Strategies in information literacy instruction in academic information services

• Published: 2009
• Subjects: Information literacy; Adult learning; Academic libraries
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10210/1872

D. Litt. et Phil. === The South African academic information services are starting to pay attention to the role played by instruction librarians. There is an acknowledgement that librarians as ‘educators’ need to learn how to teach information literacy skills. Instruction librarians are either not trained educators or do not have a pedagogical background. Many instruction librarians were placed in, or found themselves, assuming a teaching role with regard to information literacy instruction, and subsequently refined their craft while on the job. The motivation for this study was that librarians as ‘educators’ are faced with challenges that impact on their teaching role. They have to understand the teaching methodologies and the application of adult learning principles to the facilitation of information literacy skills programmes. The success of facilitation and development of information literacy skills programmes depends on the instruction librarians’ ability to work in collaboration with academic departments, curriculum designers and other librarians. The study was carried out in two parts: a literature survey and an empirical investigation. The investigation was confined to academic libraries and information services that have an instruction librarian or subject librarian who facilitates information literacy skills instruction. The GAELIC (Gauteng and Environs Library Consortium) members were surveyed in order to limit the study to the nine participating libraries within the consortium. The findings of the study were supportive of the objective that there is a desperate need to have understanding, knowledge and skills regarding the dynamics involved in the teaching of information literacy skills, in order to make the programme a success. The study proposes a competency framework for implementation as a management tool for designing key performance areas (KPA’s) of instruction librarians.