Hi Sarah

I must say that the list of things you cover in your current sessions is 
already pretty impressive. I am sure a lot of colleagues in universities 
would wish that their students had already been introduced to these 
skills at school.

If you want to do more, perhaps you need to look beyond skills-based IL, 
to broader understandings. Perhaps you should include activities 
specifically designed to ease the transition from school to university 
in academic terms, in particular to prepare them for what to expect in 
HE that is different to what they are used to in school. With particular 
reference, of course, to the nature and role of the academic library.

A few ideas come to mind off the top of my head –

1. Why libraries are central to studying at university – because 
students will be expected to be more independent in finding material 
etc. You could, for example, show them some university library websites, 
the sorts of information and resources are available on them, etc.

2. The role of the subject librarian – so students already know, even 
before they get to uni, that such a person exists, and what they can 
offer in terms of help and expertise at every stage of their student 
life.

3. An introduction to reading lists and how to use them – eg. You are 
not expected to read everything!

4. Different kinds of materials on reading lists, all accessible via 
libraries – text books, monographs, general surveys, books of academic 
papers, journals, individual articles, conference papers, etc. How these 
materials reflect the fact that at uni, the students will be engaging 
with a very different, dynamic, scholarly environment and discourse.

5. The importance of references – not only in terms of avoiding 
plagiarism; but also when reading, as evidence that the writer (and the 
student as reader and future writer/referencer) is engaged in an ongoing 
scholarly conversation with others in the field.

6. The fact that online materials are increasingly superseding printed 
books in academic discourse, and how these materials are organised and 
made accessible, cf. both a physical library and the wider, wilder 
internet.

Basically, I would like first year students to arrive at uni already 
understanding and expecting that the library will be a close second to 
their faculty in terms of their academic experience; and indeed 
demanding that their institution’s library lives up to those 
expectations. Ideally, Post-16 students should be encouraged and 
inspired to look at library provision of different institutions when 
deciding where to apply. I can think of no one better than a school 
librarian to achieve this.

Hope this is helpful.

Iqbal Siddiqui,
Information Assistant
Kingston University, London.

-----------------------------------


------ Original Message ------
From: "Sarah Davies" <[log in to unmask]>
To: [log in to unmask]
Sent: 09/01/2014 13:00:19
Subject: HE students- skills needed after transition from Sixth Form

>Hi,
>I'm looking at improving our study skills lessons for our Post-16 
>students and would like to hear from anyone working with students in 
>HE. I would like to know if you think there are particular IL skills 
>which new students lack when they start their courses.
>
>At the moment the sessions are quite limited and cover:
>How to navigate the OPAC;
>How to access our online subscriptions;
>Basic online searching (how to research without just using Google);
>Evaluating a source;
>Plagiarism;
>Writing a Bibliography.
>
>It would be helpful if I could tailor the sessions to skills that they 
>are going to need after Sixth Form and give them a head start. Please 
>let me know if you think there is anything your new students *SHOULD* 
>know when they start in HE.
>
>Many thanks,
>
>Sarah Davies
>Librarian
>Cotham School
>Cotham Lawn Road
>Bristol
>BS6 6DT
>
>
>