DR JANE SECKERLONDON SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS AND

POLITICAL SCIENCE

Information literacy, e-learning and the changing role of the

librarian

University of Sheffield, i School guest lecture28th February 2013

Overview

About meInformation literacy and librariansLibrarians and e-learningFuture trends to watchWays to keep up to date

My role

Copyright and Digital Literacy Advisor at LSEBased in Centre for Learning TechnologyWork closely with colleagues in LibraryAdvise staff about copyright and e-learningRun a programme of training for staff and

PhD students: digital literacyInvolved in information literacy initiatives for

students: courses, online support

How did I get here?

My background: librarian and e-learning specialist, PhD in information science / history

Worked in academic, government, museum libraries for the past 12 years

Involved in many research projects: JISC, HEA

Publications and conferences Regularly use Twitter (@jsecker) Maintain a few blogs!

What else?

Professional involvement: CILIP Information Literacy Group, Editor of Journal of Information Literacy, co-founder of LILAC Conference

Member of UUK Copyright Working GroupFormer Chair of ALISSCompleted LSE’s PGCert in Teaching in Higher

Education – HEA FellowNow teach on LSE’s PGCertArcadia Fellow at Wolfson College Cambridge,

2011

Information literacy and the librarian

What does information literacy mean to you?Is an issue for all libraries or just academic

libraries?How does it translate into what you might do

as a librarian? What about librarians as teachers?Is information a new role for something

librarians have always done?

What do we mean by information literacy?

“Digital fluency”

“Information literacy empowers people in all walks of life to seek, evaluate, use and create information

effectively to achieve their personal, social, occupational and educational goals.

“It is a basic human right in a digital world and promotes social inclusion in all nations.”

UNESCO (2005) Alexandria Proclamation

A New Curriculum for Information Literacy

Undertook research on developing a curriculum for information for undergraduates of the future – expert consultation / lit review

Different to SCONUL 7 pillars and ACRL Standards – it’s a curriculum but also an approach to IL

Designed to be flexible, adaptable, modular, embedded into programmes of study

Not aimed just a librarians but at all educatorsFind out more from

http://newcurriculum.wordpress.com

ANCIL definition of Information Literacy

Information literacy is a continuum of skills, behaviours, approaches and values that is so deeply entwined with the uses of information as to be a fundamental element

of learning, scholarship and research.

It is the defining characteristic of the discerning scholar, the informed and judicious citizen, and the

autonomous learner.

ANCIL definition of information literacy (2011)

ANCIL in practice

The curriculum covers functional skills up to high-level intellectual operations

Information literacy sessions can incorporate multiple strands but should be active, reflective, relevant to student needs

Many resources on ANCIL blogAt LSE we used the curriculum to audit provision for

information literacy across the institution Undergraduate support at LSE: the ANCIL report Paper presented on LSE Teaching, Learning and

Assessment committee was endorsed on 13th Feb 2013

Information literacy at LSE

A wide range of workshops provided by Academic Support Librarians – standalone and embedded

Also use the VLE to provide online support in Library Companions

Following ANCIL audit a new strategy is being developed to embed support and provide greater consistency across departments

Work also to develop librarians as teachers: e.g. PGCert or short educational development sessions

Digital Literacy in practice at LSE

Digital literacy classes run by CLT and LibraryOpen to all staff and PhD studentsOpt in programme but available each termCover using new technologies to support

teaching and research social media (social networking, social bookmarking,

Twitter, blogging), advanced internet searching, keeping up to date, developing your web presence

Taught by CLT and Library staff but also will be reviewed in light of ANCIL audit

Further information on CLT website

Supporting PhD Students: the MY592 programme

Information and digital literacy course comprising of six 2 hour workshops

Aimed primarily at new PhD studentsBuilds up skills over programmeSpecialist advice and support from liaison librariansTaught by CLT / Library staffSupported online in Moodle

Course contents

Week 1: Starting a literature searchWeek 2: Going beyond GoogleWeek 3: Locating research publications Week 4: Specialist materials: primary sources Week 5: Managing information: Endnote, Zotero,

MendeleyWeek 6: Publication, ethical issues and keeping up to

dateOverview on LSE Library website

Librarians as teachers

Librarians can be highly innovative as teachers using social media and other technologies

Some of the subjects we have to teach are challenging: plagiarism, referencing, copyright etc.

Team teaching can be a great way to embed information literacy in a discipline – it’s also great for new teachers

Getting a teaching qualification can really help

Need to challenge traditional views about the role of librarians – it’s all about books right?

E-learning and libraries

E-learning support – librarians and learning technologists working in partnership to offer advice to staff and students

Librarians can make use of e-learning for information literacy and other teaching opportunities

E-learning offers some unique challenges in terms of copyright and licensing issues that librarians are often best placed to deal with

Does it work in practice?

In most institutions e-learning staff and librarians are rarely part of the same team

Different cultures and different ways of workingE-learning an emerging profession – no standard

route into working in the fieldProfessional body – ALT who have special

interest groups, organise events and conferences and more recently accredit courses

Academic support role means they can be ideal partners to help join up strategically and practically

What are the issues

Librarians may not have access to the VLELibrarians will need help and advice

designing online courses E-learning staff may not understand

copyright and licensing issuesStudents may not need to visit the Library if

they have all their resources provided through a VLE

Information literacy needs to be embedded in online courses as well as face to face

Typical queries related to e-learning

I want to include a video from YouTube in my online course – can I do this legally?

I have lots of images taken from the website – is it ok to upload them to Moodle / Blackboard?

Can I scan a chapter from a book and upload it to Moodle for my students?

I downloaded a PDF from a journal – is it ok to share it with students using the VLE

Who owns the materials I create when I use the university VLE?

IPR and e-learning

Increasingly universities are formalising their IPR policies and setting out the ownership of teaching materials

In many cases there is no difference between paper teaching materials and those added to the VLE

Some academics will work in partnership with e-learning colleagues to produce a resource, so institutional ownership is far easier

Some institutions are encouraging staff to share teaching materials as open educational resources

Open education

Related to open access but different…Open educational resources are freely available

teaching and learning resources often licensed under Creative Commons

Massive Online Open Courses (MOOCs) are not just resources but courses

MOOCs launched by several UK / US universities often through platforms such as Coursera, Udacity

Also a great way of librarians sharing and reusing their information literacy teaching materials

Future trends

How might the needs of students evolve over the coming years and what impact will this have on teaching?

What impact will fewer students visiting libraries and increased access to online readings be?

How might VLEs evolve over the coming few years?

What impact will MOOCs and open education have?

What impact do other technologies such as social media have on the tools we use in education?

Ways to keep up to date

Conferences, events (LILAC, ARLG conference)JISC Regional Support Centres organise events

for Further Education librariansLibCamp and TeachMeetsProfessional social networking: on LinkedIn,

Twitter and by reading blogs Joining groups New Professionals Network, but

also CILIP groups, other library groupsUse a reader to follow blogs - consider writing

your own to reflect on your work

Further readings

Secker, Jane and Coonan, Emma. (2012) Rethinking Information Literacy: a practical framework for supporting learning. Facet Publishing: London

Bell, M., Moon, D. and Secker J. (2012) Undergraduate support at LSE: the ANCIL report. The London School of Economics and Political Science, London, UK. Available at: http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/48058/

Secker, Jane. (2010) Copyright and E-learning: a guide for practitioners. Facet Publishing: London

New Curriculum Blog: http://newcurriculum.wordpress.com My blog: http://janesecker.wordpress.com LILAC Conference: http://www.lilacconference.com Follow me on Twitter @jsecker Join the CILIP CSG-Information Literacy Group

– its free for students!

Any questions?

Dr Jane SeckerCopyright and Digital Literacy AdvisorCentre for Learning Technology, Information Management and Technology, LSEEmail j.secker@lse.ac.uk

Find me on LinkedIn, Twitter etc.