Background: The Library Liaison Program at Preston Medical Library was developed as an outcome of our 2011 strategic planning process. This service will help us to meet our first strategic goal to “Provide a current, valuable collection of online and print resources and services” by integrating our library faculty more closely with each department.
Liaison programs exist in many large academic libraries where librarian staffing levels are generally much higher than in small special libraries. These liaison programs are often comprised of a named “go to” person at the library who is a librarian expert in the subject area. In medical libraries, liaison programs take a number of approaches from minimally to very integrated (Clinical Librarians).
Description: Preston Medical Library is adapting a tiered approach, modified from the University of Florida Health Sciences Center’s program which has been evaluated in the literature (Ferree N. 2009). The three tiers of service, listed on the next tab, indicate the basic service to be offered to all departments (level one), followed by an À la carte selection of additional services that may be adopted by the department (level two and level three). Level three services are available contingent upon availability, based on staffing levels