Departmental Library Representatives remit

Departmental library representatives play a crucial role in terms of communication between Information Services (IS) and Academic departments. They are the first point of contact on matters relating to resource development and acquisitions and Information, academic and digital skills training within the department. Each department is asked by IS to nominate a member of staff to act as a liaison between the department and the library. The specific duties the reps perform vary from department to department but on the whole includes the following:

Communication

1. Act as the main point of contact between the department and the library
2. Communicate library information to staff and students in the department and vice versa or recommend another to do so, as appropriate.
3. Provide information to new colleagues on matters relevant to the library, and organising an introduction to the subject librarian in the Academic Engagement Team.
4. Meet regularly with the subject librarian to best meet the department's specific library and information needs.

Collection development

5. Have overall responsibility for the discretionary book fund for the department ensuring it is committed in a timely manner for each academic year.
6. Liaise with the library for effective collection development at a disciplinary level.
7. Coordinate annual review of journal and database subscriptions for the department.
8. Act as liaison together with the HoD over new requests for journals and other recurrent information sources.

Information Literacy and academic and digital skills training

9. Ensure that all new students are aware of and encouraged to attend a library induction tour / other library induction activity.
10. Work with the library and academic staff to embed Information Literacy training within each curriculum in the department.
11. Promote Information Literacy and academic and digital skills development in the department.
12. Arrange an annual library refresher to keep staff up to date with changes to services and resources.

Student satisfaction

13. Ensure the subject librarian is invited to the departmental Staff and Student Consultative Committee meetings to monitor student satisfaction with library services and resources. The Library Rep will work with the subject librarian to address individual issues raised by students.
14. Help develop and improve library services and the student learning experience by presenting the views and opinions of the department to the Subject Librarian.
15. Maintain oversight and liaise with the subject librarian regarding actions resulting from  student-led working groups in departments.

This Policy is maintained by Information Services, was last reviewed in October 2024 and is due for review in October 2026.