The subject librarian and the virtual learning environment

Sheila Corrall

26 citations0/0 files storedData Technologies and Applications

No readable copy stored yet — this record is metadata only.

No open-access location is known for this record yet.

Literature note Cite in a project Citation map

Library Science and Information Literacy Library Science and Information Web and Library Services

Abstract

Purpose: The prevalence of virtual learning environments (VLEs) in higher education is well documented and has been promoted in the UK by government funded projects, but there has been little empirical research on the level of involvement of subject librarians with VLEs. A survey was designed to investigate how VLEs are affecting the work of subject librarians and to examine factors influencing their use in providing electronic information resources and developing information skills. The aim of this paper is to document the results Design/methodology/approach: A questionnaire was distributed electronically to a purposive sample of 132 subject librarians at seven UK universities. The instrument contained mainly closed specified response questions with a few open questions and a response rate of 43 per cent (n=57) was achieved. Findings: Use of VLEs by subject librarians varies both between and within institutions. Factors affecting this include the subject area, co-operation of academic staff and attitudes of librarians towards technology-based teaching. JISC-funded projects have enabled better use of VLEs through the creation of re-usable learning objects and development of pedagogical understanding and skills. Recognition by academic staff of the teaching role of subject librarians has a critical impact on their involvement with VLEs. Research limitations/implications: The timeframe limited the scale of the study and size of the sample. The mainly quantitative approach limited the detail and depth of responses, but sufficient data were collected to establish broad trends, illuminate important factors and identify key issues. Originality/value: The paper provides empirical evidence of how VLEs are affecting the day-to-day activities of subject librarians and suggests areas where further research would be valuable. © Emerald Group Publishing Limited.

Paper brief

Loading…

Cite this work

Citation unavailable for this work.

BibTeX RIS CSL-JSON

No public copy is stored for this record, so only the metadata is cited.

Citations in this library

Citation map →

Stored only when both papers are in the corpus — 26 citations exist upstream.

References

2003Change Management 2004The blended librarian: A blueprint for redefining the teaching and learning role of academic librarians 2009Taking Library Instruction into the Online Classroom: Best Practices for Embedded Librarians 2001The changing role of subject librarians in academic libraries 2010Developing librarians as teachers: A study of their pedagogical knowledge 2003Establishing our presence in courseware: Adding library services to the virtual classroom 2002Learning support professionals: the changing role of subject specialists in UK academic libraries 2007Revisiting the subject librarian

Cited by

2019Scientific production on mobile information literacy in higher education: a bibliometric analysis (2006–2017)2014Faculty Usage of Library Tools in a Learning Management System 2013E‐library services: challenges and training needs of librarians in Nigeria 2019Kill the One-Shot: Using a Collaborative Rubric to Liberate the Librarian–Instructor Partnership 2019Academic librarian's transition to blended librarianship: a phenomenology of selected academic librarians in Zimbabwe

Explore the map →

Papers that cite the same references — the relational fallback while embeddings are still backfilling.

Imported from OpenAlex (CC0) — nothing here is generated.