Bridging the Public Services and Technical Services Divide: Hosting a Librarian Sabbatical

This concurrent session shared Albertsons Library’s experience with hosting an Access Services librarian’s sabbatical in Acquisitions and Collections. Original goals of the sabbatical were for the librarian to understand the framework for how the work of acquisitions is structured and executed; and understand the e-resource lifecycle to bring back critical skills to inform better service desk training. Though Access Services maintains the physical collection, and helps patrons navigate the digital collections through information and reference desks, staff in the area traditionally were not exposed to e-resource workflows, and the mechanics of how items are purchased, tracked and categorized. During the five-month long sabbatical, the librarian learned about the responsibilities of the unit and sub-groups that included ordering, receiving, serials, gifts, resource sharing, copy cataloging, budgeting, licensing, and electronic resources. This session discussed the value and benefits of using a sabbatical period to expose traditional public services staff to technical services, to deepen knowledge, and to support the institution.