University of Leeds Academic Services

Introducing an Information Literacy Strategy at Leeds University

Angela Newton and Hannah Hough, 2004

University of Leeds Academic Services

The Big Blue

IL training must be well-timed and directly relevant to students

IL training must be integrated into the curriculum

IL training must be supported by academic staff

http://www.leeds.ac.uk/bigblue/

University of Leeds Academic Services

Pre-strategy situation

‘Library Training’ delivered to students by Faculty Team Librarians for their schools (coverage = patchy)

Information Skills Programme, bookable training sessions (attendance = higher from schools who didn’t arrange school specific training)

Online resources - tutorials, hybrid libraries, workbooks etc

University of Leeds Academic Services

Pre-strategy problems

University-wide lack of awareness about what we do, why we do it, and how we can help

Training delivered in the curriculum depended on having an enthusiastic academic

Inconsistency across levels of study and departments

Students are often ineffective, frustrated users of Library resources

University of Leeds Academic Services

Key points from the strategy Current widespread underestimation of

student IL skills We need a University-wide approach to

improving IL skills Adopt a set of IL standards for students

(based on Sconul’s 7 pillars) Develop new methods to deliver IL training Incorporate IL training into existing skills

modules IL training for staff/researchers via Information

Literacy Programme (bookable sessions)

University of Leeds Academic Services

University approval

Nov 02 Dec 02 May 03 June 03 Sept 03 Oct 03 Nov 03Conception

Writing and revision

Library Advisory B

oard

Further revision

Learning and Teaching B

oard

Faculty T

eaching and Learning C

omm

ittees

School T

eaching and Learning C

omm

ittees

University of Leeds Academic Services

Anticipated results of introducing the strategy

Faculty Team Librarians attend School Teaching and Learning Committee meetings

Heightened awareness of Library skills, and why they are important

Encourage dialogue with individual academic staff, and forge new relationships

More training sessions arrangedwithin the curriculum

Students make better use of library resources and become independent learners

University of Leeds Academic Services

Negative experiences

Public rejection of Information Literacy as useful in some schools

Refusal to allow faculty team librarians into SLTC meetings

Hostility towards librarians teaching What is ‘Information Literacy’? Can the Library cope with increasing

demands for training?

University of Leeds Academic Services

Positive experiences

Leverage to attend SLTC meetings Bypassing the Library representative Raised level of discussion about IL training Raised level of awareness of IL in academic

staff Met academic staff we did not know! Improved our understanding of the curriculum

in each school Opportunity to take a school-wide overview of

IL training

University of Leeds Academic Services

Credits

Martin Gill, Helen Howard, Joanne Yeomans and the Information Literacy Group at Leeds University

See the full text of the strategy at:

http://www.leeds.ac.uk/library/strategic/infolitstrategy.pdf

University of Leeds Academic Services

The IL strategy and the future

The Library aims to:

“increase the amount of training provided… tailored to students’ needs, level and subject area”

“develop new methods of delivery, through online modules, skills workshops and a dedicated module”

University of Leeds Academic Services

The IL Officer’s role

To produce a series of online tutorials on IL topics

To work with, and support, academic and library staff to embed these packages into the curriculum

To provide a focus for IL activities within the Library and University as a whole, taking forward the IL strategy

University of Leeds Academic Services

Developing the tutorials

Many different IL standards and guidelines were reviewed

Papers on integrating IL with the curriculum were referred to

Meetings were held with FTLs to see at what levels IL training was currently provided

Learning objectives were defined for student training

University of Leeds Academic Services

Learning objectives

Framework of IL skills students should display at specific points of their course

Shaped largely around SCONUL’s 7 pillars and the IL strategy

Also referring to QCA key skills & ACRL competency standards.

Training currently provided at two main levels

Defined tutorial content to fit this

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The concept of learning objects

New students Pre- research

Information Literacy

Topics of information literacy

Learning objects:

•Discrete

•Building blocks

•Re-usable

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Generic learning objects

Advantages

Content can be shared Significantly less time

creating resources Easy maintenance Can be used as an open

source Users can control their

own learning experience

Disadvantages

Low level tailoring of resources

Select tutorial that fits need best rather than creating perfect content

May be met with resistance from departments

University of Leeds Academic Services

Tutorial toolkit

Basic level

•Introduction to library information•Searching for information•Evaluating and selecting relevant information

Advanced level

•Identifying the information need•Searching for information•Evaluating retrieved information•Copyright and Plagiarism•Citation and referencing – diff. systems

Mix and match

University of Leeds Academic Services

Examples of tutorial use

Law – Yr 2 Students1 hour session

Searching for information tutorial

(30 minutes) Practise searching skills

using a database workbook designed for those students (15 minutes)

Colour Chemistry – MSc2 hour session

Referencing with the Numeric system tutorial(50 minutes)

Practise referencing skills using Colour Chemistry examples(40 minutes)

University of Leeds Academic Services

Outcomes 95% of the Law students preferred using the

online tutorial to a paper-based workbook Almost half said they would use the tutorial again

in the future No usability questions Large classes successfully run with low staff

numbers

Pitching content at the correct level

University of Leeds Academic Services

The future of the tutorials

To help save FTLs time preparing and conducting training to departments as workloads increase

To act as revision aids after traditional training sessions by FTLs to reinforce IL theory

To act as ready made training materials for academic staff to use for training students

To act as open source support materials for students to access whenever they need to

Beginning to become widely accepted as useful way of supporting IL training and a sensible way of targeting large groups of students/distance learners