Purpose: This study investigates the perceptions of academic librarians to the development and delivery of information literacy support programmes for off-campus students.
Methodology / approach: The approach was predominantly quantitative, with a self completed questionnaire being designed and disseminated to a purposive sample of academic librarians in Ireland with responsibility for information literacy development at their institution, to determine their approach in supporting off-campus students, and how this relates to their role in developing information literacy. The questionnaire also examines current practice in terms of library teaching methods and library support for remote students. Institutions chosen were from the university and institutes of technology sector in Ireland and the National College of Ireland. A literature review was carried out focusing in particular on international examples of best practice.
Findings: The results indicate a low level of academic librarian involvement on off-campus academic programmes and minimal collaboration between teaching staff and librarians in relation to planning, design and delivery of these courses. However, the findings do, reveal a willingness on the part of most academic librarians to take on additional responsibilities and new roles implicit in the support of off-campus students, if adequate support and resources are provided. The results indicate that there is a lack of knowledge and low level of awareness amongst librarians when it comes to educational theory. Very little pedagogical training is provided for academic librarians involved in teaching information skills. The findings also reveal that non campus based learners are generally being supported through traditional means, with new technologies (online information literacy tutorials, VLEs, eReference services), innovative communication tools and teaching aids not being exploited to the full by Irish academic libraries as a means of support. The paper also includes selected free text comments from survey respondents, which provide further qualitative information, on their viewpoints on information literacy development for off-campus students.
Originality / Practical implications: A survey to determine the attitude of Irish academic library managers to information literacy support for off-campus students and a review of current practice in terms of teaching methods and support has not been conducted before in Ireland. The findings and recommendations are likely to be of interest and of potential value to Irish academic library practitioners and policy makers and will inform future research to contribute to the development of information literacy in the Republic of Ireland.
[1]
Judith A. Peacock,et al.
Teaching Skills for Teaching Librarians: Postcards from the Edge of the Educational Paradigm
,
2001
.
[2]
Lesley M. Moyo,et al.
Meeting the needs of remote library users
,
2003
.
[3]
Carolyn Burrell,et al.
Introduction to Streaming Video for Novices
,
2004
.
[4]
S. Gandhi.
Academic Librarians and Distance Education: Challenges and Opportunities
,
2003
.
[5]
Philip Calvert,et al.
Teaching Information Skills: Theory and Practice
,
2006
.
[6]
Nancy H. Dewald.
Web-Based Library Instruction: What Is Good Pedagogy?.
,
1999
.
[7]
Gloria Lebowitz,et al.
Library Services to Distant Students: An Equity Issue
,
1997
.
[8]
Chris Powis,et al.
Teaching Information Skills: Theory and Practice
,
2005
.
[9]
Kelly A. Donaldson,et al.
Library Research Success: Designing an Online Tutorial to Teach Information Literacy Skills to First-Year Students
,
2000,
Internet High. Educ..
[10]
J. Parker.
Putting the pieces together: information literacy at The Open University
,
2003
.
[11]
Susan Clayton.
Your class meets where? Library instruction for business and education graduate students at off‐campus centers
,
2004
.
[12]
Sally Patalong.
Using the virtual learning environment WebCT to enhance information skills teaching at Coventry University
,
2003
.
[13]
John J Doherty,et al.
Teaching Information Skills in the Information Age: the Need for Critical Thinking
,
2005
.
[14]
Bill Johnston,et al.
Conceptions of information literacy: new perspectives and implications
,
2000,
J. Inf. Sci..
[15]
Heather Keeble,et al.
Guerrillas in the mist: breaking through boundaries to provide a first-class remote library service
,
2004
.
[16]
Joseph Muema Kavulya.
Challenges in the Provision of Library Services for Distance Education: A Case Study of Selected Universities in Kenya
,
2004
.
[17]
Helen Fallon,et al.
Developing student information literacy skills to support project and problem-based learning
,
2005
.
[18]
Nora Hegarty,et al.
A portrait of Olas as a young information literacy tutorial
,
2004
.
[19]
Jane Secker,et al.
Electronic Resources in the Virtual Learning Environment
,
2004
.
[20]
Anne Ambrose,et al.
Information Literacy Programmes and Course Curricula: the Case for Integration
,
2003
.