Description of the Roles in CIS

Role is the Contact Information System’s controlled vocabulary term that characterizes each library contact in the CIS. One contact can have several assigned roles.

In order to enhance service and communication with member institutions, we would like to gather contact information with the following roles from every CRL library:

  • Circulation: Staff involved in circulation at the library. (Please put interlibrary loan staff in the ILL role.)
  • Collection development: Collection Development Officer and other bibliographers who make buying decisions.
  • Contact Inputs: Staff responsible for filling in the contact information here, using the login (the library directors email) and password (supplied by CRL).
  • Director: The library’s director, dean, or director’s representative who will receive email from CRL’s Directors’ email list.
  • Electronic Resource Officer: Individuals involved with electronic resources at their library. This person may the have same function as collection development but for electronic resources, and is not necessarily responsible for final buying decisions.
  • ILL: Individuals who work in interlibrary loan, possibly as a subsection of circulation
  • IP Contact: Individuals familiar with the institution’s IP ranges; possibly the electronic resource officer.
  • Membership Invoice Contact: This person receives the CRL membership invoice.
  • Purchase Proposal Main Contact: This person receives the unique username and password to vote on the Purchase Proposal ballots.
  • University Representative: Also known as Non-Librarian Councillor. Works outside of the library, but is involved with library as a representative. This person may be a provost, dean, etc. within the institution.


Contact information for the following roles is also helpful and welcome: 

  • Bibliographic Instruction: Individual(s) responsible for informing the local audience of the library resources available. This person is often referred as Information Literacy.
  • Branch Directors: Chief librarian who heads a branch library.
  • Director Representative: Appointed by the Director to attend CRL meetings or other events.
  • Director’s Assistant: Administrative assistant to the head of the library.
  • Library Staff: Staff who are not librarians.
  • Purchase Proposal Contact: Any librarian who wishes to receive all information from the member liaison at CRL. This contact will receive all announcements except for the message with the username/password for the Purchase Proposal ballot.
  • Reference: Reference department staff members.
  • Special Collections: Special collections staff.
  • Systems: Systems department staff, possible the IP contact.
  • Technical Services: Staff working in the traditional areas of technical services, cataloging, acquisitions, and possibly serials.