Prepare to be unprepared? LIS curriculum and academic liaison preparation.

This research explored the ways in which current liaison librarians feel their LIS programs prepared them for their role, focusing on two research questions: To what extent do librarians working as liaisons in academic institutions in the US and Canada feel their LIS programs prepared them for their liaison role? How much of the preparation of librarians to be liaisons can be attributed to their programs' curriculum, especially in terms of where in the curriculum the liaison role is addressed? Results of a survey of 366 liaisons demonstrate that across a variety of contexts, most respondents feel their programs prepared them to be liaisons, but those who completed the academic library track more often than expected indicated feeling prepared. A majority of participants indicated non-curriculum experiences, such as assistantships, paid employment, and internships in academic libraries, as useful in their preparation, with one exception: those who completed online programs less often than expected indicated non-curricular experiences as useful in preparation for their current liaison role. Overall, the most useful courses cited included specialized courses, reference, instruction, and collection management, suggesting some preparation from core courses, but additional preparation coming from elective courses not always taken by or available to everyone. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]