The implementation and embedding of digital skills and digital literacy into the curriculum considering the Covid-19 pandemic and the new SQE

This paper focuses on the introduction of a new model of digital teaching and resource provision for the University of Law (ULaw) Library Service, during the Covid-19 pandemic. It details the processes and steps we took to achieve the three core aims of: a new mode of online skills delivery, the creation of self-directed, independent learners in the various student cohorts at the university and the creation of a flexible self-assessment platform to provide an incremental learning journey for both students and staff. This paper also highlights some of the challenges and difficulties we faced, arising from a project of this size and nature.

A qualitative investigation of the digital literacy practices of doctoral students

Academic libraries are currently part of a landscape where there is a rapid growth of digital technologies and electronic resources and they have responded to this by developing their research services. Some of the most specialised and complex research in higher education is conducted by doctoral students and the effective use of digital tools and skills is often crucial to their research workflow and success. The need for digital literacy has been further emphasised during the global pandemic of 2020-21 which has required the maximisation of online working and digital skills to ensure the continuation of education, services and research productivity. This paper presents the findings of a qualitative research study in a UK university exploring factors influencing differences in the digital literacy skills of doctoral students. The literature included has been updated as digital skills and technologies are a constantly changing area of research. Due the complex nature of doctoral research, it was difficult to draw definite conclusions about the many factors which influence the digital literacy practices of research students. Students interviewed in the study discussed their approaches to and understanding of information, digital and media literacy (Jisc, 2016) but the influence of demographic factors such as age, discipline and gender could not easily be evaluated. All students in the study appeared to be under time pressure and required a high level of organisation and this was assisted by digital skills and proficiency and access to robust hardware and software. They believed they were largely self-taught and some required appropriate training at the point of need to increase their research productivity. This paper will explore how evidence-based practice and engagement may be used to understand the digital practices of doctoral students and to inform the development of research services within academic libraries.

Cartooning the Cambridge University Libraries

Comics and cartoons are valued in twenty-first century popular culture and are increasingly used as ‘Applied Comics’ to help communicate key messages and information in society. However, there is less evidence of cartoons and comics being used to communicate with and engage library users in learning, information literacy (IL) and research support. This paper explores case studies of how several different projects have utilised comics as a medium to deliver key messages about library services to support teaching and research at Cambridge University Libraries. The paper examines the use of comics and cartoons in a library context framed in a theory of comics and visual learning. The reception and output of the comics and cartoons with different audiences at Cambridge University Libraries is explored and the paper proposes that further research could be done to examine the potential of comics in communication and IL.

‘Informed’, ‘active’ and ‘engaged’? Understanding and enacting information literacy from a UK citizenship perspective

Information literacy (IL) has been considered by Library and Information Studies (LIS) research and praxis to be vital in helping citizens be ‘informed’, ‘active’ and ‘engaged’ within society. LIS discourse has explored different conceptions of citizenship and its relationship with IL within the paradigm of liberal democratic societies. Critical IL approaches have in turn promoted a citizenship of personal agency, empowerment, challenging the status quo and the pursuit of social justice, as well as focusing on what has been termed ‘political literacy’. However, critical information literacy has also problematised some of the approaches to citizenship found in LIS discourse. Despite the complexity of the subject, empirical study into these issues is still severely lacking. This research moves to start addressing this need by investigating how IL is understood and enacted from the perspective of UK citizenship. Using a qualitative approach of semi-structured interviews with five UK citizens based in Oxford, UK, in the summer of 2019, it set out to establish the relationship between IL and citizenship in a personal context. It was found to be understood and enacted through the development of socially-constructed personal citizenship information landscapes, oriented to a personal sense of citizenship, agency, motivation and empowerment. These personal landscapes challenge some of the established IL paradigms of ‘informed’, ‘active’ and ‘engaged’ citizens, as well as related concepts of information ‘wealth’ and ‘poverty’. They also raise questions of the role of personal ethics in decision making as citizens and potential tensions with ‘acceptable’ norms. These findings help to further problematise the dynamic between IL and citizenship, and challenge LIS research and praxis not just to promote specific values and goals, but also to work towards a greater understanding of the personal contexts shaping that dynamic.

Step Up to Masters

The article in question introduces research conducted by the Learning Development Team at the University of Leeds on the academic literacy skills development needs and expectations of taught postgraduate students, and the subsequent creation of an innovative new online resource, Step Up to Masters. As well as focusing on key topics highlighted by the research, the resource encourages students to reflect on their individual development priorities and to select the most relevant support options for their successful transition to taught postgraduate (PGT) study. The rationale behind this reflect and select approach has been informed by a synthesis of (a) the outcomes of key studies on the diverse needs and challenges faced by PGT students when making the transition to Masters study, and (b) the team’s own research findings on PGT students’ academic development priorities and preferences. Step Up to Masters received the Digital Award for Information Literacy 2020, and was central to the online PGT induction programme initiated at Leeds for 2020/21 in response to the coronavirus pandemic.

Book review of Xu, L. (ed.). 2021. Engaging undergraduates in primary source research

This review examines the book Engaging Undergraduates in Primary Source Research, a collection of essays edited by Lijuan Xu.

FestivIL 2021

Conference report for Day 3 of FestivIL, which took place 6-8 July 2021 online in the place of the postponed LILAC conference.

FestivIL 2021

A report on the FestivIL Conference 2021 from the perspective of a school librarian.