Over summer I’ve got two main projects on the go; collection management for the Teaching Practice collection (for trainee teachers), and managing a project working on development of induction activities for the VLE. I also usually have two enquiry desk duties per week, each of which is half a day (this week mine are Wednesday afternoon and Friday afternoon).

Work activities on my desk this week

Today I spent most of the day on the induction project, although I did spend a little bit of time weeding.

Morning activities today included:

• Sorting and responding to emails – nowhere near as many each morning since I recently reorganised my folders and accounts, using my librarian skills to good effect!
• Reviewing induction material sent to me by one of the project team – gave feedback for a few minor amendments
• Moving the HTML content from one VLE topic to another, uploading images to new topic, and changing the structure slightly (splitting a long section up into component parts)
• Adding the complete structure to the new topic (with blank marker pages) to get a better idea of the overall induction package
• Weeding the Teaching Practice collection – finished Music and did the Sport/PE section so just Geography and History to go now

Afternoon activities included:

• Reviewing more induction project material to ensure we’re sticking to the project brief and covering the areas we need without going overboard – a real threat to this project has been creeping into more advanced material, so it’s important we establish and stick to what we believe is necessary information for induction level
• Helping a colleague rearrange furniture – he’s swapped desks and needed to rearrange all his PC equipment (he’s a lucky so and so who has two monitors!)
• Adding some of the quiz questions to the VLE including feedback – remembered I could include images as answer options which makes the screenshot questions easier to understand
• More photographs, screenshots and image editing
• Starting to think about what, if any, files (physical or electronic) I need to handover before leaving – I’ve been at this workplace for almost 5 years, but most of what I have produced is publicly (or internally) available. Hopefully my meeting with my manager next week will help me think about all the things I’ve likely forgotten about!

Probably reads as a pretty boring day, but I’m excited about the induction activities project and want to make it a really useful tool for all our new students, taking into account different starting knowledge points and different learning styles. It’s all starting to come together nicely now so fingers crossed it will be complete before I leave!

If you’re interested in following other librarians, go to the wiki and use the links to people’s blogs, or use the #libday5 search in Twitter. Looking forward to #libday6 when I should be in my new job!

Tweet this

Over summer I’ve got two main projects on the go; collection management for the Teaching Practice collection (for trainee teachers), and managing a project working on development of induction activities for the VLE. I also usually have two enquiry desk duties per week, each of which is half a day (this week mine are Wednesday afternoon and Friday afternoon).

Current to do list (I also use RTM for smaller subtasks)

I took some photos of my workplace today (including the one above of my overall to do list), you can see them all in this set on Flickr. Others have also been adding photos for the project, I find it really interesting to look at where people work.

Morning activities today included:

• Sorting and responding to emails
• Finding examples of different types of material for the induction activities (book, CD, DVD, and chapter from edited book from well known or general study skills material) – always amazes me how long it can take to find a good example!
• Taking photos and screenshots of example materials and example searches on OPAC (library catalogue)
• Adding the images and brief explanatory text to the VLE
• Putting together some multiple choice questions for the induction activities
• Covering the Lending Services Helpdesk for 90mins whilst other staff were at a meeting (this involved selling some withdrawn books and binding materials, issuing reservations, renewing a laptop loan, helping students find books, and helping a student with a corrupt USB drive – oh and cutting my hand whilst guillotining some scrap paper!)

Afternoon activities included:

• Adding more induction material to the VLE (think this will be repeated every morning and afternoon for the foreseeable future!)
• Glancing through the CILIP Defining our Professional Future report, and printing a copy to read soon
• Flicking through the online version of Library & Information Update from CILIP
• Organising my calendar for the next few weeks before I finish this job role (including arranging some meetings with my manager)
• Trying to sort out a crashing issue with Photoshop (using advice from Twitter) before editing images ready for web use – it seemed a little better later on, but still crashed when I tried to open multiple files so more investigation needed tomorrow!

If you’re interested in following other librarians, go to the wiki and use the links to people’s blogs, or use the #libday5 search in Twitter.

Tweet this

Over summer I’ve got two main projects on the go; collection management for the Teaching Practice collection (for trainee teachers), and managing a project working on development of induction activities for the VLE. I also usually have two enquiry desk duties per week, each of which is half a day (this week mine are Wednesday afternoon and Friday afternoon).

Morning activities today included:

• Sorting through emails and responding to a couple of email enquiries (local college librarian re-arranging a visit to discuss inductions and education student researching pedagogy and andragogy for her dissertation)
• Changing loan status of some books which are no longer in such high demand
• Selecting books for withdrawal in the music education section of Teaching Practice (found some gems which I’ll photograph to share!)
• Organising classmarks of books to be changed where they would be more findable from another area (Teaching Practice is usually browsed, not found by searching OPAC, so logical placement in terms of the area of the curriculum it supports is vital)
• Returning books I’ve been too lazy to return and kept renewing even though I have finished with them (librarians are such rebels!)
• Enjoying a lovely slice of gluten free chocolate cake made specially by a colleague (this was definitely a highlight!)

Afternoon activities included:

• Answering a couple of phone and in-person enquiries – mainly just directional enquiries though, no meaty research enquiries this afternoon
• Briefly covering the Lending Services Helpdesk (and helping a lost student find a book)
• Looking at the latest issue of SCONUL Focus – read part of a particularly interesting article about improving support and liaison links with academic staff and researchers
• Discussions with a colleague about changes to the curriculum and how our soon to be developed induction activities can be embedded into the new modules
• Discussions with a different colleague about the progress on the induction activities (this turned into an epic conversation but I think we both had a clearer idea by the end!)
• Drafting some ideas and activities for my areas of responsibility in the induction activities (mainly activities using multiple choice questions with clear feedback at each stage)
• Testing capabilities of the VLE – thankfully inserting images into multiple choice questions is relatively straight forward!

I forgot to take photos today so I’ll be sure to take some tomorrow and add them to the blog posts.

If you’re interested in following other librarians, go to the wiki and use the links to people’s blogs, or use the #libday5 search in Twitter.

Tweet this

My workshop was examining ‘The Wild West’ scenario; an era of instability and regional divides, largely market driven but relatively open. We began the day by trying to visualise this scenario and what it could be like if this was the case in 2050. We thought about how this might affect currency, language, global resources, communication, and education. As you can see from the overview, in this scenario UK Higher Education consists of 20 academic and research intensive universities, 2-3 major vocational institutions in regional clusters (merging FE with HE), and around 25 new entrants from the private sector, mainly operating for profit. Funding of learning comes from employers and students (no state funding), with research funded by industry, state and regional partners.

The first activity looked at what an academic library might be like in the scenario. Possible models included a geographic shared service (similar to Worcester’s academic, public and history centre currently being built), all HE being supported by one national library service, or libraries working as trading bodies becoming specialists in certain areas which other libraries may choose to buy in. Key themes which came from these discussions included the concept of regional hubs to support teaching and research (maybe even a Starbucks University!), the possibility of research intensive universities publishing and selling their research to increase income, and collaborative opportunities for educational institutions and businesses for both learning and research.

The second activity required us to think about certain people within the scenario and what their relationship with the academic library would be. We looked at learners (researchers, undergraduates, adult learners), library workers (junior librarians, specialist librarians, library managers), and university staff (lecturers, academic authors, university managers). This was an interesting exercise, my group looked at adult learners (for whom we felt a lot of their current needs would still exist in this scenario), library managers (for whom we felt would need more business skills such as negotiation, networking and marketing), and academic authors (for whom we felt would need support with the publication process and measuring the impact of their work).

The final activity was to produce a timeline from 2010 to 2050 with key milestones, assuming that we would reach the Wild West scenario in 2050. We had to come up with some headlines (we were encouraged to make them radical) and place them on the timescale where we thought they might happen. Suggestions included Google competing with Amazon for online sales of physical books, shortly followed by the last ever physical textbook being printed. Each of the groups predicted news of library buildings closing (though not the service), and key publishers going bust. Most of the headlines were things we predicted in the next 20 years or so, it was more difficult to predict what might happen in 2030-2050.

It was a really interesting workshop, and I enjoyed the different approach of scenario building. It was very difficult to picture things in 40 years though, especially when you think how much library services and society in general has changed in the last 40 years! Keep an eye on the project website for more information or details of the different scenarios.

There was also a lot of crossover between the discussions at this event and those of CILIPs Defining our Professional Future project, which I’m looking forward to seeing the report from.

Tweet this

Emma Illingworth and myself at NPC2010 (from sarahjison on Flickr)

Having gained a lot from the use of Twitter as a communication tool and conference backchannel at recent conferences, I was keen to encourage this at this year’s New Professionals Conference. Thankfully, the organising committee agreed and I was appointed the grand title of “Twitter Officer” (despite what some people thought, this was only my title for the conference and not for my paid job!).

The Twitter hashtag

A hashtag of #npc2010 was agreed early on in the conference planning, and a TwapperKeeper archive was set up by Ned Potter, one of the conference organising team, in February 2010. The hashtag was promoted mainly through Twitter, being used by the conference organising team, myself, and other tweeters interested in the conference.

The Twitter list

A Twitter list of all delegates and speakers was established so that people could follow all tweets from the group. The list was populated by adding people who used the #npc2010 hashtag in the run up to the conference, as well as from the responses to an email which went to all delegates requesting Twitter usernames if they wished them to be added to conference badges and the list. As each was added, they were notified via email or Twitter and the link was shared so that they could follow the list if they wanted to.

Before the conference

In the run up to the conference, Twitter was initially used to promote the conference, and later to confirm attendance. It was also used by first-time speakers to help them gather evidence to support their talks, and share their experiences as they developed their presentations. Closer to the conference, discussion using the hashtag increased as people began to discuss their plans for the conference and organise face-to-face networking opportunities.

During the conference

Despite the lack of wireless access, a number of attendees were able to tweet throughout the conference using their mobile phones. Main points from each of the presentations and some of the workshops were tweeted throughout the day. This proved particularly useful during the workshop sessions, as those who were in a workshop could also read tweets from the presentations they had missed. There was also conversation on Twitter amongst delegates; reiterating points made by others, adding opinions to topics covered during the day, and building network connections.

Twitter usernames on delegate badges helped those who had previously communicated on Twitter identify each other and continue networking face-to-face. The prominence of Twitter throughout the day, and Bethan Ruddock’s Twitter workshop also encouraged discussion about Twitter during networking opportunities.

After the conference

Discussion on Twitter has continued after the conference, with people sharing feedback on the day, links to blog posts, photos from the day, and other information which may be of use to those attending or following the New Professionals Conference. Conversation has also continued on from topics raised and conversations held during the day, extending the networking opportunities available after the conference.

Key statistics

Using data from the Summarizr for #npc2010 and the NPC2010 Twitter list, the following key facts emerge:

• 796 tweets have been made with the hashtag #npc2010 (as at 11th July 2010)
• 119 different people tweeted using the hashtag #npc2010, demonstrating engagement from those who didn’t attend as well as those at the conference
• The Twitter list contains tweets from 30 delegates, and has 20 followers
• 80 different URLs were tweeted along with the #npc2010 hashtag (including links to blog posts, presentations, and the conference details)
• Numerous conversations between tweeters were encouraged through use of the hashtag; it also enabled conversations with speakers, many of whom use Twitter

Future recommendations of good practice

Use of Twitter certainly enhanced the conference and I would recommend its use for future events, but there are a few further recommendations:

1. Wireless access at venue – this is something that I imagine is frequently mentioned on feedback forms at venues without wireless access. Over the last couple of years it has become more common to have access to wireless network throughout events, and is therefore expected by many. Wireless access would have enabled more people to be able to tweet during the day, as many bought along devices which required wireless access. It had been hoped that the venue would have wireless but unfortunately that wasn’t the case – it may be something to place more priority on when choosing venue if future events are likely to include tweeting etc. during the day.
2. Wider promotion of hashtag – the hashtag was mainly mentioned on Twitter, but if you weren’t already following people like myself or the conference organisers it may not have been obvious. It was also publicised by email but looking back, it could have been more widely promoted. Details of the hashtag would be useful on the conference details page, in the delegate pack, and on the welcome screen as delegates arrive. It should also be mentioned at the beginning of the day with housekeeping information.
3. Twitterfall wall at venue – I know this wasn’t possible for this particular event, but I do think it’s something to consider for future events. It was used successfully at the Librarians as Teachers event on a large screen near the back of the room. This way it doesn’t interrupt the main presentations or distract people’s attention, but can be looked at during the break, even by those without mobile phones or laptops with them. It can also be interesting for speakers to review the tweets made during their session. If breaks are held in a different room, this may be a more appropriate place to display the tweets.

Conclusion

Twitter was used successfully at New Professionals Conference, and tied in well with the conference theme – many presentations discussed the importance of CPD via peer networking, and the use of Twitter encouraged this at the event. The Twitter list was a useful way for people to follow all delegates at the conference, and the #npc2010 hashtag was used extensively before, during and after the conference. Tweeting enabled some who couldn’t attend to get a feel for some of the key themes of the day, and supported networking and sharing information for delegates and speakers.

P.S. Many bloggers have reported on the New Professionals Conference, check them out if you’d like to know more about the actual event:

• Just another dent in the damage (Lex Rigby) (parts 1, 2, and 3)
• Niamh Page
• Palely Loitering (Laura Steel)
• The Graduate Librarian
• Shiny Forager (Bronagh McCrudden)
• The Wikiman (Ned Potter)
• WoodsieGirl
• Bethan Ruddock
• Lizzie Russell
• Random Musings of a Librarian, Almost (first blog post – welcome to the biblioblogosphere!).

You can also view more photos from the conference at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/sarahjison/tags/npc2010/.

Looking forward to NPC2011!

Tweet this

Also, a brief mention about the publication process – as it is peer-reviewed and all handled online this was a new experience for me (previously I’ve mainly dealt with the process through e-mail communication with the editor). It seems to work well – there were a few issues with the system in that it doesn’t alert the reviewer/editor when updates have been made, but it wasn’t too arduous to send a quick email to let them know. I really liked the ability to track the progress of the article, and online storage certainly helped in terms of version control to ensure the most up-to-date copy is being used. I know this approach is used by a number of peer-reviewed journals now and I can certainly see why – I can also see the opportunity to use this sort of system for any document control which needs to go through a similar reviewing and updating process (project documentation, theses and dissertations, and dreaded reading lists!).

Anyway, enough about that – read the article if you’re interested in what LILAC 2010 was all about, and you may also wish to read my blog posts from LILAC. Hopefully it won’t be the last LILAC conference I attend; I really did get a lot of value from it and would recommend it to all researchers and practitioners interested in information literacy.

Tweet this

The main focus of the presentation was blogging and microblogging as they are the social media tools I’ve gained most from personally. I also touched on the use of social networking and we had interesting discussions around Facebook and LinkedIn.

Some of the tools I mentioned to find library and information professional’s blogs and tweets to follow included:

• UK Library Blogs wiki
• UK Library Blogs Custom Search Engine (see earlier blog post for more information)
• TweepML list of British Librarians
• Twitter lists (such as the #exeter10 list or the #npc2010 list)

I also discussed some tips for promoting accounts including:

• Add your accounts to relevant lists and directories
• Include links in your email signature
• Add to business card (or create networking card)
• Link your accounts
• Engage in conversation
• Keep content fresh and unique
• Share your passion!

You can view a copy of the presentation below:

It was quite a small, (“elite” according to @llordllama!) group – I guess that’s to be expected with a focus on a specific group of attendants (and the first session of the morning after the conference dinner!) – but I was really pleased that those who came along were willing to share their experiences and advice. I enjoyed the discussions, and hope the attendees took something of value from the session.

Do you have any further tools, tips or advice I’ve overlooked?

Tweet this

Overview of the session

As the title of the workshop suggests, there were two main strands; the library brand itself, and its relationship with the student experience. We spent the first part of the workshop with activities and discussions about the library brand, including sharing some of the useful theoretical aspects to building and maintaining a strong brand. Emma and I were keen to emphasise the brand as the concept – the story of the organisation/library, rather than just the visual elements that people immediately think of. This seems to be a big hurdle though, and even myself at times have been known to initially think about logos and slogans when I hear the term “brand”. It’s about so much more than that though, and I think in many libraries (and other organisations), consideration of the brand (and marketing in general) comes low down the list of priorities and is thought of purely as the visual promotional tools such as logos, slogans, leaflets, posters, powerpoint presentations etc. In reality, everything the library does – every single interaction with a user or potential user will have an impact on the library brand. We don’t own the brand; it exists in the mind of the user, and the decisions we make about all aspects of the organisation will have an impact on brand perception, whether it’s in a positive or negative way. I really liked this quote from Howard Schulz, CEO of Starbucks in 1998:

Authentic brands…emanate from everything the company does, from store design and site selection to training, production, packaging and merchandise buying. In companies with strong brands, every senior manager has to evaluate each decision by asking, “Will it strengthen or dilute the brand?

We also touched upon creating the brand strategy using layers – visual value, and emotional – as mentioned in Mathews (2009), and used an academic library example (information literacy programme) to illustrate this, before discussing some of the elements of a strong brand:

• Clear, meaningful, unique message
• Consistent message
• Commitment from all staff
• Ongoing effort to deliver
• Visual elements to complement the brand

After we’d covered the basics of what the library brand means to us, we had a short quiz about library brands where people had to identify the brand based on some of the visual elements we identified (logo, strapline, library layout, colours etc.).

Then we moved on to discuss the student experience and how the library brand can impact on the student experience. This is something Emma and I had struggled with a little bit whilst we were putting together the workshop (well, I did!). We spent hours trying to come up with a model which illustrated the complex relationship between the library brand and the student experience, which was the core focus of our presentation. In the end we realised that none of the models we had conceptualised fully explained the relationship between each of the influencing factors. We decided on the key factors which we felt were included in this relationship – student needs, schools and services, and brand perception – and recognised that the relationship between these and even within them was too complex to demonstrate in a simple form. We settled on a funnel model, showing that each of these factors contribute (in possibly varying amounts) to the overall student experience. Emma found loads of great research about the student experience and how the library and its brand impacts on this, and presented a summary of each of the aspects we chose for the model and how they relate to the student experience.

You can see the slides from the presentation below:

The collaboration process

Emma and I had discussed working together following the New Professionals Conference 2009, where it was clear we had similar professional interests. We’d wanted to collaborate on marketing, something which we are both passionate about, and put together a proposal for CoFHE/UC&R Conference when we saw the call for papers – we were amazed when we found out we’d been chosen to present at the conference, and then the hard work began. We’ve been planning it for a few months now and despite the geographical distance (West Midlands and Brighton!) we’ve managed to meet a few times to discuss the workshop, and the rest has been done online. Meeting in person definitely helped us formulate the structure of the session and get our heads around the different research we’d found and concepts we wanted to bring to the workshop. I’ve really enjoyed working with Emma, and although we both had doubtful moments throughout the process of putting the workshop together, I think it was (mostly) a success. We’ve definitely learnt a lot from the experience – in terms of planning the content and also the actual workshop itself.

Lessons learnt from the workshop

We weren’t really sure what to expect from the workshop but having experienced Emma’s presentations before I was keen to ensure we included activities to break up the session (she’s great at coming up with these!). The session was fully booked quite quickly, which we were really pleased with, but meant that the room was fairly cramped and stuffy. We made sure to let as much air into the room before the session (it was after the lunch break), but had to shut the blinds during the session as people couldn’t see us by the window – not a bad thing I thought but the attendees seemed keen to see us! I would have liked more opportunity for engagement from the participants but think the size of the group and the layout of the room may have been better suited for group work (we had 5 mins group work at the beginning but not really much time). I think in future maybe it would be preferable to have alternative ways of achieving the same (e.g. quizzes on PowerPoint or on paper like a pub quiz), and adapting the style depending on the room and the group – definitely something I’ll consider in future. Despite our nerves, our style was quite informal and I think this suited the style of the conference workshops in this case. It was great to have the support of a friend and colleague to present with, and think it also helped with the organisation, particularly with a larger group.

What next?

There’s always more to be done and work to be improved on. I definitely hope to continue presenting at conferences, and would like to continue collaborative work with colleagues from the profession (and potentially outside the profession too). Two minds are better than one, and I think we both learnt a lot from the experience in terms of content about the topic and also in conference workshop planning and presenting. I’d certainly like to work with Emma again, and we have discussed continuing the research and possible publishing a paper in future.

Please let us know what you think, especially if you have any further thoughts about the relationship between the library brand and the student experience or views on the model. You may also be interested to read an attendee’s view on the workshop.

Tweet this

I wasn’t able to attend this event, but I followed it via Twitter thanks to @LISResearch and @lenocsor. You can see the tweets in relation to the event at the TwapperKeeper archive. Obviously, I didn’t get the benefit of attending the day’s events but I did get a flavour for the discussions and could follow up links mentioned and view presentations online.

I’m a keen advocate of research, making evidence-based decisions wherever possible. I’m involved in my own research as a librarian (for work-based projects and to inform elements of my job role), and I also spend my free time researching areas of interest -sometimes for articles, presentations or blog posts; sometimes just to increase my understanding.

One of the things I was really impressed by at LILAC 2010 was the emphasis on research-informed information literacy teaching, using both existing research and conducting original research to help make decisions about the approach to teaching.

Commitment to research by librarians is something I’d love to see more of, but I think all too often it’s overlooked as other activities take priority.

The librarian as researcher event examined the importance of research for practitioners, and I was particularly interested in Miggie Pickton’s presentation which you can see below:

Tweet this

You can see a programme of the day including presentations and supporting material, and view other blog posts covering the day, or view the archive of tweets, but I wanted to share some of the themes raised during the event which I’ve been contemplating since.

Are librarians teachers or trainers? Which should we be?

This is an interesting topic and something that I think many academic librarians face. I think of my information literacy work as teaching – I set learning outcomes, aim to develop skills and knowledge, and where possible assess learning (this is usually during the session through verbal and written feedback). However sometimes I feel more like a trainer, and I certainly feel (in my experience anyway) that this is how some of our academic colleagues see us. Academic librarians are often invited in during a course to demonstrate to students how to use the library or how to access resources/search online databases, and I think this work is probably more akin to that of a trainer rather than a teacher. Some of my colleagues have completed the PG Cert in Higher Education, and many have commented on how surprised other academics are to see librarians there. One colleague just this morning mentioned someone from his cohort asked if he was there because wanted to move into lecturing – we already do it!

Personally, I think academic librarians should be an integral part of each course, providing support for information and digital literacy. I’d like to see more team teaching with academics; I have seen some great examples of this and think a collaborative effort is more beneficial to students. I currently think of myself as somewhere between a teacher and a trainer, but I’m definitely aiming to be a teacher.

Should librarians who teach/train at University level be members of the Higher Education Academy?

This is a really interesting point that I hadn’t really given much consideration to until the event. It was a recurring theme throughout many of the talks though, and something I have since found out more about. I’ve always wanted to do the PG Cert in Higher Education at some point, but not really considered HEA membership or what that might entail. Interestingly, there are different levels of membership – associate and fellow (and senior fellow). Most academics are advised to become fellows (FHEA), but more recently there has been a recommendation for librarians to become associates. They are still eligible to become FHEA though, and I personally agree with Jo Webb’s view that librarians should aspire to FHEA, not just associates, as long as our roles meet the criteria.

Either way, HEA recognition is something that I now understand as important, particularly for academic librarians at universities – it’s definitely something I’ll consider in future.

Who should be responsible for training librarians to teach/train?

Interesting question this one, I don’t really think there’s an easy answer. I do think there is a responsibility for library and information studies courses to include information literacy concepts and also to cover approaches to teaching (learning styles, pedagogy etc.). Even if students from these courses don’t enter academic librarianship, they are highly likely to be teaching or training in some capacity, whether it’s a formal session or a one-to-one basis through enquiries. During my distance learning course I didn’t have the opportunity to study this, despite the fact that I was already teaching in my job role. It seems this is not the case in all courses, some have excellent modules covering these topics – both the theory and practice. I’m not sure what criteria CILIP use for accrediting courses, but I feel this should be an essential topic.

It is also a responsibility of the employer to also ensure that staff involved in teaching/training receive adequate support – train the trainer type activities and opportunities to share best practice.

However I do think, as with all professional development, it is primarily the responsibility of the individual to ensure they have the skills and knowledge to equip them in their tasks. This could be through attending relevant courses, reading or researching, speaking to colleagues, or through peer observation.

How do we continue to develop our teaching skills?

Approaches to teaching change alongside changes in society – in recent years we’ve experienced a move to a more blended style incorporating both face to face and online learning. There’s also been an increase in mobile learning and the use of technology within the “classroom” (e.g.voting systems). It’s not just technology – as the understanding of learning improves this also changes the way we teach. So how do we keep up-to-date?

I think the best approach is to never stop learning about teaching. Even experts (such as those speaking at the event) can still pick up new ideas and techniques. So all the ideas mentioned in the previous question still apply – attending events, keeping up-to-date with latest research, sharing good practice, and peer observation. There was a lot of discussion at the event about peer observation, and it’s something I think I’d really benefit from. I’d like to see what others do within their teaching sessions, and I’d also like a critical friend to comment on my own teaching – I’m sure there are lots of ways I could improve, many that I may never notice myself.

What role do CILIP play?

Having recently been involved in one of the focus groups for CILIPs “Defining our professional future“, I was particularly interested to hear what people had to say about CILIPs role in supporting librarians as teachers. As I’ve already mentioned, although I think it’s largely the responsibility of the individual (and to some extent, their employer) to develop a librarian’s teaching skills, I do also believe that CILIP has a role to play in ensuring that library and information courses includes the core areas likely to be encountered by a librarian. There seem to be large differences in the content covered in courses, and I’d like to see accredited courses all cover core areas (this may already happen, but I know I didn’t get the opportunity to study information literacy which I feel should be included).

I also think CILIP should help promote the librarian as a teacher (e.g. through advocacy and increased awareness), and think they have a role to play in ensuring those already within the profession can develop their skills to deliver teaching, whether in a traditional class setting or on a one-to-one basis.

I really enjoyed the event, and it definitely gave me a lot of food for thought about what our role entails.

Tweet this