AN INITIATIVE TO ENHANCE THE LINKING OF INFORMATION LITERACY IN TEACHING THROUGH FACULTY-LIBRARY COLLABORATION

Abstract

This paper is based on a study conducted with a group of university lecturers in Sri Lanka. The objective was to examine how faculty-library collaboration can be used for linking Information Literacy (IL) to their teaching process. The study was initiated because the use of linked-IL in teaching could eventually break down barriers to acceptance of IL by students, if IL components are used and modeled effectively in teaching with the support of the librarian. Developing information skills among university students will help to make them effective users of information. Information literacy cannot be introduced in isolation. Linking of IL in teaching is needed in connection to the teaching in the classroom. Hence, collaboration becomes a key concept. The study group consisted of a librarian and 26 lecturers from various disciplines who had from 1 to 19 years of teaching experience. This study group engaged in four 30 minutes sessions from January to March 2005 with the librarian, discussing the importance of IL in the university system, how to link IL to the curriculum, how to link IL with student assessment, the role of the lecturer and the university librarian in adopting and implementing IL in their work, and how to implement IL programs in collaboration with librarians. After the discussion sessions, the lecturers were interviewed. Before the discussion sessions, the number of lecturers who linked IL to their teaching was 8, and this number increased to 26 after the completion of the discussion sessions. The feedback of the participating lecturers showed that all 100% of them were interested to collaborate with librarians in the area of linking information literacy in teaching. These preliminary findings will be discussed to emphasize the continuation of these programs to foster an information literacy culture in the Sri Lankan university system in view of producing information literate output which will support the development of the country.