Which educational role can Libraries play in a University learning environment?

Abstract

Objective – This study assesses the skills of students in information literacy through course work, embedded in the curriculum.

Methods – Data has been collected trough five different modes:

1. From questionnaires, journals by students and teachers of the research strategies used during the course
3. Classroom instruction and observation of skills and technology application proficiencies
4. Face to face conversation with the students and the faculty members involved in the program.
5. Web-organised library survey.

Project coordinator: Alexandra Angeletaki, University library of Trondheim
Email: alexandra.angeletaki@ub.ntnu.no

Description: The traditional way of assessing library service quality is to measure the numbers of users and resource materials purchased each year by the library users (Quantitative). But can this type of information help the Library to establish itself as an important educational component, meeting its role in the digital information world with a high academic standard that can influence the research outcome of the faculty it serves. What will the future Library environment be, if one takes in consideration the technological change of the library in place to the library in “Space”? The aim should be to maximise not only the services in numbers as they are easy numeric figures to measure, but in quality that meets the academic requirements of a research Library with educational programs exerting influence on the learning experience of its users. It is consequent then that such a measurement will have to be empowered in order to increase academic literacy and research competence.

The University Library of Trondheim has been working the last 2 years in collecting data about the learning process of archaeology students trained in Information literacy workshops in collaboration with the Institute of Archaeology from the University of Trondheim.

In 2010 our department introduced the use of reading devices for first year students of two different curriculums Archaeology and Chemistry. Three reading devices were filled up with the texts of the subjects taught and the students that were chosen to participate in the program will be giving at the end of the Spring semester 2010 an account of the use of the reading devices. The overall aim of the project is to collect data about the use of e-books and digitised documents for a specific purpose as important as the final exam.