Dear Colleagues,

At the risk of having the rest of my head shot off (you know who you are :->) can I just respond on behalf of colleagues who work in HE to the point viz. “s/he should have had “info skills” training of some sort from the university”.

Yes that’s true but here are some of the issues HE Librarians might be struggling with:

1)       The problem of induction. Students get up to 20 sessions in the first few weeks from Sports to Students Union and Library. The messages you can get across in all this noise are limited. I used to say that the best you could do is there is a Library, there is a Librarian, Athens is important and there are lots of electronic resources.

2)       Access to students is problematic. The curriculum is loaded from the off. Contact time is limited. Librarians won’t be able to get access to students easily if at all after induction. Lucky to meet them 2 or 3 times in a three year degree in a planned session.

3)       Students face many distractions in the first year. Most are “typical” teenagers. Yes they are not all Information Angels or Library Phobics. There is a lot of space in between i.e. typical.

4)       Teaching styles at school are very prescriptive at the moment. Many will arrive without having ever encountered what Universities call “independent learning” or having made much (any) use of a library. This is a big problem for universities which many will not change until years 2 or 3. Dissertation is usually the catalyst for this.

5)       Teaching in the first year is very prescriptive despite what is said in 4) above. It dosen’t necessarily require intensive Library use. Students are great networkers and refer to each other rather than a Librarian.

6)       Most HE resources are E. The Library is not a place but a website for most. It’s complicated to get across authentication procedures, access routines and the many (of the 100’s) of databases students have access to.

So what do you do? Well you adopt the many channels same message option, websites, leaflets posters, advocacy with students and staff at meetings. The same things we all do.

What we might be wary off is the view that “What are those HE Librarians doing – never heard of the Library!” Could take an alternative view and say what can we do to help out being giving mutually reinforcing messages. Make sure for example every student is told the name and contact details of their HE Librarian? Do we have access to University Library websites to understand how students from various universities access resources?

Love not war.

Best Wishes

Matt

 

It does remind me of the testimonials to dubious herbal remedies/dodgy prize draws you sometimes see in Sunday supplements, junk mail from Reader’s Digest etc, along the lines of “I drank this mystery green gloop for a week and lost 15 stone. Fantastic! – Mrs P, Much Wenlock” and “Yes, I really did win 3 billion pounds by sticking a fake car key on a postcard! – Mr R, Hartlepool”.

I also wonder what s/he was using before the NHS Evidence revelation? Is it an issue of not knowing where to search, how to search, or who to ask? As Chris says s/he should have had “info skills” training of some sort from the university. It does raise questions for ourselves and our services, I’m just wondering what those questions are! In light of nursing moving to all-degree, the idea being that nurses will have a more robust and rounded education and consequently have more initiative, are there other things that need to be addressed (by inf profs as much as teaching staff) about nursing education?

Or am I wondering too much about an imaginary, or completely mad person?

Emily

 

Dear all,

May be I have been on too many management courses (Who sold you this then?) but the point surely is that it’s not the customers fault if they can’t find our service? There is also the traditional tactic of schooling grateful customers (of NHS Evidence in this case) to send letters of praise. Perhaps we should just take it for what it is and not give it the oxygen of publicity.

Best Wishes

Matt

 

 

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Cut carbon, improve health, save money!

Can you help cut back on the 18 million tonnes of carbon dioxide which the NHS produces each year?
NHS North West is looking for ideas for saving on energy, heating, travel for staff, patients and visitors, the products we use every day.
Visit www.sdu.nhs.uk to help shape the NHS Carbon Reduction Strategy

The information contained in this email may be subject to public disclosure under the NHS Code of Openness or the Freedom of Information Act 2000. Unless the information is legally exempt from disclosure, the confidentiality of this e-mail and your reply cannot be guaranteed. Any views or opinions presented are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of the NHS North West.  If you are not the intended recipient, be advised that you have received this email in error and that any use, dissemination, forwarding, printing, or copying of this email is strictly prohibited. If you have received this email in error please notify the sender. 

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