Canoodling with careers: cross-team working in information literacy

This workshop will explore how support services can work together to deliver information literacy across an institution. Traditionally Librarians have collaborated solely with Academics to develop and deliver information literacy interventions and support for students, but Librarian teams are very often co-located in teams providing wider services. This can include working in professional teams encompassing careers and employability professionals, learning technologists, study skills/academic skills teachers and IT skills trainers. At University of Derby the Library service is part of the Institute for Learning Enhancement and Innovation, which encompasses all of these services. This workshop will build upon work done by the three presenters, who are based at the Buxton campus, to find linkages between the work of Library Academic Services team of Subject Librarians and the work done by the Careers Consultants. Working together, the presenters found that both teams were developing and delivering sessions around the same core set of digital and information literacy skills, but from different perspectives. This has led to the development and delivery of joint compulsory lectures and workshops, voluntary workshops, and a joint ‘roaming’ service to students based at the multiple sites around the town. Delivered as a workshop, this session will engage participants in a range of group work activities, including: ‘Identifying overlapping skills teaching within support teams’, ‘What makes teams work? How can diverse teams work together on IL?’ and ‘Discussion on issues and good practice sharing’. The first two of these activities will involve a group discussion and a mind mapping activity on the personality and cultural dimensions of working with members of others teams. The good practice sharing will take the form of a ‘speed dating’ style activity where participants move around the room gaining new ideas and passing on experiences. Attending this workshop will allow participants to share good practice and will benefit from identifying opportunities for cross-team working within their own institution. In addition they will gain ideas on how to approach members of other teams to facilitate information literacy projects.

This workshop will explore how support services can work together to deliver information literacy across an institution. Traditionally Librarians have collaborated solely with Academics to develop and deliver information literacy interventions and support for students, but Librarian teams are very often co-located in teams providing wider services. This can include working in professional teams encompassing careers and employability professionals, learning technologists, study skills/academic skills teachers and IT skills trainers. At University of Derby the Library service is part of the Institute for Learning Enhancement and Innovation, which encompasses all of these services. This workshop will build upon work done by the three presenters, who are based at the Buxton campus, to find linkages between the work of Library Academic Services team of Subject Librarians and the work done by the Careers Consultants.

Working together, the presenters found that both teams were developing and delivering sessions around the same core set of digital and information literacy skills, but from different perspectives. This has led to the development and delivery of joint compulsory lectures and workshops, voluntary workshops, and a joint ‘roaming’ service to students based at the multiple sites around the town.

Delivered as a workshop, this session will engage participants in a range of group work activities, including: ‘Identifying overlapping skills teaching within support teams’, ‘What makes teams work? How can diverse teams work together on IL?’ and ‘Discussion on issues and good practice sharing’. The first two of these activities will involve a group discussion and a mind mapping activity on the personality and cultural dimensions of working with members of others teams. The good practice sharing will take the form of a ‘speed dating’ style activity where participants move around the room gaining new ideas and passing on experiences. Attending this workshop will allow participants to share good practice and will benefit from identifying opportunities for cross-team working within their own institution. In addition they will gain ideas on how to approach members of other teams to facilitate information literacy projects.