The Liaison Librarians are out and about a lot especially during the busy first few weeks of term but please be assured they are available and eager to meet with students and staff in the Libraries either on call or by appointment.
When you are on the spot and need to refer an enquiry to a Liaison Librarian the best way to make contact is online. Choose the relevant subject from the list of Subject Guides and click through to find contact details of the relevant Liaison Librarian(s). Here you’ll find a photo so that you can begin to introduce the enquirer to the person who will be able to help them.
You’ll also find the AskLive chat box. If the Liaison Librarian is currently available type in a quick message and ask if she/he is available to meet with the enquirer now. Use the chat service to arrange details of where and when to meet. If the person you need is not currently at their desk this message will appear “I’m not available right now – please email me or ask another librarian below”. If you are confident that only this Liaison Librarian will do for this enquirer please encourage them to make an appointment to meet. Offer to send an email message requesting a meeting while the enquirer is with you. Make sure you include the name of the enquirer, their email contact and details of the enquiry. Give the enquirer a business card for the Liaison Librarian and assure them that she or he will be in contact very soon. You may choose to telephone but it is very likely that the Liaison Librarian you need will not be at their desk when you ring. Also Liaison Librarians work in open plan work areas and it is not always easy to conduct a reference enquiry over the phone.
If it is the sort of enquiry that is likely to be able to be answered by any or all of the Liaison Librarians then again the AskLive chat box is a good option. When you are logged in to AskLive you can see who is logged on at any time or you can simply type in a question – “Is there a Liaison Librarian who can pick this up for me ?” – with details of the enquiry and whoever is available will pick it up.
When your need to contact a Liaison Librarian is less immediate then the contact list on the web site and the Camelot wiki contacts and subjects list file:///K:/Academic_Liaison_Team/Contact_details_Liaison_Librarians.xls
have contact details, regular working hours and subject responsibilities.