Library and Information Science Commons^™

Including Autistic Teens In Libraries, Aisling Smith

Articles

This article discusses the needs of autistic teenagers with low support needs and how best to cultivate and promote inclusivity in libraries to better serve this vulnerable sector of the community. Librarians should endeavour to understand the difficulties they encounter and how to minimize factors that might exacerbate these issues if autistic adolescents are to feel welcome and accepted.

Stop, Think, Check: Ireland's Be Media Smart Campaign, Philip Russell

Articles

‘Be Media Smart’ is an Irish public awareness campaign calling on people of all ages to ‘Be Media Smart’ and ‘Stop, Think, and Check’ that information they see, read or hear across any media platform is accurate and reliable. This national media literacy campaign was aimed at enhancing people’s understanding of, and engagement with, media, while also empowering them with the skills to evaluate content across all platforms.

Going Digital: Academic Libraries’ Response To The Covid-19 Pandemic, Allison Kavanagh

Articles

This article outlines the response by Irish academic libraries to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the resulting closure of higher education institutions and their libraries for an extended period beginning in March 2020. Academic libraries have responded by accelerating their shift to digital collections and services, by supporting and participating in remote teaching and by offering new services. The article discusses the potential longer term consequences of the pandemic for academic libraries, including budgetary constraints, an impact on the shift to Open Access, changes in library design, and new work practices. Examples of initiatives by Technological University Dublin and other academic …

Be Media Smart: A National Media Literacy Campaign For Ireland, Philip Russell

Articles

‘Be Media Smart’ is an Irish public awareness campaign calling on people of all ages to ‘Be Media Smart’ and ‘Stop, Think, and Check’ that information they see, read or hear across any media platform is accurate and reliable. This national media literacy campaign was aimed at enhancing people’s understanding of, and engagement with, media, while also empowering them with the skills to evaluate content across all platforms.

Media Literacy Ireland And The Be Media Smart Campaign, Philip Russell

Articles

‘Be Media Smart’ is an Irish public awareness campaign calling on people of all ages to ‘Be Media Smart’ and ‘Stop, Think, and Check’ that information they see, read or hear across any media platform is accurate and reliable. This national media literacy campaign was aimed at enhancing people’s understanding of, and engagement with, media, while also empowering them with the skills to evaluate content across all platforms.

Embedding Peer Support As A Core Learning Skill In Higher Education, Philip Russell, Gerard Ryder, Martha Burton, Sarah Daly, Paul Quinn

Articles

Abstract

Information, digital and academic literacy skills are more important than ever as the nature of global information streams becomes more complex and increasingly online. New methods are needed to ensure that students are taught to identify, use and critically evaluate this complex information myriad during their education and in their future careers. Peer assisted learning is one method that has been shown to help, and previous research in the field of peer support has indicated that the interaction between students at different levels enhances a first-year student’s successful transition into higher education (HE).

In 2016, a peer support scheme …

Responsive Web Site Development At The Library, Technological University Dublin: Acase Study, Niamh Walker-Headon

Articles

This case study reviews the responsive Web design project undertaken by the Library, Technological University Dublin, with Granite Digital, including the preparatory literature review, the design process, task allocation, and the technologies leveraged to deliver the final design. The library is a small academic library with limited resources, and the project took place during a particularly challenging period in Ireland. The different types of testing the site underwent before launch are discussed, including testing of the design itself across browsers, accessibility testing using free online resources, testing the responsive design using free online resources, and physical device testing. The article …

Digital Literacy: Why It Matters, Allison Kavanagh, K.C. O'Rourke

Articles

In the past two decades the internet, email, apps, mobile devices and all associated hardware and software have become firmly embedded in everyday life, to the extent that it often feels that we have had no control over this phenomenon. What are the implications for education?

Primary and secondary students today have grown up with the always-connected life which the internet has enabled. However, the credence given to the idea that this makes them fully comfortable and aware as "digital natives" is misguided. The social implications of the internet society – surveillance and the decline of privacy, cyberbullying and so …

Creating, Sharing And Reusing Learning Objects To Enhance Information Literacy, Philip Russell, Gerard Ryder, Gillian Kerins, Margaret Phelan

Articles

From June 2010 until the present, a suite of online reusable learning objects (RLOs) has been created by staff at the Technological University Dublin (ITT Dublin) library covering a range of information literacy (IL) competencies. These RLOs have helped to facilitate student transition from second to third level, advance IL and enrich the student learning experience. The purpose of this paper is to outline the development of these RLOs and how the resources have been shared, reused and repurposed to enhance IL progression. A review of recent literature explores some of the key issues around the creation of digital learning …

Selection And Acquisition Of E-Books In Irish Institutes Of Technology Libraries: A Study, Wanda Carin, Lucy Tedd

Articles

Purpose: To report on a study of the acquisition of e-books in libraries in Institutes of Technology (ITs) in Ireland undertaken in 2009. Methodology: Websites of the libraries of the 15 ITs were studied and this was followed by telephone interviews, using a structured set of questions, with the acquisition librarians. Details are provided of the e-book suppliers used, reasons for acquiring (and not acquiring) e-books, links with Virtual Learning Environments and methods of promotion. Findings: Librarians from 12 of the 15 ITs agreed to be interviewed giving a response rate of 80%. The ITs are using e-books from a …

The Irish ‘Working Group On Information Literacy’ E Edging Towards A National Policy, Terry O'Brien, Philip Russell

Articles

The authors of this paper provide an overview of the activities of the Irish Working Group on Information Literacy (WGIL) and its role in advancing a national policy for information literacy in the Republic of Ireland. The study focuses on the work of the group during its lifetime including the various activities, marketing and advocacy initiatives and some of the challenges and issues the group faced, in particular, the diversity of the Irish library and information sector and the lack of an integrated approach for information literacy development. The study presents the findings of the report produced by WGIL entitled …

The Evolution Of An Embedded Information Literacy Module: Using Student Feedback And The Research Literature To Improve Student Performance, Allison Kavanagh

Articles

The purpose of this paper is to describe the development and evolution of the embedded information literacy (IL) module for first year BSc in Marketing students in Technological University Dublin (DIT) over a three year period between 2007-8 and 2009-10. It describes the pedagogical theories underlining the teaching and assessment of the course in its original format, the reflective practice in which the library team engaged, and the subsequent changes made to the teaching and assessment of the course, informed by the research literature. The study uses performance in the assessment task, student feedback drawn from survey questionnaires and a …

Accommodating Employees With Disabilities: Perceptions Of Irish Academic Library Managers, Anne-Marie O'Neill, Christine Urquhart

Articles

In recent years a significant amount of the literature in the field of librarianship has focused on providing greater access to library facilities to clients with disabilities. There has been constructive debate about accessible buildings, ergonomic design of library facilities, and assistive technologies; but, what of individual people with disabilities who wish to work in libraries? Does the concern for accessibility extend to their employment in the library workplace? What is happening in Irish academic libraries to accommodate them in their employment and achieve equality of opportunities?

Measuring Up: The Experience Of Libqual+™ At Itt Dublin Library, Philip Russell

Articles

This article provides an outline of the LibQUAL+™ web-based survey conducted in 2009 at ITT (Technological University Dublin) Dublin library, capturing some of the main findings, feedback from those who participated, lessons learnt and proposed future actions. The library service at ITT Dublin is committed to enhancing quality, and part of this process involves communicating and engaging with our users to determine their requirements and respond to their ongoing needs. In March 2009, asa part of our efforts in providing a more customer- focused and improved library service, the library at ITT Dublin carried out an online library user survey, …

Researcher Suite: Selection And Implementation – The Hosted Option, Niamh Walker-Headon

Articles

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to provide a case study of the selection process used to select the ReSearcher Suite, and its implementation including an outline of why and how the suite was implemented at the Library in the Institute of Technology in Tallaght.

Design/methodology/approach – Case study – single site.

Findings – The Simon Frasier University (SFU) hosted ReSearcher Suite (with support) provides an open source solution for open URL linking integrated with inter-library loan submission, federated searching, knowledge base, coverage data, and A-Z listings for journals and databases. While it does not have the full …

Changing Times: The Changing Role Of Assistant Librarians In Dit's Aungier St. Library, Allison Kavanagh

Articles

An examination of the changing role of subject librarians at Technological University Dublin's Aungier St library.

The Irish Working Group On Information Literacy (Wgil), Part Ii: Report Of Cross-Sector Activity 2006–2008 And Recommendations For Action, Philip Russell, Terry O'Brien

Articles

In 2006, the Library Association of Ireland (LAI) Working Group on Information Literacy (WGIL) was established with an agreed role to ‘recommend strategies for the development of information skills education at both theoretical and practical level in the library and information services sector in Ireland’. A two-year review of current information literacy activity in the Republic of Ireland by WGIL culminated in the completion of a cross-sectoral report which provides a snapshot of information literacy in a number of library and information services sectors in Ireland (academic and special libraries sector, schools, public, health, government and related libraries sector). To …

Information Literacy Support For Off-Campus Students By Academic Libraries In The Republic Of Ireland, Philip Russell

Articles

This study investigates the perceptions of academic librarians to the development and delivery of information literacy support programmes for off-campus students.

Methodology / approach: The approach was predominantly quantitative, with a self completed questionnaire being designed and disseminated to a purposive sample of academic librarians in Ireland with responsibility for information literacy development at their institution, to determine their approach in supporting off-campus students, and how this relates to their role in developing information literacy. The questionnaire also examines current practice in terms of library teaching methods and library support for remote students. Institutions chosen were from the university and …

The Irish Working Group On Information Literacy: A Cross-Sectoral Approach, Philip Russell, Terry O'Brien

Articles

The Working Group on Information Literacy (WGIL) was established by the Library Association of Ireland (LAI) in January 2006 to recommend strategies for the development of information skills at both a theoretical and practical level in the Library and Information Services sector in Ireland.

From the outset, one of the key objectives established was that the work of the WGIL would be approached on a cross-sectoral basis.

Membership of the group comprises ten members from across the range of LIS (Library and Information Services) sectors in Ireland. These include academic, special, schools, public, health and university sectors, and also a …

Indexing Change In Lis Work: Implications For Recruiting Managers, John Cullen, Allison Kavanagh

Articles

Purpose: This paper reports on three periods of library and information service (LIS) recruitment data collected over a six-year timeframe with the aim of developing a tool for indexing change in the recruitment and labour market for workers in the field. Methodology / Approach: The recruitment data was collected in an Irish context over three distinct 12-month timeframes (1999, 2001-2002 and 2005). The two earlier annual sets of data have already been reported and discussed (the latter in Library Management in 2004a), and the most recent set (2005) is presented here. The data over the three timeframes is compared here, …

Information Seeking And Students Studying For Professional Careers: The Cases Of Enginerering And Law Students In Ireland, Gillian Kerins, Ronan Madden, Crystal Fulton

Articles

This paper reports the results of two empirical studies which explored the information seeking behaviour of engineering and law students in Ireland. Findings reveal similar patterns in the information seeking behaviour between students studying to become professionals and information seeking patterns of these groups identified in the Leckie et al. model. Students learned their information seeking strategies, including effective and less effective approaches, from educators. Mis-perceptions of the role and value of libraries and information professionals in their studies were common, and as a result, students often adopted information seeking strategies that excluded libraries and library staff. The two studies …