Library and Information Science Commons^™

Towards A Holistic Analysis Tool To Support Decision-Making In Libraries, Lorena Siguenza-Guzman, Ludo Holans, Alexandra Van Den Abbeele, Joos Vandewalle, Henri Verhaaren, Dirk Cattrysse

Proceedings of the IATUL Conferences

Academic libraries have recently been subjected to continuous budget reductions, mainly due to the increasing costs of information and the global economic crisis. As the primary purpose of an academic library is to provide well-balanced collections and a wide range of services to support education and research, an efficient use and allocation of limited resources is vital. However, allocating resources such as money, staff, time, and infrastructure between the library collection and services represents a challenge due to the multitude of data sources required to consult during a decision-making process.

Academic libraries are accustomed to keeping voluminous statistics on their …

An Exploratory Framework For A Study On Designing A Research Focused Advanced Information Literacy Program For Engineering Postgraduates, Karien Du Bruyn

Proceedings of the IATUL Conferences

Efforts to improve information literacy levels in academic institutions are often focused on undergraduate students, and mostly address the improvement of information retrieval skills. This practice is also evident in information literacy programs offered for postgraduate researchers, if offered at all. Although there have been radical transformations in scholarly communication and practice in recent years, there is still an assumption among many that researchers on postgraduate level are sufficiently information literate to deal with the new challenges. A gradual awareness of the unique needs of postgraduate researchers in a dynamic and demanding academic environment is, however, developing. Literature in this …

An Evaluation Of A Collaborative, Blended Learning Course For Staff At Monash University Library, Steven Yates, Lisa Smith

Proceedings of the IATUL Conferences

Monash University Library contributes to learning and teaching within the curriculum through its information research and learning skills programs. The Library is aligned with the University’s digital education strategic goals; and thus considers the development and delivery of e-learning resources for blended and online learning environments an important strategic undertaking. With complex and dispersed Library, faculty and cross-campus activities, increasing e-learning staff development opportunities is challenging. This paper reports on the second iteration of a blended learning staff development course designed and conducted by the Library. A pragmatic approach was taken, using predominantly social constructivist learning and a mixed methods …