The Opportunities for Specialist Academic Libraries to Integrate Information Literacy into Faculty Curricula

Abstract

This research project sought to determine the opportunities for librarians in specialist academic libraries to integrate information literacy into faculty curricula. Information literacy is becoming recognized as increasingly important as a graduate competency by universities, and is a significant component of lifelong learning. The ability of librarians to collaborate with academic faculty staff in order to provide information literacy instruction to students is crucial. The researcher employed a qualitative methodology for the project, interviewing subject librarians who worked with faculty from two specialist academic libraries at the University of Auckland. The theoretical framework of the project was based on the works of Hardesty and Farber, when considering factors relating to librarian-faculty relationships, and of Owusu-Ansah and Grafstein, among others, on factors relating to information literacy. Analysis of data collected yielded results falling within three main areas. Subject librarians within the specialist academic libraries studied considered themselves to be highly accessible, being able to be contacted in person very easily by the academics whose subject discipline resources they administered. They also felt that they were visible, both within the libraries themselves, and within the wider faculty area within which the libraries were situated. The ability to employ information literacy components which were tailor-made for particular courses, grounded within specific subjects facilitated both lecturer and student buy-in. These three factors contribute to the inclusion which subject librarians in specialist academic libraries feel within a community involving all members of faculty, united by geographical location and subject discipline, and which greatly facilitates the integration of information literacy into curricula.