Nordic Journal of Information Literacy in Higher Education
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Minding the gap
No full textThe plan for the Round table session was to focus on organizational and social/cultural differences between librarians and faculty with the aim to increase our awareness of the differences when we try to find ways to cooperate within the academy or school. This may help us to sort things out, experience acceptance and take adequate actions, saving energy and perhaps be less frustrated. The questions that the workshop addressed were: What is in the gap between librarians and faculty when dealing with information literacy? How can we fill the gap? Participants discussed this in detail with the aim of together finding ways to understand it better and make it possible to find ways to fill this gap. By defining it and thereby making it easier to work out a strategy for future action to improve the teaching of information literacy, including listing possible, impossible or nearly impossible ways. The springboard to the discussion was extracted from some projects that the workshop leader has been engaged in since 2009. The first example is a research circle where Uppsala University Library used action research to observe and understand the process when we had the opportunity to implement information literacy classes with progression in an undergraduate program. What worked well? What did not? Why? This work was described together with other examples from Uppsala University to an international panel working with quality issues. What did they think of our work? May this change the ways we are working? How? Another example is an ongoing joint project where librarians and faculty members are trying to define ways to increase the cooperation between the library and faculty and make this cooperation sustainable. Recent experience from this was brought to the discussion. There are an overwhelming number of papers written in this field. A few papers have inspired these ideas. One article in particular: Christiansen, L., Stombler, M. & Thaxton, L. (2004). A report on librarian-faculty relations from a sociological perspective. The journal of academic librarianship, 30(2), 116-121. The method that was used was to: 1. Present these broad areas/challenges for the group to agree on or add another area 2. Discuss these challenges one at a time, and for each one identify specific aspects to pursue farther, using post-it notes 3. Make a summary of the different aspects to help and inspire further action.  
A library treasure hunt – An alternative way to introduce new university students to the library
No full textIntroducing new students to the library and its resources during the first hectic weeks at university can pose a considerable challenge. We have to compete with many other kinds of introductory activities, making new friends, becoming acquainted with the subject, not to mention all the parties and social functions arranged for new students. The traditional lecture, or showing large groups of tired students around the library just wasn\u27t working. So, a few years ago, we started to think about radical new ways of introducing students to the library. We hit upon the idea of arranging a treasure hunt. Students working in small groups have to carry out various tasks at different stations in different libraries. When each task has been successfully completed, a verbal report is made to the librarian at that library, and students can ask questions, before going on to the next task. By carrying out actual tasks, the students become familiar with the important aspects of library resources; learning by doing and having fun at the same time. The "treasure" at the end of the hunt was an apple, a sweet, a pencil, a small LED flashlight and information brochures about the library and the master programme in physics. One of the decisive factors in the success of this activity was the cooperation of lecturers, who integrated it into their introductory programme. It also had high status, as it was a compulsory activity, thanks to the commitment and understanding of lecturers. The treasure hunt is important in the students\u27 later studies as they know which library resources are available, and they recognise the librarians. This lowers the threshold for the further development of the students\u27 information gathering skills. The success of this activity in one of the subjects taught at the Department of Physics has led to the decision to make the library treasure hunt compulsory for all students at the Department, in both the Engineering Faculty and the Science Faculty. We are now considering the further development of the library treasure hunt to make it more scalable, and to introduce digital aids, e.g. tablet computers
Editorial
Get PDFThis special issue of the Nordic Journal of Information Literacy in Higher Education summarizes the conference Creating Knowledge VII held in Lund, Sweden, August 14-16, 2013. The conference was hosted by Lund University Libraries in cooperation with NordINFOLIT. The title was Win-win ways: educational enhancement through collaborative partnership between students, academics, and librarians
Communicating the relevance of the library in the age of Google: Improving undergraduate research skills and information literacy though new models of library instruction
Get PDFMost academic librarians have long been aware that the ascent of the Internet has posed a challenge to the primacy of the library as information hub. Recent studies have shown that the majority of undergraduate students do not begin their research in the library, but with Google and Wikipedia - and many students end their research here as well (Connaway, Dickey, & Radford, 2011). This trend would seem to bode ill for the quality of the research skills and the level of information literacy among current undergraduates, as many students privilege convenient access to information over quality of content (Colón-Aguirre & Fleming-May, 2012; Connaway, et al., 2011). But how do we prepare undergraduate students for the rigours of academic research given this circumstance? The library instruction session has been the path to information literacy traditionally taken by colleges and universities, but increasingly, librarians have begun questioning the value of these sessions. Many undergraduates do not find library instruction sessions relevant to their practical information needs and to changing modes of information access, and many students do not come away from library information sessions feeling fully prepared - or even fully willing - to move beyond Google and into the library in order to carry out quality information searches (Colón-Aguirre & Fleming-May, 2012). Indeed, many librarians also now feel that the classic model of library instruction no longer fully meets the information needs of undergraduates nor anticipates their Internet-focused research habits, and that library instruction needs to change dramatically in order to do so (Colón-Aguirre & Fleming-May, 2012; Farkas, 2012). Such means of improving library instruction include: breaking away from the single-session model and moving toward a multiple-session model (Farkas, 2012); incorporating discussion of Internet-based and electronic resources more fully into instruction sessions (Colón-Aguirre & Fleming-May, 2012); tailoring library instruction to course curricula and assignments (Smith, et al., 2012); and incorporating active, student-centred learning into library instruction sessions (Abate, Gomes, & Linton, 2011). The successful implementation of these measures is ultimately dependent upon communication and collaboration among library staff, faculty, and students. Implementing major changes to library instruction can be challenging for all stakeholders; such challenges will be explored in a discussion of the implementation of a prototype library instruction model developed at Selkirk College, a small undergraduate-focused institution in British Columbia, Canada
Critical friends and collaborative partnership
No full textCritical friends: a method for peer feedbackThe Critical Friend-method has been used in various educational settings to facilitate the process of continuous improvement in teaching. The aim of this study was to implement Critical Friends, and to find out if this method could be used for feedback on teaching as part of a librarians\u27 professional development. The project was carried out within the Library Unit of the Faculty of Medicine at Lund University, Sweden, in collaboration with the faculty\u27s Centre for Teaching and Learning. Seven librarians and an educational consultant from the Centre for Teaching and Learning participated; the educational consultant played an essential role in supervising and structuring the project and the evaluation process, preparing readings as well as being an active participant. The participants worked in pairs; the performance of one teacher and the associated classroom activities were observed by the critical friend, and then evaluated and discussed. Evaluation and resultsAfter two preparatory group meetings, a final meeting was held where all pairs reported what they had done and how they perceived the critical friend process. The experiences of the participating librarians were explored using a questionnaire. The questionnaire was analyzed using content analysis by one librarian and the educational consultant independently. The results suggested that use of the critical friend method could have a positive impact by achieving the following: strengthening shared values concerning teaching issues; promoting self-reflection on teaching; facilitating communication with colleagues; and reducing the sense of \u27loneliness‘ in teaching. The difficulties in the implementation were lack of time and competing duties. It was perceived as an advantage to work in close partnership with the faculty\u27s educational consultants, who were familiar with the organization.  
Information Literacy from the Policy and Strategy Perspective
Get PDFThis paper examines IL from a policy and strategy perspective and reports the selected findings of the research project that was carried out within open and distance learning universities in Europe. The research problem for this study focused on the need to know how information-related competencies (IRC) were developed in European higher open and distance learning (ODL) institutions. The general research strategy in this study was a mixed method strategy, using both qualitative and quantitative methodologies, built into a two-stage research design. A survey provided a broad picture of a phenomenon, and case studies covered a more limited area of the same ground but in more depth.The first stage was a small-scale questionnaire survey, with a structured questionnaire using a purposive sample, which was analysed using statistical techniques. The objectives of the questionnaire were to determine the extent and the ways to which IRC were developed within European higher ODL institutions, to investigate the role of libraries within the development of IRC and to identify examples of ‘good practice\u27 in the field of IRC in European higher ODL institutions. The second stage of the study involved a multiple case study in six European ODL institutions. In this part of the study the researcher was trying to discover what people actually did in practice to develop IRC, how they experienced those processes and made sense of it.The research results will contribute to the development of ODL courses with library and information literacy support, that would improve students\u27 IRC, and also to the Bologna aims of competence development and professional development in a context of lifelong learning
Forskningsstøtte og bibliotekets rolle: Kartlegging, tilrettelegging og synliggjøring
No full textHvordan utvikles forskningsstøtte lokalt, sett i lys av nye nasjonale og internasjonale rammebetingelser? Spørsmålet belyses gjennom et innledende innlegg med påfølgende debatt mellom representanter fra tre institusjoner. I et innledende innlegg belyses universitets- og høyskolebibliotekenes nye rammebetingelser og muligheter i arbeidet med å styrke sin rolle i forskerutdanningene. Funn fra kartleggingsstudier om forskningsstøtte blant ph.d.-kandidater vil presenteres (Gullbekk, Rullestad & Torras, 2012; Drachen, Gullbekk & Westbye, 2011). Funnene diskuteres i lys av kompetansekrav slik de kommer til uttrykk i utdanningspolitiske dokumenter som Nasjonalt kvalifikasjonsrammeverk for høyere utdanning. Eksempler på forskningsstøtte fra norske universitets- og høyskolebibliotek vil også bli presentert, og lokale tiltak for videreutvikling av forskerutdanningene ved de respektive universitetene og høyskolene vil diskuteres. I en påfølgende kafedialog diskuteres implikasjoner av funn i de nevnte kartleggingsstudiene. Hvordan kan universitets- og høyskolebibliotek tilrettelegge og synliggjøre sin forskningsstøtte? Eksempler på spørsmål som vil bli belyst i kafedialogen er: Definisjon av forskningsstøtte Hvordan skal vi definere forskningsstøtte ved universitets- og høyskolebibliotek? Hvilke utviklingstrekk ser vi ved våre moderinstitusjoner? Tilrettelegging Hvordan kan vi styrke bibliotekenes støtte til forskerutdanningene i universitets- og høyskolesektoren gjennom å utvikle kunnskapsbasert undervisning og veiledning? Hvordan organiserer biblioteket virksomhet når det gjelder utvikling av forskningsstøtte? Hvordan kan biblioteket samarbeide med fagmiljø og forskningsadministrasjonen? Hvilken kompetanse trenger ansatte på universitets- og høyskolebibliotek for å kunne tilby effektiv og relevant forskningsstøtte? Synliggjøring Hvordan kan bibliotekene best utvikle seg til å bli mer synlige og relevante for å bidra med forskningsstøtte for ph.d.-kandidater og for moderinstitusjonen? Erfarings- og kunnskapsutveksling og samarbeid blant universitets- og høyskolebibliotek er en styrke i tjenesteutvikling. Kafedialogen vil avslutte med en diskusjon om hvordan et nasjonalt nettverk kunne bidra til utvikling av relevant forskningsstøtte ved UH-bibliotekene. Nettverk for forskningsstøtte er nylig etablert i både Sverige og Danmark. Referanser Gullbekk, E., Rullestad, T. og Torras, M.C. (red.). (2012). Ph.d.-kandidater og forskningsprosessen: Bibliotekets bidrag. (In press). Skrifter fra Universitetsbiblioteket i Oslo. Oslo. Drachen, T.M., Larsen, A., Gullbekk, E. Lach, K. og Westbye, H. (2010). Information behaviour and practices of PhD-students, http://hprints.org/hprints-00599034/en
Kildekompasset - å navigere seg frem til riktig referansestil
No full textOne of the main tasks of an academic library is to guide students in critical evaluation and the ethical use of sources so that they can interpret, evaluate and create information in a correct and proper way. This should be integrated into the subjects, which is a huge challenge. Many students are told that they can freely select the reference style as long as they are consistent. But it is difficult to be consistent when you barely know what a reference style is. It is not easy for the librarian to answer how one refers to a governmental white paper in a self-designed reference system. To do this in a simple way, it is desirable to share the task between academic tutors and the library. The recommendation of a reference style should come from the subject department of a faculty and from the sample collections provided by the library. The libraries at the University of Agder (UoA) and Telemark University College (TUC) joined forces to create a survey in which various reference styles were listed, complete with examples. The respondents were asked to choose the style they preferred and would advise their students to use. The response rate among the academic staff at the TUC and the UoA was 40%. We consider this to be a representative sample. The purpose of the final web resource aims to be as simple as possible. Students who do not know what a reference style is, and students who do not know which style they should choose, are now guided to make a confident choice of style
The Ph.D.-candidate as an information literate resource
No full textOne of Agder University Librarys goals is to support teaching and research at the University of Agder (UoA). To do so, the library should be involved in research projects and offer the right products at the right time. The spring of 2012 a survey was conducted among researchers (academic staff and Ph.D.-students) at the faculty of humanities and education at UoA as well as the library staff. Aditional interviews was made with the library´s research librarians and two of the Ph.D.-students. The surveys and interviews made it clear that researchers and librarians have a different conception on what research support is and should be. While librarians focus mostly on library resources, the researchers focus more generally on practical, economical and administrative help to make research possible. However, the majority answered yes to the question on the library being an important part of research support.Working closely with the researchers can help to offer the right library resources at the right time. Ph.D.-students are less likely to be set in their ways in regards to information behaviour and will often be positive to try new approaches. Also, the Ph.D.-students can be used as a reference group for developing library resources for researchers, for example subject guides. The outside perspective on the library can help to find new ways of approaching research support to make it more useful to researchers
En presentasjon av prosjektet Skriving og etisk kildebruk i høyere utdanning: Utvikling av interaktive søke- og skrivemoduler i læringsverktøyet Søk & Skriv
No full text"Jeg vil gjerne ha mer hjelp, altså for eksempel en utvidet "skriveråd". Jo mer, jo bedre." (Student 5) Høsten 2010 gjennomførte driftsgruppa for nettstedet Søk & Skriv en brukerundersøkelse blant studenter og faglig ansatte (\u27faglig ansatte\u27 gjelder også bibliotekansatte). Undersøkelsen var tilgjengelig på nettet fra oktober til desember 2010. Målet var å finne ut hvordan studenter og ansatte bruker nettstedet, hva de savner og hva de vil ha mer av. Våren 2011 gjorde Det informationsvidenskabelige Akademi en komparativ undersøkelse av nettstedene VIKO, Råd & Vink og Søk & Skriv. Analysene ga klare svar til Søk & Skriv: Studenter ved HiB, NHH og UiB vil ha konkrete tips til hvordan man skriver en akademisk tekst. En student savner maler for strukturer og spør "Hvordan ser en akademisk tekst ut egentlig?" Slik vi ser det henger informasjonssøk og akademisk skriving nøye sammen (derfor navnet Søk & Skriv). Denne koblinga er ikke like selvsagt for studenten. Studentene mener de kan søke, men er usikre på skrivinga. Vi mener at studentene ikke søker godt nok. Dette sammenfaller med Nicholas et als artikkel Google Generation II: web behaviour experiments with the BBC. Undersøkelsen viser at de som er født etter 1993 oppsøker få informasjonsressurser og bruker kort tid på vurdering av informasjon. Så hvordan får vi studenter til å bruke mer tid på søking og skriving, framfor tid på sosiale media? Kan vi kombinere sosiale media med søking og skriving?I samarbeid med Akademisk skriving ved UiB vil vi synliggjøre argumentutvikling i vitenskaplige tekster. Ved eksplisitt å peke på referansebruk og kildevurdering i tekst kan vi bruke dette som utgangspunkt for interaktive oppgaver der studenten selv må ta stilling til kildene hun finner, og bruke disse på en etisk måte. Prosjektet Skriving og etisk kildebruk i høyere utdanning: Utvikling av interaktive søke- og skrivemoduler i læringsverktøyet Søk & Skriv er et samarbeid mellom biblioteka ved NHH, UiB, HiB, UiO og førstesemesterstudiet akademisk skriving ved UiB som er støtta av Nasjonalbiblioteket. Referanser:Forras, P., Kavli, S., Mikki, S., Austrheim, G. og Elvebakk, E. (2011) Søk & Skriv i et brukerperspektiv: Rapport fra spørreundersøkelsen høsten 2010. Hyldegård, J, Lund, H., Moring, C., Pors, N.P., og Schreiber, T. (2011) Studerende, læring og webtutorials : En analyse af 3 norske læringssystemer. København : Det informationsvidenskabelige akademi. Nicholas, D., Rowlands, I., Clark, D., og Williams, D. (2011) Google Generation II: web behaviour experiments with the BBC, Aslib Proceedings, Vol. 63 nr: 1, s.28 - 45