Subject Liaisons

What is a Subject Liaison?

At Purchase College Library, academic departments and programs have a designated subject liaison. Liaisons are faculty librarians and library staff who are assigned to support the teaching, learning, and research needs of a specific school, department, program, or academic community at Purchase. If you’re not sure who to ask for help using the Library, begin by contacting your liaison.

For reference and research help, if no subject liaison is assigned to your department, your librarian is on leave, or your discipline is not listed above, please email ask@purchase.libanswers.com, and a librarian will assist you.

To request an instruction session for an area without a liaison listed or if your librarian is on leave, please contact Kim Detterbeck, Instruction Coordinator. 

What can Subject Liaisons do for you?

For faculty:

• Develop library resources, instruction, and services for course/program/department curriculum
• Provide you with research help
• Advocate for department’s interests within the Library
• Facilitate requests for print and electronic materials for the Library’s collections
• Develop library collections to support the curriculum and community
• Keep you abreast of advances and trends in scholarly communications

For students:

• Provide research assistance for papers, projects (including senior projects, capstone papers, and master theses), and presentations
• Offer guidance on finding and citing credible sources
• Teach strategies for effective database searching and resource evaluation
• Recommend and provide access to subject-specific materials and tools
• Support information literacy skills for academic success