From Presenter to Producer: Librarian as Leader of a Departmental Seminar Series

ABSTRACT

This case study describes the University of Michigan (U-M) Bioinformationist’s coordination and leadership of the Department of Computational Medicine & Bioinformatics (DCMB) Tools and Technology Seminar series. Her role includes finding speakers, scheduling speakers, and promotion. The authors conducted an assessment, based on talk attendance, speaker affiliation, and more to determine the primary factors driving attendance. The results of this analysis will inform future semesters. The Bioinformationist’s management of this seminar has increased visibility for the library and represents a less explored method for creating a strong partnership with an academic department.

KEYWORDS:

• Seminar programming
• embeddedness
• collaboration
• assessment

Acknowledgments

The authors thank the University of Michigan Department of Computational Medicine and Bioinformatics for their continued partnership with the Tools and Technology Seminar. The authors also thank Jean Song and Marisa Conte for their valuable feedback on this manuscript. The authors wish to particularly acknowledge Craig Smith for his invaluable assistance with statistical analysis.