Dear Colleagues,
I was particularly depressed/annoyed/saddened by a JUSTEIS survey [2001]
that (apparently) very few students or academic staff are aware of the scale
of "JISC negotiated" services. The sample was small 300 questionnaires and
86 interviews, however, it enabled the survey to conclude that students lack
of awareness was worrying and the fact that only 16% of students were
referred to resources by Librarians very worrying. I have to say that this
is not a picture that I recognise entirely. The argument seems to be that
subject resources are created - they are not used by students as much as we
would expect - who is to blame - perhaps its the Librarians. There appeared
to be no awareness of the richer picture in UK HE, the effects of
institutional contexts, curricula, teaching styles or the excellent work of
subject specialists who also teach information skills in fact no coherent
view from the "the coal face".
As worrying is the themed view of UK HE has emerged through which a
significant amount of resources are being directed. I have been counting
the number of times the theme of subject comes up in UK HE, LTSN Subject
Centres, Subject Gateways, Subject Resource Guides, Databases and Data
Services and so on. Working in a new university with a multidisciplinary
approach the old disciplinary labels - Social Science, Arts, Humanities etc.
have less meaning and its hard to engage students with these resources that
carry these labels (and the discipline centred philosophy that underpins
them) where other niche but more appropriately focused resources exist.
The temptation might be to direct resources to information skills packages
to address underuse without addressing the question of why. Is there an
alternative view? Well perhaps. What about throwing some resources at those
who deliver information skills, focus on skills not products, look at
practice in the institutions in which information skills are delivered,
support information professionals in some of the ways teaching colleagues
are beginning to be supported, encourage practitioners to write case
studies, pay practitioners to take time out to think about practice and so
on. Thoughts?
Matt Holland
________________________________________________________________________
Matt Holland - Subject Librarian - Bournemouth Media School. Bournemouth
University,
Dorset House Library, Talbot Campus, Fern Barrow, Poole, Dorset, BH12 5BB,
UK.
Tel: ++ 44 1202 595460 Fax: ++ 44 1202 595475 E-mail:
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