Jennifer Wilson and Laurence Morris explain how a simple

reminder about library resources at Leeds Beckett University

developed into a service aimed at improving employability amongst

students. Utilising existing resources and working in collaboration,

the library has created a new way for students to discover and

engage with employability skills and services

Morris, L

Wilson, JL

Leeds Beckett Repository

Promoting library engagement through employability (among other things)Jennifer Wilson and Laurence Morris explain how a simple  reminder about library resources at Leeds Beckett University  developed into a service aimed at improving employability amongst students. Utilising existing resources and working in collaboration,  the library has created a new way for students to discover and  engage with employability skills and services.  AT this year’s CILIP Conference, during his ????????????????? ??????? ?????1, Stephen ??????????? ?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????-ue the most are those which assist with new ??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????to our own conference presentation,2 on how ???????????????????????????????????????????????????? ???????????????????????????????-????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????For the Leeds Beckett University Developing Excellent Academic Practice (DEAP) confer-ence 2015, we submitted a paper promoting the use of library subscriptions to enhance employability, the keystone of the univers-ity’s ‘Being Enterprising’ graduate attribute. Initially, we regarded this as one opportu-nity among many to promote the  library’s  resources. However, to our surprise, what we had badged as a straightforward refresher ses-sion was greeted with interest and enthusiasm by academics and members of professional ???????????????????????????????????Independent skillsConsequently, we were invited to a meeting with our university’s Associate Director of Services for Students to explore potential collaboration opportunities. At this meeting, it was decided that we would use the Libguides platform to create a guide on employability3 within the library website. The guide was  created by pulling together Leeds Beckett Library, Student Union and Careers resources, as well as external services and training. This would be a ‘one-stop-shop’, directing patrons to all sorts of complementary services and resources from around the university. As an institution, Leeds Beckett is committed to promoting education in the wider commun-ity (with both campus libraries open to the public), so it was important that the employ-ability guide blended free and subscription resources, to assist our alumni and the  general public, as well as the university’s ?????????????????????????.We developed a skills level page to high-light to students a typical progression map, and how they could enhance their employ-ability throughout their time with us. It was anticipated that the guide would enable students to develop their professional skill sets independently, so helping them to promote ??????????? ?????????????????????????? ???????October 2016As an institution, LeedsBeckett is committed to promoting education in the wider commun ity.Feature44    CILIPUPDATEJennifer Wilson (j.l.willson @leedsbeckett.ac.uk) is Academic Librarian for Law and Built Environment at Leeds Beckett University. Laurence Morris (l.d.morris@leedsbeckett.ac.uk) is Academic Librarian for Health and Social Sciences at Leeds Beckett University.The guide also emerged as a convenient place to outline the tools available to PhD students, such as the diverse range of social media plat-forms now available as a medium in which to share research, collaborate or promote a ????????????????????????????????Support for staff and studentsMost importantly, it was hoped that  academic ????? ???????????????????????????????????????-ration when considering how to use library ????????????????????????????????????????????????????? ???????????? ????????????????????????a centralised list of available services, infor-mation sources and training opportunities to recommend to their customers. Crucially, by gathering these disparate but related resources on one page, we were able to assist our students by  contextualising them. The fact that this contextualisation, along with the rest of the guide, sat under the banner of the ???????? ????????????????????????????????????reminding students that practical support was available through our university library.??????????????????????????????????????????-???????????????????????????????? ???????????????had been the focus of the initial conference session, and were central to the uptake of the ??????????????????????????????????????????helpful resource they could use to ensure that their students were developing the right skills. We were aware that, as in all workplaces, ??????????????????????? ???????????????????????available to them; this had been highlighted by the audience reaction to the initial confer-ence paper, which demonstrated the need for the guide to support the whole of the univer-???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? ????????????????acted as another reminder of the value which a library can add to an organisation.To say that a library service should be advo-cated is something of a truism. How ever, this ?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? enabled us to engage potential new customers, rather than simply preaching to the converted. Within the library Practically, it should be stressed that an institu-tional conference and the Libguides platform are not necessary to replicate this type of ????????????????????? ???????????????????????concept, and a Moodle, WordPress or even a Word document of links and suggestions ????????????????????????????????? ???????????????? ????? ??????????????????????????????library subscriptions and librarians’ profes-sional knowledge in order to open up new opportunities for collaboration without neces-sarily requiring any additional resources.  Ultimately, the success of the approach was demonstrated by the 2,500 visits recorded to ????????????????????????????????????????????-tion, despite an initial soft launch. Academic Librarians have also subsequently been invited ???????????????????????????????????????????????employability resources, and have worked ??????????????????????????????????????????????‘After Leeds Beckett’4 guides to highlight ?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????CILIPUPDATE   45October 2016PrioritiesWe have also used the principle of emphasis-ing the ways in which a library can assist with contemporary priorities to advocate Leeds Beckett Library more generally. At the same DEAP conference, another academic librarian ????????????????????????????????????? ????????????????????????????????????????????????????list system. In this presentation, he empha-sised how, as well as supporting the digital literacy of students, the system could also  inform academic practice, by providing data on how students access and use recommend-ed readings. Such data, he stressed, could ???????????? ????????????????????????????????strategy, and even applications for Fellowship of the Higher Education Academy. Equally, all of our Academic Librarians have worked hard to ensure that our everyday ????? ???????????????????????????????????themes emphasised at the DEAP conference, relating them to the library’s other work. Sub-?????????????????????????????????????????????to emphasise the relevance of the skills being imparted to graduate attributes such as digital literacy and employability. Workshops which we run on Open Access publishing have included sections on tools and techniques for improving the public visibility of individ-???????????????????????????????? ???????????for  example, the use of the unique digital ???????????????????????????????????????????by Orcid.5 This last tool in particular has been ?????????????????????????????????????????????research students, an example of their helpful library assisting them with the tedious admin-istrative challenges of ensuring that access to their work is not adversely impacted if they ever change their name or their employer. ?? ???????????????Such activities have helped to promote an organisational culture where the library is seen as a forward-thinking and helpful partner, able to assist with whatever challenge is currently being faced. In essence, our work as academic librarians has emphasised some of the ways our library can help our community ????????????????????????????? ????????????????general principle which we realise can be applied beyond our sector. By tailoring the presentation of both our new and existing services to contemporary priorities, without requiring any additional resources, we acted as successful advocates for the library, providing a practical demonstration of its continuing worth. Our ongoing task is therefore simple: to ?????????????????????? ???????????????????????everyday pressures, time in which to identify and highlight the areas in which the library’s support will be most useful in future. ?U????????????????????????????????http://libguides.leedsbeckett.ac.uk/subject_support/employability_skills/References??????????????????http://bit.ly/2d7S4IJ?????????????????????????????????????????????????????and academic staff  http://bit.ly/2ctm4k6.??????????????????????http://libguides.leedsbeckett.ac.uk/subject_support/employability_skills/4 After Leeds Beckett http://bit.ly/2d3QVWF 5 Orcid http://orcid.org/Employability Skills website.

Promoting library engagement through employability (among other things)

Abstract

Similar works

Full text

Available Versions

Leeds Beckett Repository