virginia power uwe
TRANSCRIPT
I’ve looked at life from both sides now: fostering good academic & library partnerships
Virginia Power, Graduate Tutor/ResearcherUniversity of the West of England
University of HertfordshireMonday 20th July 2015
But now old friends are acting strangeThey shake their heads, they say I've changedWell something's lost, but something's gainedIn living every day
I've looked at life from both sides now From win and lose and still somehow It's life's illusions I recallI really don't know life at all
Joni Mitchell
http://www.brocku.ca/brock-news/?p=17529
Glynn, T. and Wu, G. (2003)
Phelps, S. and Campbell, 2011
We want the teaching faculty (and by this I mean anyone from the rank of associate professor on up) to see us as their equals, as comrades-in-arms in the daily battle to produce good scholarship, excellent graduates, and better the general welfare of our shared institution and Knowledge in general. We want a standing invitation to the faculty club. We don’t want to be seen as the help. [Comrades-in-Arms: The Professor and the Librarian by Rochelle Mazar]
Perceptions of academics
Cited in Jenkins, P. (2005)
Understanding the academic….• Intelligent!• Articulate – in pen and voice• Contemplative and intellectually curious• Open-minded and tolerant• Masters in their own field• Self-motivated• Need and desire little direct supervision• Stubbornly independent
Levine, 1978
Stubbornly independent
• Solitary researchers• Absolute subject
authority• Create own syllabi• Choose their own
textbooks• Personal spin
However….
• Preparation• Content creation• Reading• Research• Tutoring• Staff Development• Exams• Marking• Conferences• Meetings• Accountability
Teaching staff want you to:• Understand Higher Education
• Understand the subject areas
• Be full partners – be proactive & visible!
• Be technologically savvy – step by step
• Provide help in accessing databases, etc.
What do librarians want from teaching staff?
What makes it work?
Montiel-Overall, P. (2008)
Achieving that common purpose• Meet your teaching staff• Build relationships• Communicate professionally• Position the Library• Know your stuff!• Tailor to specific interests• Collaborate with teaching staff
Meeting• Orientate new staff asap• Host a ‘published this year’ event• Attend in-house events they might attend• Attend their induction not just the library• Have coffee conversations
Build Relationships• Cultivate & nurture the ‘low hanging fruit’• Create displays around subject areas• Announce new resources regularly• Get on their mailing list• Visit them!
Communicate professionally• Create specific Faculty Guides• Create specific Faculty Newsletters• Publicise a clear Library offer• Write a welcome letter to new teachers• Prepare a report on specific expenditure
Position the Library• Know the hot topics• Apply for grants and awards• Get on relevant committees• Have a regular meeting ‘spotlight’• Participate in learning technology meetings
Knowing your Stuff• Join professional (subject) organisations• Ask to observe class sessions• Join subject mailing list• Introduce new technology/databases• Get involved in teacher training
Tailor to Faculty Interests• Create web guides to research tools• Create a Library advisory board in Depts.• Develop embedded research components• Catalogue office collections• Find out what’s on the horizon
Collaborating with Faculty• Co-author an article• Create a class assignment together• Co-design a course specific resource• Create an annual award for Faculty• Collaborate on a grant
Sources• Creaser, C. and Spezi, V. (2012) Working together: evolving value for academic libraries
https://libraryvalue.wordpress.com/• Glynn, T. and Wu, C. (2003) "New roles and opportunities for academic library liaisons: a
survey and recommendations", Reference Services Review, 31 Iss: 2, pp.122 - 128• Holtz, T. (2002) 100 Ways to Reach your Faculty
http://www.ala.org/advocacy/sites/ala.org.advocacy/files/content/advleg/publicawareness/campaign@yourlibrary/prtools/academicresearch/reach_faculty.pdf
• Jenkins, P. (2005) Faculty-Librarian relationships. Chandos• Montiel-Overall, P. (2008) “Teacher & Librarian co-operation: a qualitative study”, Library
& Information Science Review, 30 pp145-155• Yousef, A. (2010) Faculty Attitudes Toward Collaboration with Librarians
http://www.webpages.uidaho.edu/~mbolin/yousef.htm• All images courtesy of Creative Commons Search and attributed in Notes fields
