Information training for all staff: a strategic approach

1. Information training for all staff: a strategic approach Hannah Hough Senior Learning Advisor Learning & Information Services

2. Aims of paper: To: • Highlight issues involved in the development of the St Martin’s College (SMC) research support strategy • Discuss the actions taken to implement the strategy into daily practice • Describe specific activities used to engage staff with information skills • Consider the benefits and disadvantages of selected implementation methods • Reflect upon potential strategies for future implementation of the policy

3. What you might take away… • Ideas for what might work in your own institution? • An understanding of maybe what not to do!

4. Background to SMC • Affiliated to University of Lancaster • Predominantly providing taught courses • Large focus on healthcare and education • ~ 60 Research Postgraduate students (PT and FT) • Varied levels of staff research activity • Currently being assessed for TDAP • 3 main campuses (+ 3 satellite sites) • Wanting to broaden the College research profile • Increase scholarship and research activities (SARA)

5. Library skills support at SMC • Three faculty liaison teams • Distributed across the three main College sites • Collaboration essential to provide parity of service • Providing skills support for students • Developing guides and workbooks • Advocating importance of skills support to staff • New Information Fluency Framework • New Research Support Co-ordinator

6. Information Fluency • Information literacy: • Identifying what information you require • Knowing what resources are available • Locating the required information • Using information ethically Information Fluency • Critical thinking skills: • Evaluating the retrieved information • Comparing/contrasting information • Synthesis of understanding/new knowledge • Computer literacy: • Technical skills • Navigational skills • Online communication skills

7. Information Fluency Framework • Based on the SCONUL (Society of College, National and University Libraries) Information skills model • Outlines 7 ‘stages’ of IF • Defines intended learning outcomes for each stage • Linked to Blackboard toolkit of teaching materials • Structured method of providing support • Helps academic staff identify relevant LOs for students SCONUL. (1999). Information Skills in Higher Education: a SCONUL Position Paper [Online]. London: Standing Conference of National and University Libraries. Available from http://www.sconul.ac.uk/activities/inf_lit/papers/Seven_pillars2.pdf[Accessed 3 May 2005].

8. Information Fluency Framework Matrix

9. Information Fluency Blackboard toolkit

10. Research Support Strategy (2005) • Strategic underpinning for support of SARA: • Research specific post • Application of IF framework to staff support • Service aims for supporting knowledge transfer • Improved liaison between the library and faculties • Pro-active development of appropriate resources: • Increased provision of online resources • Appropriate training materials to support use • Research texts collection

11. Promotion of Research Support Strategy • Support received from College Research, Scholarship and Knowledge Transfer Committee • Research Support Co-ordinator attendance at faculty management meetings with action plan • Promotion of IF framework at College Learning and Teaching Fest • IF promotion leaflets distributed to all staff • Promotion of central staff development workshops • Promotion of newly acquired resources

12. Implementation (in progress) • Resources: • Increased budget for online databases • Book fund dedicated to research texts • Review of ILL payments • Development of institutional repository • IF: • Skills audit and IF perception questionnaire • Central IF training sessions • Departmental IF training sessions • Training materials for independent learning • 1:1 sessions and staff inductions

13. Central staff development workshops • For all staff and research students • Information fluency skills: An overview • How to search for information effectively • How to evaluate the quality of the information you find • How to reference using the Harvard system • How to access online information • A quick guide to searching web resources • A quick guide to searching databases • A quick guide to searching e-books • A quick guide to current awareness tools

14. “Information fluency skills: An overview” session outline • Aims: • Raise awareness of current IF staff skills • Raise awareness of impact of IF upon SARA • Direct staff to appropriate training opportunities • Activities: • Ice-breaker exercise of “what is IF” • Introduction to IF intended learning outcomes • Reflective exercise of personal IF skills • Diagnostic quiz • Comparison of reflective and diagnostic exercises

15. Quiz time • Answer each multiple choice question in your head • Wait for the answer • If you are correct you can tick the question number on your scorecard • If you are incorrect, put a cross through the number • Try to get all the questions right in each “zone” on the card

16. Question 1 • Is it possible to access the full text of a journal article via an indexing database (for example Web of Science)? • A) Yes • B) No • Answer: B

17. Question 2 • Which of the following criteria should you consider when evaluating the quality of a piece of information? • A) Country of origin • B) Length of the document • C) Publisher of the document • Answer: C

18. Question 3 • If a completed search retrieved irrelevant results, which of the following options could be the reason for this? • A) One of the search words was a generic term • B) One of the search words was a technical term • C) One of the search words was too specific • Answer: A

19. The grid How to evaluate the quality of the information you find How to search for information effectively How to reference using the Harvard system How to access online information

20. Departmental/divisional training • Development of tailored sessions for staff groups • Selection of learning outcomes from IF framework • Selection of resources from Blackboard toolkit • Development of appropriate exercises • Negotiation with HoD/Chair of group • Provided for group of staff at departmental event • Integrated with departmental priorities • Linked to increasing SARA

21. Effective aspects of implementation • Increased resource provision to support SARA • Extensive training materials available • Complete programme of IF support offered • Mix and match provision of central sessions utilised • “Information fluency skills: An overview” session raised staff awareness & received positive feedback • Departmental sessions engaged large groups of staff • IF support strategically integrated in some faculties • Staff demonstrating greater awareness of IF • Knock-on effect of increased student support

22. Less-effective aspects of strategy implementation • Low attendance at central training workshops • Appropriate timing • Effective publicity • Patchy departmental provision • Reliance upon faculty management • Perceived (un)importance of IF

23. Future IF implementation strategies • For improved attendance at central workshops: • Re-brand to complement specific staff activities • Promote electronically, not just via print programmes • Reduce number of sessions, increase frequency • Offer open workshops/drop-ins • For increased take-up of departmental training: • Increase targeting of project/research groups • Take additional papers to school committees • Ask previously trained staff to advocate support

24. Take home messages • Assess current staff awareness and concerns • Relate strategy to specific faculty activities • Promote extensively and keep knocking on doors • Attend school meetings and training days to monitor progress and evaluate staff responses • Raise staff awareness to the application of IF/IL • Don’t assume staff knowledge • Publicise range of resources available to staff • If offering workshops ensure these are promoted effectively and are offered regularly • Offer several routes to support