Flexible futures: the academic librarian

Australian academic libraries are highly adaptive to the changing needs of learning and teaching and research and the demands of the changing information environment. Liaison Librarians are absolutely central to the academic library's ability to manage change and anticipate and prepare for the future. However little is shared in conference papers and journal publications about how Liaison is organised, developed and supported by academic libraries. Queensland University of Technology (QUT) and University of Tasmania (UTAS) Libraries have explicit, well established and long-running Liaison programs. UTAS recently embarked on a change process to move from an individual, school-focussed model to a faculty-focused, team approach to Liaison organisation. The process led to the organisation of teams, with team-member leadership roles in collection development, learning and teaching, and research support. The new organisation also established a learning environment in which librarians continue to change in a rapidly changing environment. At QUT Library the Workforce Plan has set the framework for the re-examination of the highly Faculty-integrated Liaison model to improve support for the University's research agenda, to respond to the changes in scholarly communication and to work collaboratively with the University's Teaching and Learning Support (TALSS) to embed information and academic literacies into the University's curriculum. This paper examines recent literature on Liaison, discusses two case studies of Liaison organisation at QUT and UTAS Libraries and how these changing models prepare libraries and librarians for the future of university learning and teaching and research and the changing information environment

Information literacy education in the UK: reflections on perspectives and practical approaches of curricular integration

This paper has two main aims, to present the current position of information literacy education in UK-based academic institutions and to propose a strategy that ensures the integration of this phenomenon in learning and teaching institutional practices. The first part of the paper offers an insight into the perceptions of information literacy by exploring four distinct perspectives, including the institutional angle and the views associated with faculty staff, library staff and students. What transpires from the findings is that information literacy from an institutional perspective is dominated by the need to measure information skills within the context of information as a discipline in its own right. Another issue that is raised by the data points to a great deal of misinformation regarding information literacy, and that, as a result, a clear marketing strategy must be adopted by information professionals to address the misconceptions held by faculty staff and students alike. We aim to address these points by drawing on recent scholarship and research in the field which demonstrates the validity of information literacy as a process for fostering independent learning. The second part of the paper explains how a Fellowship project has placed information literacy on the pedagogical agenda of the University of Staffordshire in the UK by promoting information literacy education as an integrated element of the curriculum

Planning A Future Workforce: An Australian

Libraries throughout the world are facing the dual challenge of an aging workforce and a workplace which is requiring significant reassessment of the skills base of its staff as a result of the impact of technology on the delivery of information services. The implications for libraries in responding to this environment are significant. This paper looks at the age profile of the library workforce and discusses the need for libraries to acknowledge and plan for the impending retirement of a significant proportion of their workforce. The paper argues that integral to this planning is the need to identify the skills and attributes required of library staff in both the short and long term. The response of some Australian academic libraries in preparing to address these challenges is described. Particular reference is made to strategies adopted at Queensland University of Technology Library in Brisbane, Australia to ensure that existing and new staff are equipped with the skills to be able to work in changing environments and that staff are provided with opportunities to develop leadership skills that will be required for the future

Professional education for a digital world

Reviews developments in initial professional education for library and information work in relation to contemporary university library practice in the digital world, with particular reference to the impact of technology on content and delivery. Discusses connections between professional education and library practice, generalist versus specialist programmes and pathways, education for digital library environments and preparation for data management. Concludes that the current trend of locating library education programmes in schools with broader portfolios covering information technology and/or business offers valuable opportunities to extend module choice for students, particularly in relation to the technical skills and understanding needed for digital library environments

Research data management and libraries: Current activities and future priorities

This paper reports research carried out at the end of 2012 to survey UK universities to understand in detail the ways in which libraries are currently involved in research data management (RDM) and the extent to which the development of RDM services is a strategic priority for them. The research shows that libraries were offering limited RDM services, with highest levels of activity in large research-intensive institutions. There were major challenges associated with skills gaps, resourcing and cultural change. However, libraries are currently involved in developing new institutional RDM policies and services, and see this as an important part of their future role. Priorities such as provision of RDM advisory and training services are emerging. A systematic comparison between these results and other recent studies is made in order to create a full picture of activities and trends. An innovation hype-cycle framework is deployed to understand possible futures and Abbott’s theory of professions is used to gain an insight into how libraries are competing to extend their jurisdiction whilst at the same time working collaboratively with other stakeholders

Should We Flip the Script?: A Literature Review of Deficit-Based Perspectives on First-Year Undergraduate Students’ Information Literacy

This mixed method systematic review considers recent literature on the information literacy (IL) skills of first-year undergraduate students. The review uncovers the following themes: faculty and librarians perceive first-year students as lacking IL skills; students have varying perceptions of their IL skills; assessment studies yield conflicting findings on first-year students\u27 IL; communication between high school and college librarians is challenging; and some IL researchers emphasise and leverage first-year students\u27 prior knowledge and experience in IL instruction. These themes emerge from extensive searches in four research databases for scholarly and professional articles written in English within the past ten years. With the exception of a few articles, studies reviewed consistently express their findings in terms of students’ gaps or deficits. We question whether this is the most productive basis for developing effective IL programs. Instead, we call for further investigation of students’ existing knowledge and skills as a basis for implementing constructivist and strengths-based pedagogies

Access and usability issues of scholarly electronic publications

This chapter looks at the various access and usability issues related to scholarly information resources. It first looks at the various channels through which a user can get access to scholarly electronic publications. It then discusses the issues and studies surrounding usability. Some important parameters for measuring the usability of information access systems have been identified. Finally the chapter looks at the major problems facing the users in getting access to scholarly information through today's hybrid libraries, and mentions some possible measures to resolve these problems

The bunheads are dead: Discovering high tech, high touch opportunities in Library and Information Science

Conjure up a picture of today\u27s librarian, and you are likely to be wrong. Professional librarians are information analysts, freedom of information and protection of privacy officers, family literacy specialists, Internet trainers, teen specialists, genealogists, Web designers and technologists, database managers, historical researchers, information brokers. Indeed, few have the title of “librarian” but all have the master\u27s degree in Library and Information Science (LIS). Graduate LIS programs are appealing to a younger and more diverse student population, yet recruitment is still problematic due to misconceptions about the career and the little-known fact that the first professional degree is at the master\u27s level. For the past several decades, MLIS programs have recognized the morphing of the library from book repository to community information provider, and have redrawn the set of technical skills that go along with the degree. Those who have discovered the contemporary version of the MLIS have been able to dismiss the bunheaded-librarian stereotype traditionally associated with the degree

NZ school librarians, technology leaders?

The purpose of this qualitative research study is to examine what role and views New Zealand school librarians currently have within their schools as technology leaders. At a time of technological developments in education, with both access to and implementation of ICT within school curriculums, what aids and hinders school librarian’s position as a technology manager? A variety of Auckland secondary schools were approached requesting a 30-60 minute interview with one of their librarians. Of the ones that agreed eight semi-structured interviews took place. The librarians were asked 14 open ended questions, some which were investigated further when necessary, and their answers were recorded, transcribed and results were drawn from their information. My results found that the majority of librarians felt well supported by their colleagues. Each school, had its own distinct hierarchy that effected the way librarians conducted their jobs and the place they had. Most librarians felt that their role was not meant to be a “technology leader” per-say, but rather someone that would incorporate it within the library to make the library a useful resource. Some schools had specific positions for their librarians to partake in technology leadership. This made the library more of an ICT focus for the school. Overall the librarians all had a variety of experiences, mostly stemming from the hierarchical dynamics within the schools and their own education in the library field. The implication for schools and their librarians, from this research may aid in considering the hierarchical set up their school currently has, how librarians view their role and what is a ‘norm’ versus alternative ideas. I think the discovery also reveals the various attitudes towards technology. This research may also increase awareness of the possible roles for school librarians in the future

Universities of the Third Age : a rationale for transformative education in later life

This article addresses the political context of third-age learning. It aims to expose how relations of power and inequality, in their myriad combinations and complexities, are manifest in Universities of the Third Age [U3As]. The dominant functionalist approach towards late-life learning is jettisoned in favor of a socio-political framework that asks: whose interests are really being served? and, who controls the learning process? It highlights the role of U3As in reproducing unequal relations in later life with special emphasis on positive ageism, elitism, gender, and third ageism. The article ends by proposing a possible way forward away from a neo-liberal ideology through a transformative rationale for older adult education based on the values of social justice, social leveling and social cohesion. Seven principles are forwarded: a transformational agenda, widening participation, critical geragogy, elearning, pre-retirement education, intergenerational learning, and fourth age learning.peer-reviewe