Sheila Corrall

Information literacy strategy development in higher education: An exploratory study

Information literacy (IL) is recognised internationally as an essential competence for participation in education, employment and society. Communities and organisations need strategies to ensure their members are efficient and effective information users. An investigation of formal IL strategies in UK universities was initiated to examine their content and presentation. The study breaks new ground in undertaking an in-depth qualitative analysis of 10 institutional cases, evaluating IL practice from a strategic management perspective and discussing how corporate strategy concepts and models could increase effectiveness in this emerging area of professional practice. Its insights and suggestions contribute to the development of IL and related strategies at both conceptual and practical levels. The study found that all the strategies aimed to integrate IL into subject curricula by engaging stakeholders in collaborative partnerships. Common approaches included the adoption of professional standards and development of new methods of delivery, including e-learning. The majority of strategies covered IL of academic and other staff in addition to students. Most strategy documents provided extensive contextualisation, demonstrating the relevance of IL to corporate concerns; many included case studies of good practice. Few documents conformed to strategic planning norms: none provided mission or vision statements and several contained poorly specified objectives. The study concluded that corporate strategy tools, such as stakeholder mapping, portfolio analysis and customisation models, could strengthen IL strategies. Future research could test the use of such analytical techniques to advance IL strategies in higher education and other sectors.

Educating the academic librarian as a blended professional: a review and case study

Purpose – This paper aims to explore the phenomenon of the hybrid information specialist in the academic library setting. It does this in relation to curriculum development for preparatory and continuing professional education for librarianship and makes particular reference to the contemporary iSchools movement.Design/methodology/approach – The paper reviews trends and developments in academic information services and the information science academy in the context of continuing technological advances and educational change. It presents a case study of curriculum development and portfolio renewal, using the specialist roles of digital library manager and information literacy educator to show how the principles of interactive planning can be applied in articulating an academic strategy to meet the changing demands of educational institutions, professional bodies and employers.Findings – There are significant parallels between professional education and professional practice in the shifting boundaries, expa...

The Subject Librarian and the Virtual Learning Environment: A Study of UK Universities

Purpose – The prevalence of virtual learning environments (VLEs) in higher education is well documented and has been promoted in the UK by government funded projects, but there has been little empirical research on the level of involvement of subject librarians with VLEs. A survey was designed to investigate how VLEs are affecting the work of subject librarians and to examine factors influencing their use in providing electronic information resources and developing information skills. The aim of this paper is to document the resultsDesign/methodology/approach – A questionnaire was distributed electronically to a purposive sample of 132 subject librarians at seven UK universities. The instrument contained mainly closed specified response questions with a few open questions and a response rate of 43 per cent (n=57) was achieved.Findings – Use of VLEs by subject librarians varies both between and within institutions. Factors affecting this include the subject area, co‐operation of academic staff and attitude...

Student perceptions of staff in the Information Commons: a survey at the University of Sheffield

Purpose: Technology has transformed teaching and learning environments in tertiary education, introducing new collaborative library spaces and developing the roles and skills of library staff. Academic libraries need continually to re-examine their services to ensure they meet student needs. The current survey aimed to discover how students perceived staff in the Information Commons (IC) and whether their perceptions of staff attitudes and skills influenced their use of library resources. Design/methodology/approach: A questionnaire containing closed and open questions was distributed electronically to undergraduate and postgraduate students at the University of Sheffield, obtaining 250 responses (around 1 per cent of the student population). Findings: The results showed that most students were unable to distinguish different groups of staff, were unaware of their departmental librarian and did not recognise the academic role of librarians. However, those who had sought assistance in the IC or attended classes delivered by librarians had positive views of their experiences. Research limitations/implications: The timing and fixed duration of the study limited the size and nature of the sample, the generalisability of the findings and depth of the investigation, but sufficient data were collected to establish patterns of behaviour and identify important factors. Practical implications: Low awareness among students of the expertise of librarians and their capacity to provide academic support indicates a need for more promotion to ensure library resources are properly utilised. Originality/value: The study is thought to be the first of its kind conducted in the UK and the only such survey carried out in an IC setting.

Effects of the Economic Downturn on Academic Libraries in the UK: Positions and Projections in Mid-2009

The global economy has experienced a steep downturn that is affecting all sectors of society. The United Kingdom officially entered a recession in January 2009 that made public spending cuts inevitable. Academic libraries are particularly vulnerable to changes in the world economy because of their reliance on highly-priced globally-sourced information products and dependence on expenditure allocations from parent institutions that are heavily dependent on public funding. An investigation of initial and anticipated effects of the downturn on libraries in UK higher education was conducted in summer 2009 to assess its impact on human resources and working practices, information resources and collection management, service portfolios, projects, and developments. A pragmatic mixed methodology was employed combining a mainly quantitative sector-wide questionnaire survey (n = 36) with in-depth semi-structured interviews of 12 senior managers at five universities. Quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Interview data were coded and analyzed thematically using cross-sectional indexing to facilitate inter-institutional comparisons. Results showed staffing and journal subscriptions were most affected, with services and projects largely protected. Findings confirm prior assumptions about human and information resources as targets for cuts, demonstrate strong commitment to service provision, reveal complex effects on development projects and highlight critical dimensions of managerial behavior.

Evaluating Intellectual Assets in University Libraries: A Multi-Site Case Study from Thailand

Intellectual assets are strategic resources that libraries can use to add value to services, but their intangible attributes make them hard to evaluate. An exploratory case study used document analysis, interviews and a questionnaire to develop and test indicators of intellectual assets and related performance measures at three university libraries in Thailand. The study demonstrated the feasibility of applying an intellectual capital perspective and a scorecard process model to design a workable system for evaluating library intangibles, particularly where libraries have a pre-existing interest in knowledge management and a culture of assessment.

Personalized service? Changing the role of the government librarian

This study investigated the feasibility of a personalized information service in a government department. A qualitative methodology explored stakeholder opinions on the remit, marketing, resourcing and measurement of the service. A questionnaire and interviews gathered experiences of personalized provision across the government sector. Potential users were similarly surveyed to discuss how the service could meet their needs. Data were analysed using coding techniques to identify emerging theory. Lessons learned from government librarians centred on clarifying requirements, balancing workloads and selective marketing. The user survey showed low usage and awareness of existing specialist services, but high levels of need and interest in services repackaged as a tailored offering. Fieldwork confirmed findings from the literature on the scope for adding value through information management advice, information skills training and substantive research assistance and the need to understand business processes and develop effective partnerships. Concluding recommendations focus on service definition, strategic marketing, resource utilization and performance measurement.

Developing public library managers as leaders: Evaluation of a national leadership development programme

Purpose – The papers aim is to present findings of the recent evaluation of the Leading Modern Public Libraries development programme with reference to the management versus leadership dynamic. The programme provided a strategic intervention to address a perceived weakness in leadership development within the public library sector in England.Design/methodology/approach – Drawing on recent examples from the literature, the theoretical differences between the concepts of management and leadership are discussed and used to inform consideration of the programmes effectiveness. Evaluation methods included participant observation, interviews, focus groups and a questionnaire survey, each administered at various stages of the programme with a representative sample of programme participants. Verbatim quotations from evaluation respondents are included in the analysis.Findings – The research reveals that the programme has had a positive impact in enabling and developing leadership capacity within the sector, par...

Developing the legal information professional: A study of competency, education and training needs

Purpose – Legal information work has expanded with the growth in knowledge management and emergence of a new type of knowledge/information manager, the professional support lawyer. This study aims to investigate competency requirements for library‐based information work in UK law firms, including the specialist subject knowledge required, methods of development and the impact on information professionals of professional support lawyers.Design/methodology/approach – The investigation used a pragmatic mixed‐methods approach, including a mainly quantitative questionnaire, administered online to 64 legal information professionals, followed by eight semi‐structured interviews and a focus group with four participants. A literature review informed the questionnaire design and contextualised the findings.Findings – The survey confirmed a broad range of competency requirements and clarified the specific subject knowledge needed. Participants favoured a varied combination of formal, and informal learning. Most part...

Evaluating Intellectual Assets In University Libraries: A Multi-Site Case Study From Thailand

AbstractIntellectual assets are strategic resources that libraries can use to add value to services, but their intangible attributes make them hard to evaluate. An exploratory case study used document analysis, interviews and a questionnaire to develop and test indicators of intellectual assets and related performance measures at three university libraries in Thailand. The study demonstrated the feasibility of applying an intellectual capital perspective and a scorecard process model to design a workable system for evaluating library intangibles, particularly where libraries have a pre-existing interest in knowledge management and a culture of assessment.