Annette Haines, one of three field librarians at the University of Michigan (UM), traveled to Angouleme, France, with a faculty member to attend an international comic book festival. As the field librarian in the School of Art and Design, Haines was able to learn firsthand what materials professor Phoebe Gloeckner, a well-known graphic novelist, needed to support her teaching and research. This collaboration, a direct outcome of the unique opportunities created by the Field Librarian Program (FLP), opened up possibilities for student contact that otherwise would have been unlikely. A couple of years ago, the concept for a field librarian emerged at UM. As the broader academic environment began to experience change, negotiate competing needs, and budget with limited economic resources, a search for ways to improve the approach to library services began. These changes prompted discussions about how to provide core services without being limited by traditional frameworks. In this article, the authors describe how subject specialists might establish more in-depth partnerships with the campus communityof scholars.