JISCMail - LIS-INFOLITERACY Archives

I too would like to add to this discussion. It seems to me that the discussion about the role of the Information Professional in the constantly changing IT environment is far from being redundant.

Surely the uptake of VLEs must be generating discussions within institutions and in particular within libraries, as to how we adapt to delivering information skills teaching and user education within these new environments?

Whilst institutional histories might be different it seems that many libraries are barely represented within VLEs.

Please let us not forget that VLEs are the rapidly growing medium for the delivery of teaching and learning for students both on and off campus.

Regardless of what arguements we have about our pay scales, unless we make sure that we have a presence within the VLEs and that means a fundamental shift in how we view our roles and all the accompanying training and collaboration to enable us to do this then as universities move more and more to being virtual we are in danger of being non-existant rather than virtual librarians!

-----Original Message-----
From: Jennifer Drury [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Friday, November 16, 2001 3:43 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Dissertation on the Role of the Information Professional in user education

In response to the message below, I thought I would add the perspective of the "old" universities. I don't agree with Chris that librarians in old universities do less training than in new universities. Also, librarians are not paid as academics at Nottingham and I don't believe that librarians in most if not all old universities would be paid on the same scale as academics.

Since the beginning of term, 6 weeks ago, we have virtually done nothing else but provide user education sessions for the new intake of students, with more training timetabled for the New Year, March and September next year.

I am obviously only talking from my own experience, but I think Chris is misrepresenting the amount of teaching and training that librarians in old Universities undertake.

I only wish that I was paid as an Academic, life would be so much better!

--------------------------------------------------------
Jenny Drury
Assistant Librarian
Greenfield Medical Library
University of Nottingham
Queen's Medical Centre
Nottingham
NG7 2UH

Tel: (0115) 9709441
Tel: ext. 44070
Email: [log in to unmask]k

>>> [log in to unmask] 11/16/01 02:00pm >>>
Cathy,

I'd be happy to fil in your questionnaire if you like.

I think the issue is probably nearly redundant in the new university/Colege
sector (increasing integration into courses, ILT membership, librarians
taking part in PG Teaching courses with academic colleagues etc) but not in
the old universities. I think the biggest issue for me in the 'new' sector
is pay. In the old universities they are paid as academics but don't do
much teaching (there are exceptions) but in the new ones where they do
teach, they are often not paid as such.

cheers

Chris Powis

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Cathy Achour [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
> Sent: 12 November 2001 11:42
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Dissertation on the Role of the Information Professional in
> user education
>
>
> I am an MA student at UNL researching "user education in UK academic
> libraries and the role of the information professional" for my
> dissertation. As part of that research, I would like to assess the
> professional and training issues involved for staff who deliver skills
> sessions. Would anybody be willing to fill in an emailed
> questionnaire
> sometimes in the new year?
> I am currently gathering literature on that subject and I
> know plenty has
> been written about it, but has anybody got any thoughts
> regarding the role
> of librarians as teachers. What are the current issues? Is
> the debate on
> that topic redundant?
>
> Any comments to point me in the right direction would be very much
> appreciated.
>
> Thank you
>