Post on 26-May-2015
Internal collaboration:
Working together to deliver Library and Information
Skills Training Sessions (LISTS)
Elly Cope & Emma Stuart Edwards
Some background on the University
• Originated as a trade school in Bristol in the 1890s
• Moved to Bath in the 1960s
• Pay a ‘peppercorn’ rent
• University of Bath awarded its Royal Charter in 1966
• Science, Technology, Engineering, Maths (STEM)
• Balance:
• 54% male, 46% female
• Undergraduate: 10,563 ; Postgraduate: 4,574
Chancellor Lord Tugenhadt paying the literal peppercorn rent
Library structure
Library structure cont.
Development of LISTS
• Skills training in existence:
• Individual departments approaching library for further training
• SU programme SORTED – Student Officer Representative Training, Education and Development programme
• Investment in ‘Turnitin’ plagiarism software
• Development of RITTSS – Research Information Tools Training Seminar Series
• Merge with the SORTED programme
• PG Skills programme
Current programme
Library Wiki
What’s different 2012-2013
• Maternity cover
• Moves between Technical Services and Academic Services
• More sessions delivered by Information Librarians
• Pairings
• Technical Services teaching
• Technical Services / Academic Services on all sessions
• New sessions
• Resource Discovery System
• SCOPUS
• Different approaches brought together
Example: Case study of Primo
• Those delivering the presentation developed it together
• Used real questions / reading lists to inform content
• Commonly asked questions
• Anticipated problems
Why we think it was good!
• Collaboration
• Working with each other!
• Knowledge sharing
• TS/AS skills brought together
• Cross-sector expertise
• New catalogue knowledge
• Able to deal with surprises
• Disabilities
• Room booking
• Equipment &/or props
External feedback
Student attendance 2012 programme:
Critica
lly e
valua
ting
what y
ou re
ad
Finding
boo
ks &
jour
nals
Refer
encin
gW
oK
SCOPUS
Copyr
ight
Plagiar
ism
05
1015202530
Signed up
Attended
External feedback cont.
59%
29%
12%
Chart Title
strongly agree
agree
neutral
disagree
strongly disagree
Student feedback for sessions being ‘useful’:
External feedback cont.
46%
32%
17%
3% 2%
strongly agree
agree
neutral
disagree
strongly disagree
Student feedback for sessions being ‘interesting’:
External feedback cont.
Student feedback for sessions being ‘enjoyable’:
39%
36%
22%
2% 2%
strongly agree
agree
neutral
disagree
strongly disagree
External feedback cont.
Examples of student feedback when asked to complete the sentence: “when I finished this session I felt able to…”
“…understand better what copyright is and clarify which material I can use or not in my assignment”
“…understand how to be more critical of what I read”
“…research my dissertation topic more thoroughly”
Internal feedback
• Useful working with TS staff in terms of better working relationships, understanding more about what each other do.
• Team-teaching requires collaboration and can be nerve-inducing, so it's quite a bonding project.
• Great to have fresh pairs of eyes, different perspective.
• AS staff very much benefited from the TS staff's technical know-how for the students who do want that kind of info!
• Good opportunity for TS staff to teach which opens up other job/career opportunities.
• Opportunity to observe and talk through problems students encountered, as in a technical role like mine, it's quite easy to lose touch with the end-user experience.
What could improve
• Room booking!
• Increased dialogue between the Students’ Union and the Library
• Focus on target audience
• Undergraduate
• Postgraduate Taught
• Timing / assignment of sessions
• Knowing which session you’re delivering well in advance
• Overhaul of presentations
• New examples / content
• Booking form questions
• Special requirements
What’s next…
• Closer collaboration with the Students’ Union?
• More collaboration internally
• Consultation with Technical Services on areas of expertise
• E.g. asking about Primo for session planning
• E-books
• E-journals
• More LISTS sessions
• E-journals
• E-books
• Mobile technologies
Questions & Contact details
Elly Cope
@ellycope
e.cope@bath.ac.uk
Emma Stuart Edwards
@embrarian
e.stuartedwards@bath.ac.uk