A lecture given at University of Sheffield iSchool on 1st March 2012.

1. Information literacy, e-learning
and the changing role of the
librarian
DR JANE SECKER
LSE CENTRE FOR LEARNING TECHNOLOGY
University of Sheffield, i School guest lecture
1st March 2011

2. Overview
 About me
 Information literacy and librarians
 Librarians and e-learning
 Future trends to watch
 Ways to keep up to date

3. My role
 Copyright and Digital Literacy Advisor at LSE
 Based in Centre for Learning Technology
 Work closely with colleagues in Library
 Advise staff about copyright and e-learning
 Run a programme of training for staff and PhD
students: digital literacy
 Involved in information literacy initiatives for
students: courses, online support

4. How did I get here?
 My background: librarian and e-learning
specialist, PhD in information science / history
 Worked in academic, government, museum
libraries for the past 12 years
 Involved in many research projects: JISC, HEA
 Publications and conferences
 Regularly use Twitter (@jsecker)
 Maintain a few blogs!

5. What else?
 Professional involvement: CILIP Information
Literacy Group, LILAC Conference
 Chair of Heron User Group
 Former Chair of ALISS
 Completed LSE’s PGCert in Teaching in Higher
Education – HEA Fellow
 Now teach on LSE’s PGCert
 Arcadia Fellow at Wolfson College Cambridge, 2011

6. Information literacy and the librarian
 What does information literacy mean to you?
 Is it a library issue?
 Is an issue for all libraries or just academic libraries?
 How does it translate into what you might do as a
librarian? Teaching?
 Is it a new term for something we have always done?

7. What do we mean by
information literacy?
“Digital fluency”

8. “Information literacy empowers people in all walks of
life to seek, evaluate, use and create information
effectively to achieve their
personal, social, occupational and educational goals.
“It is a basic human right in a digital world and
promotes social inclusion in all nations.”
UNESCO (2005) Alexandria Proclamation

9. A New Curriculum for Information Literacy
 Recently completed research on developing a
curriculum for information for undergraduates of the
future – expert consultation / lit review
 Different to SCONUL 7 pillars and ACRL Standards
– it’s a curriculum
 Designed to be
flexible, adaptable, modular, embedded into
programmes of study
 Not aimed just a librarians but at all educators
 Find out more from
http://newcurriculum.wordpress.com

10. ANCIL definition of Information Literacy
Information literacy is a continuum of
skills, behaviours, approaches and values that is so
deeply entwined with the uses of information as to be
a fundamental element of learning, scholarship and
research.
It is the defining characteristic of the discerning
scholar, the informed and judicious citizen, and the
autonomous learner.
 ANCIL definition of information literacy (2011)

12. Using the curriculum
 The strands cover 4 broad learning categories, from
functional skills up to high-level intellectual
operations
 Classes can incorporate multiple strands
 Classes should be active, reflective, relevant to
student need
 You could use the curriculum to audit your own (or
your department’s) teaching provision
 Find out more about Implementing ANCIL from the
wiki – includes cases studies from two universities
 Currently undertakingan audit at LSE using ANCIL

13. E-learning and libraries
 E-learning support – librarians and learning
technologists working in partnership to offer advice
to staff and students
 Librarians can make use of e-learning for
information literacy and other teaching
opportunities
 E-learning offers some unique challenges in terms of
copyright and licensing issues that librarians are
often best placed to deal with

14. Does it work in practice?
 In most institutions e-learning staff and librarians
are rarely part of the same team
 Different cultures and different ways of working
 E-learning an emerging profession – no standard
route into working in the field
 Professional body – ALT who have special interest
groups, organise events and conferences and more
recently accredit courses
 Academic support role means they can be ideal
partners to help join up strategically and practically

15. What are the issues
 Librarians may not have access to the VLE
 Librarians will need help and advice designing online
courses
 E-learning staff may not understand copyright and
licensing issues
 Students may not need to visit the Library if they
have all their resources provided through a VLE
 Information literacy needs to be consider when
designing an e-learning course

16. Typical queries related to e-learning
 I want to include a video from YouTube in my online
course – can I do this legally?
 I have lots of images taken from the website – is it ok
to upload them to Moodle / Blackboard?
 Can I scan a chapter from a book and upload it to
Moodle for my students?
 I downloaded a PDF from a journal – is it ok to share
it with students using the VLE
 Who owns the materials I create when I use the
university VLE?

17. You Tube and copyright
 You Tube can be problematic as it does sometimes
contain material infringing copyright
 You Tube put responsibility for copyright onto the
user but will remove content if it infringes copyright
 You can link to videos from a VLE or embed the
video without infringing copyright
 Be aware that content could be removed so don’t rely
on always being able to access the material
 Take a look at Teacher Tube or You Tube’s education
channel

18. Images, the internet and e-learning
 Images are subject to copyright unless the owner has
shared them under an open licence e.g. Creative
Commons
 Images are usually copied in their entirety
 It’s far easier to get people to use licensed image
collections or copyright free images that to request
copyright permission for images
 Many photographers will charge fees to reproduce
images – its how they make their living!
 Take your own photos if they are for illustrative
purposes

19. Scanning published works
 Uploading published content to the VLE could
seriously damage the sales of textbooks so publishers
have been keen to regulate this activity
 Scanning from books and journals is only permitted
under the CLA Licence or with permission from a
publisher
 The CLA Licence is fairly complex and requires
institutions to report all scanned readings annually
 In some institutions the Library manages a scanning
service to ensure quality and compliance

20. Journal articles and e-learning
 Many journals are licensed through large databases
and terms and conditions will apply
 In many cases publishers want to collect metrics so
will request you link to their material rather than
download it and re-distribute it
 It can be difficult to create stable links to journal
articles
 Staff will find it far easier to download a PDF and use
it in the VLE – but you will need a CLA
Comprehensive Licence to do this (and to report use)

21. IPR and e-learning
 Increasingly universities are formalising their IPR
policies and setting out the ownership of teaching
materials
 In many cases there is no difference between paper
teaching materials and those added to the VLE
 Some academics will work in partnership with e-
learning colleagues to produce a resource, so
institutional ownership is far easier
 Some institutions are encouraging staff to share
teaching materials as open educational resources

22. Future trends
 How might the needs of students evolve over the
coming years and what impact will this have on the
teaching we offer?
 Will fewer and fewer students visit libraries and
access all their readings online?
 What impact will mobiles and tablets have on
learning?
 How might VLEs evolve over the coming few years?
 What impact do other technologies such as social
media have on the tools we use in education?

23. Ways to keep up to date
 Conferences, events (LILAC, UC&R conference)
 JISC Regional Support Centres organise events for
Further Education librarians
 LibCamp and TeachMeets
 Professional social networking: on LinkedIn, Twitter
and by reading blogs
 Joining groups New Professionals Network, but also
CILIP groups, other library groups
 Use Google Reader to follow blogs - consider writing
your own to reflect on your work

24. Further readings
 Secker, Jane and Coonan, Emma. (2010) ANCIL Curriculum
and Supporting Documentation. Available at:
http://ccfil.pbworks.com/f/ANCIL_final.pdf
 Secker, Jane. (2010) Copyright and E-learning: a guide for
practitioners. Facet Publishing: London
 New Curriculum Blog: http://newcurriculum.wordpress.com
 Implementing ANCIL wiki:
http://implementingancil.pbworks.com
 My blog: http://elearning.lse.ac.uk/blogs/socialsoftware/
 LILAC Conference: http://www.lilacconference.com
 Follow me on Twitter @jsecker
 Join the CILIP CSG-Information Literacy Group – its free for
students!

25. Any questions?
Dr Jane Secker
Copyright and Digital Literacy Advisor
Centre for Learning Technology, LSE
Email j.secker@lse.ac.uk
 Find me on LinkedIn, Twitter etc.