; however, additional research is needed before stating this conclusively.
Gary Price (gprice@gmail.com) is a librarian, writer, consultant, and frequent conference speaker based in the Washington D.C. metro area.
He earned his MLIS degree from Wayne State University in Detroit.
Price has won several awards including the SLA Innovations in Technology Award and Alumnus of the Year from the Wayne St. University Library and Information Science Program. From 2006-2009 he was Director of Online Information Services at Ask.com. Gary is also the co-founder of infoDJ an innovation research consultancy supporting corporate product and business model teams with just-in-time fact and insight finding.
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