Value and impact of librarians’ interventions on student skills development (Library Impact and Value For Education and Skills: LIVES) Project: Phase 1 report

This study became known as the LIVES (Library Impact and Value for Education and Skills) Project. The aim of this study was to discover the perceived impact and to identify the value of four library interventions within the curriculum in developing information skills at the University of the West of England:•Faculty of Environment and Technology “Library Online Workbook”•Faculty of Business and Law “Building Legal Information Skills” activity •Faculty of Business and Law Criminal Law library teaching•Faculty of Health and Life Sciences “Problem-based Learning” library interventionThe value of the perceived impact will then be defined and promoted and the information gathered will be used, not only to influence UWE policy and practice, but to contribute case studies (“stories”) to other projects and to outline best practice that can be shared more widely. Participants and Data Collection:Faculty staff and librarian interviews and student focus groups were used to:•gather evidence regarding the perceived impact of these interventions in terms of altered student behaviour, competence, level of knowledge or attitude•gather feedback to identify possible enhancements to the library interventions•investigate the drivers and barriers to faculty staff embedding library teaching within their modules with a view to recommending future processes and effective strategies to build on partnerships with faculty staff.Literature was reviewed to support the research and to illuminate findings. Findings showed that:•Both the faculty staff and the students interviewed were largely positive regarding the structure, content and administration of the four library interventions, including the methodologies used and the impact of the librarians on the success of the session. Some constructive criticism was also received.•The overwhelming majority of comments relating to the perceived impact of the library interventions (84%) were positive and none was negative, with a perceived increase in confidence in searching for information forming one fifth of the positive perceived impact comments. Altered searching behaviour, improved searching competence, development of new skills and altered attitude towards librarians was also reported.•Where the skills learnt during the library intervention were assessed, there was general agreement that this motivated students to engage, particularly when marks were awarded. •Presenting the information literacy instruction within a disciplinary context and using examples relevant to the students was seen as a key motivating factor to student engagement with the library intervention, as was including a practical element so that students could try out their newly learnt skills in a supportive environment.•The librarian/faculty staff relationship and a desire to improve student engagement with library information skills teaching were key factors in driving the embedding and assessment of library interventions. There are several successful strategies and processes at UWE that encourage the development of the librarian/faculty staff relationship including librarian attendance at faculty meetings, a “Librarians on Tour” initiative and the introduction of library “Welcome” emails for new staff, promoting the help available through the library and inviting them to meet with the library team

“E-books are good if there are no copies left”: a survey of e-book usage at UWE Library Services

This article outlines research carried out with students and academic staff at a large UK university library on how e-books are being used for learning, teaching and research. It was discovered that e-books are meeting many of users’ needs,especially in terms of accessibility, but there are still concerns about subject coverage and the impact on students’ learning. There are various reasons why ebooksare beneficial in developing an academic library collection, most particularly for reference materials and essential readings, but librarians need to work closely with academic staff to integrate use of e-books effectively into learning and teaching, taking care that licence and access implications are better understood. The drivers to the use of e-books appear to be outweighing the barriers, although the latter will require considerable effort on the part of librarians within their institutions and also in terms of communicating concerns to e-book providers

Audit of walk-in access for members of the public to online resources at higher education and further education libraries in the South West of England

This SWRLS-funded project aims to analyse and evaluate the extent to which Higher Education (HE) and Further Education (FE) libraries across the South West region of the United Kingdom provide walk-in access to electronic resources.The information presented within this report is derived from the findings of a survey questionnaire of librarians from across the South West region. Findings of the survey reveal that in the majority of the six institutions that provide walk-in access, the service is not actively promoted. Potential audiences are not actively identified. Information about walk-in services and which resources are available to use within HE or FE in the region is currently hard to discover. There does appear to be some desire to provide walk-in access but the report identifies IT difficulties and legal issues over licences as particular barriers to implementation

Inspiring library partnerships: Evaluation of a unique reciprocal borrowing scheme between Higher Education and local authorities in the West of England

The SWRLS Open Doors project was a partnership between LibrariesWest (led by South Gloucestershire Library Service) and UWE Bristol Library Services and funded by SWRLS (South Western Regional Library Service). The aim was to pilot a reciprocal borrowing scheme between public and academic libraries using existing cards, i.e. public library cards in the academic library and university ID cards in the public libraries. The pilot looked at the scheme in terms of the following:the ease with which it was to set up,its limitations,barriers or obstacles and how these could be overcome,how popular it was both with staff and customers (i.e. members of the public or UWE staff and students).The report details the way in which the pilot was run, considers information from other higher and further education institutions and relevant literature, looks at other schemes in the UK and outlines the issues that were identified. The users of the scheme were surveyed – staff and customers – and their responses analysed.The report concludes that the reciprocal use of existing library cards between institutions and public libraries in a geographical area:was relatively simple once set up,was appreciated by all those who participated,had few teething problems,has had no appreciable impact on the availability of academic stock to UWE students,increased public library as well as academic library usage by target groups, e.g. school students 16 years and over,enabled the public library service to provide a significantly better offer of resources to its community,especially those who needed access to specialised stock not normally available in a general public library service.The Project Board recommends that this reciprocal borrowing arrangement continues between UWE and LibrariesWest and that other similar partnerships would benefit where they are geographically linked.The partners in this project plan to continue the project and to monitor it using the statistics and data monitoring used to assess its success and to give it prominence in University and public library / schools promotional material at the start of each academic year.Further information concerning this SWRLS Open Doors reciprocal borrowing project can be obtained by looking at the project website or by emailing [email protected]

Open doors: Library cross-sector co-operation in Bristol, UK

Purpose– This paper outlines the aims, activities and outcomes of a project to pilot a reciprocal borrowing scheme between public and academic libraries using existing cards, i.e. public library cards in the academic library and university ID cards in the public libraries. Design/methodology/approach– This is a case study providing practical information about the establishment and promotion of the service, and recounting the feedback from surveys of participants, prospective users and library staff. Findings– The project outcomes indicate that the reciprocal use of existing library cards between institutions and public libraries in a geographical area: was relatively simple once set up; was appreciated by all those who participated; had few teething problems; had had no appreciable impact on the availability of academic stock to University of the West of England (UWE) students; increased public library and academic library usage by target groups, e.g. school students 16 years and over, enabled the public library service to provide a significantly better offer of resources to its community, especially those who needed access to specialised stock, not normally available in a general public library service. Originality/value– The partnership between LibrariesWest (led by South Gloucestershire Libraries) and UWE Bristol Library Services is not unusual. However, the approach taken, i.e. to allow borrowers to use their own libraries’ cards without any data sharing between the respective systems, is fairly unique. The processes involved and the evaluation of the scheme are of value to other prospective partnerships where organisations are geographically aligned

Developing work-based learning for library and information science

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to disseminate information about the development of a work-based learning (WBL) honours degree top-up in Library and Information Sciences (LIS), focusing on the motivation for this development. Design/methodology/approach: The context for the work is explained. The characteristics of work-based learning (WBL) are explored in terms of the relevance to LIS learning and teaching. The rationale for the development of the WBL top-up is proposed and considerations that need to be borne in mind in the implementation are offered. Findings: A synergy between the ethos of the existing approach to the education and development of LIS students at the University of the West of England and that of WBL was discovered. Practical implications: There are implications for the training and development of teaching staff to engage fully and excel in a WBL approach, and for the institution to support this approach. There are also implications for advising employers and potential learners as to the benefits of WBL, and to ensure that it fits appropriately into the professional framework. Originality/value: The value of the paper is in the sharing of an approach to developing a positive new way of working, how this fits with different government, local and professional agendas and the implications it has for all concerned. © Emerald Group Publishing Limited

Facilitating access to one and all: Report of a project carried out at UWE, Bristol to facilitate access to learning resources for students and staff with disabilities

This article is based on a research project, code named “FACE”, carried out in the Library at the University of the West of England during 1998 and 1999. It raises issues regarding accessibility of learning and teaching resources, advice and support for disabled students and staff. Development of the Library's resources in response to student surveys and reference to other literature in the field is recounted. Whilst the project focussed on a selection of technologies to aid “accessibility” it is noted that the most important feature in provision of accessible learning materials and support is strong institutional commitment and a good human infrastructure. The article concludes with a series of recommendations which can be more broadly applied in other organisations. © 1999, MCB UP Limite