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Reference, liaison, subject librarianship: all of these terms traditionally describe a combination of research assistance, instruction, and collection management. This study used structured interviews with 15 librarians at 14 geographically dispersed, medium to large academic institutions to investigate the current state of reference and liaison librarianship. Library administrators' views are important to understanding the future of this work since they advocate for resources if they see the necessity. Findings included agreement on the goals of the work and the urgent need to communicate its value in the current higher education landscape; however, the specific means of communication and the types of work that being a partner could include varied. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As data services gain momentum in academic libraries, liaison librarians are expected to be part of the education force for data literacy. Nonetheless, due to the broad scope of data literacy, training librarians to improve data-related skills can be challenging. This article used consultation statistics to identify tools and resources employed to solve users’ data questions. The results offered insights into users’ data needs and provided librarians with a clear direction to further develop data skills in their assigned disciplines. The methodology used in this study can be replicated at other institutions to identify needs and to direct professional development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]