The Role Of The Academic Subject Librarian In Web2.0Network

As subject librarians play an indispensable role in connecting academic library with counterpart departments, therefore, studying the roles and responsibilities of subject librarians is significant in raising their work efficiency and improving service quality of the academic library. With more than ten years development of subject librarian system, the responsibilities of subject librarian have undergone new changes, especially in response to the web environment, which bring a new challenge to the library and academic liaisons:The threats bought by search engines (Google); strong demand for knowledge while the knowledge is quite difficult to search; the emergence of ubiquitous library.As the role of the subject librarian is under a constant state of change, it presents some new features, especially with the widely usage of Web2.0technology in library information service. The changing of user information environment, information behavior and subject service enriches the role. It can maintain the sustained and healthy development of the subject librarian system, only before we have re-positioned the role of subject librarians.The paper first reviews the subject specialization in United State, Britain, Germany, South Korea and China, and then concludes the traditional roles of subject librarian—collection builder, subject liaison, information instructor, reference librarian of specific subject.The variation of information extraction and information requirement in a web environment, and Web2.0technology applied in daily work of subject librarian underlies the role transformation of subject librarian. On one hand, the service requirement are developing towards the ease of use, diversity, participatory, personalization, knowledgeable and accuracy; on the other hand, by assistance of Web2.0tools we can achieve the information acquisition both with specified target and by chance efficiently. In addition, deriving Web2.0tools into the traditional roles can much benefit the subject librarian. As a result, some new roles are proposed for the subject librarian.This paper introduces the current roles played by Minnesota Library and Shanghai Jiao Tong University Library under the web circumstance. Minnesota library have developed ten new roles based on the frame of subject librarian responsibility, including campus engagement, content/collection development and management, teaching and learning, scholarly communication, E-Scholarship and digital tools, reference/help services, outreach (to the local community), fund raising, exhibit and event planning, leadership. Shanghai Jiao Tong University Library focuses on subject resources guarantee system development, Innovation Community, embedding into the subject, information literacy education, personalized information services. Through the research of the new roles of subject librarian in the two university libraries, a conclusion of the emerging trends of traditional roles and publicity and promotion of OA was made.Both the features of Web2.0and the requirements of universities users determine the directions such as active participation, embedded process and cooperation. The roles of subject librarian show some new characteristic:applying latest technology into library; a shift from provider to partner; much higher requirement for skill and quality. In this paper, we redefine of roles for subject librarian. The roles are adjusted to subject data manager, information literacy educator, teaching support professionals and scientific research support staff. The proposed new roles of subject librarian reflect the characteristic that integrating into the user and subject service, it is the result of bringing the Web2.0applications into the work of subject librarian. Finally, we loot to the future of subject librarian’s roles, and claim that subject librarian should play as actors, aggregators and disseminators.