Oxford University Library Services
Welcome Session for Graduate
Trainees 08-09
Emma Sullivan, Staff Development Librarian
Programme



1.30 Welcome/Introductions
1.45 Group Feedback
2.15 Introduction to …
Oxford and Its Libraries
Graduate Trainee Programme/Year




3.00 Cake Break and Projects
3.30 Learning Effectively
4.30 Final Thoughts
4.55 END
Who Are You?




Name
Where are you working?
What were you doing before?
What is your greatest skill?
Group Feedback
5 groups … 10 minutes …discuss!



Hopes
Concerns
Questions
History


Oldest University in English speaking world
800 year old tradition of discovery & invention



First University Library founded 1320 in the Church
Bodleian Library founded 400 years ago
Collegiate university: 39 colleges (+6 halls)



Dominus Illuminatio Mea
(The Lord is My Light)
Colleges select/admit; housing; libraries;
sports/social/pastoral care; tutorials/welfare
University organises course content; lectures/seminars; sets
exams; awards degrees
Also a town with its own industrial heritage!
Oxford University
Congregation
Legislative council
Colleges
Council
Departments
Policy making and strategy
Vice Chancellor
Senior officer – John Hood
Academic Services and University Collections
Library Land
OULS
Departments
Colleges
Subject Approach
Area Studies &
Bodleian
Bodleian Japanese Library, Commonwealth &
African Studies, Chinese Studies Library, Latin
American Centre Library, Middle East Centre Library,
Oriental, Taylor Bodleian Slavonic & Modern Greek
Library
Humanities &
Bodleian
English Faculty, History Faculty, Theology, Music,
Philosophy, Taylorian
Medical
Health Care Libraries, Churchill, Old
Road/Knowledge Centre
Science
Radcliffe Science Library, Plant Sciences, Zoology
Social Science
Education, Law, Refugee Studies Centre, Said
Business School, Social Science Library
(Vere Harmsworth Library & Continuing Education)
Special
Collections
Bodleian & Faculty/Department Libraries & Colleges
Thomas Bodley’s Vision

Bodleian refounded 1602

Access to Collections: Bodley’s “Republic of Letters”

Legal deposit privilege since 1610

60% of Bodleian readers not members of Oxford
University
Statistics

Largest integrated library system in any academic
institution in the UK, and one of the largest in the
world

38,000 current users (University card)
11 million items (increasing by >350,000 items per
annum)
158 miles of materials
581 (FTE) staff



Change Themes
Economic
Political
Budget
Estates
Processes
Sarah
Thomas
Social
Collections
Structure
Technological
Trainee experience

Daily work in your library




Reader Services Work
Technical Services Work
Projects
Don’t be afraid to ask or use your initiative!
Trainee experience

Projects




Think about in Michaelmas Term
Project Showcase
OWL
Non-library specific projects
Trainee experience

Training Programme




Every Wednesday afternoon
Talks, Visits, IT Training
Attendance and feedback
Extra experiences
Trainee experience

Applying to Library School



Deadlines are quite early
AHRC Funding
Provide help and advice
Trainee experience

Feedback





End of term review
End of year review
Meeting supervisor
Do talk to Staff Development
Advice from last year’s trainees
Time for …
Learning Styles
Which is your preference?
How To Learn Effectively

To discover your learning style:





Look at learning in general
Learn about the learning cycle
Do questionnaire
Look at different preferences
How knowing your preferences helps you and
others
Learning Theory



Honey and Mumford
4 years in the late 70’s looking at learning
style preferences of managers
Published the Manual of Learning Styles in
1982
What is learning?
OED states:
“ To acquire knowledge of (a subject) or skill in
(an art, etc.) as a result of study, experience,
or teaching. Const. from, of (arch.), at (a
person). Also, to commit to memory
(passages of prose or verse), esp. in phrases
to learn by heart, by rote”.
The Learning Cycle
Stage 4
Planning the
next steps
Stage 1
Have an
experience
Stage 3
Conclude from
experience
Stage 2
Review the
experience
What happens when the
learning cycle goes wrong?
Distortions:
 Addicted to the experience
 Analysis to paralysis
 Quick fix
 Jumping to conclusions
A Starting Point
Various factors influence learning:
 The learner
 Your situation
 Subject matter
 Methods used
Now for the science bit…
Different Styles
Activist
Pragmatist
Reflector
Theorist
Activists
Like to learn from:
 New experiences
 Here and now
 In at the deep end
 Involved with others
Find learning hard if:
 Passive role
 Repetition
 Instructions
 Detail
Reflectors
Like to learn from:
 Rumination
 Stand back
 Painstaking research
 Own time
Find learning hard if:
 Forced into limelight
 Action and no plan
 Insufficient info
 Spontaneity
Theorists
Like to learn from:
 Logic
 Inter-relationships
 Question basics
 Complexity
Find learning hard if:
 Feelings
 Hotchpotch of methods
 Banal/Shallow
 Out of tune with
colleagues
Pragmatists
Like to learn from:
 Practical learning
 Link between learning
and problem
 Chance to implement
skills
 End product
Find learning hard if:
 No immediate need
 Not realistic
 Round in circles
 Political obstacles
How can we learn better?





Learning preferences are not fixed
Need to be a good all rounder to learn well
Play to your strengths
Strengthening your least favourite styles
Learning log
How does this help me and
others?







Optimise your learning
Become a better learner
Find a suitable job
Relationships
Manager
Team work
Presentations
Final Thoughts





Background to the university
Background to the programme and what to
expect
Background to learning effectively
Enjoy your time here
Questions?