Rethinking the Librarian-Professor Relationship : The Integration of the Librarian in a University Department

About eight years ago, the Bibliotheque Paul-Emile Boulet of the Universite du Quebec a Chicoutimi (UQAC) adopted a new approach to the librarian-professor relationship and physically located a librarian within a university department. This delocalisation was seen as a means to bring users and the librarian into closer contact. In doing so, the librarian becomes part of the community, fostering a closer partnership between the library and the department. This article outlines the principle of delocalisation as well as the experience of the UQAC : the implementation of such a project, the difficulties to avoid as well as the challenges are discussed.