Council of Australian University Librarians
Submission to the
Australian Government
Department of Education, Science and Training
on the
Learning and Teaching Performance Fund
Issues Paper April 2004
June 2004
Introduction
The Council of Australian University Librarians (CAUL) is pleased to respond to the
issues raised in the Learning and Teaching Performance Fund Issues Paper April
2004. This response draws attention to a number of ways in which university libraries
are an essential part of excellence in learning and teaching, both directly and in
partnership with academic staff and the wider university community. We ask that the
Department, in considering the way forward, take this role into account. We recognise
that the issues paper was written primarily for university staff and units directly involved
with teaching, and have not commented specifically on the issues raised. This paper
summarises the contributions made by university libraries.
The Council of Australian University Librarians (CAUL) comprises the university
librarians or library directors of the universities eligible to be members of the Australian
Vice-Chancellors’ Committee. The Council represents its member libraries in
addressing national issues that relate to the improvement of access to the information
resources fundamental to the advancement of learning, teaching and research. In so
doing, librarians actively seek input from students on their information needs to improve
the quality of their learning experiences and work in partnership with university staff to
improve the quality of teaching. The rapid, continuing developments in information and
communication technologies provide the catalyst for extension of partnerships between
librarians and university teachers to address emerging issues that affect the delivery of
higher education courses.
Library collections
The substantial resources held in university libraries underpin learning and teaching
programs. The quality of these collections, the effectiveness of academics’ involvement
in selection processes, ready access to these collections (including hours of opening)
and skills development to enable their optimum use all have an impact on the quality of
learning and teaching. Some of these factors are elaborated in the following sections of
the paper.
E-learning
Ready access to the Internet and the development of electronic resources has led to
the availability of vast sources of information now widely used in learning and teaching.
Libraries continue to increase the proportion of online learning resources compared
with print and other non-book hard copy materials, and both libraries and teaching staff
are now creating resources for use in learning and teaching. E-learning, embracing
electronic resources, learning management systems and distributed learning models is
in a nascent phase and must be monitored and evaluated .
Librarians, through their leadership in acquiring, organising and making electronic
resources accessible, can provide valuable support to academic staff on a wide range
of e-learning issues, including information management, access and educational
copyright.
Remote access
There are particular challenges in ensuring that off campus, distance and oveseas
students receive high quality support from their universities. This includes access to
appropriate information resources. Students need timely and reliable access to the
resources provided by the library, and librarians need to work closely with academic
staff to ensure that library resources, especially electronic resources, are included in
course reading lists, and that students know how to use them .
______________________________________
CAUL submission on the Learning and Teaching Performance Fund Issues Paper April 2004
2
Information literacy
Information literacy is the term that has been adopted within universities to describe the
range of skills needed by students to locate and use high quality information. Library
support for teaching and learning is demonstrated through librarians working closely
with academic staff to develop and present effective information literacy programs.
This can range from basic user education sessions to information literacy skills
development being incorporated into courses, or forming courses. With the availability
of a standardised Australian and New Zealand Information Literacy Framework 1, it is an
opportune time to work more closely with academic staff to include in the curriculum
mutually agreed upon content for information literacy skills sessions, as well as
assessment of information literacy activities. Librarians can work with academic staff to
give students the knowledge they need to effectively assess the quality and academic
merit of their information sources, and to use it ethically.
To most effectively support academic staff in this area, library staff may need to further
develop their teaching skills, including undertaking teacher training where necessary.
Graduate attributes
Universities have developed specific statements or sets of graduate attributes that are
the desired outcomes of the university’s study program. In relation to developing skills
for life long learning, it is generally agreed by university librarians that information
literacy skills should be included as a graduate attribute. It would be useful to conduct
research to gauge the impact on student success of structured information literacy
programs in the curriculum.
Assistance in finding and using resources
A key service provided by libraries is assistance and advice to students and staff. This
is done in person at library information desks, by telephone, by email and through real
time chat, as well as through online tutorials. Librarians are able to provide expert
assistance at the time and point of need so that the student learning experience is
enhanced. There would be value in library staff analysing changing information
services requirements due to changing pedagogical frameworks and the introduction of
e-learning.
Faculty liaison
Librarians who have direct communication roles with faculty staff are in an excellent
position to increase the awareness of those staff of library resources that exist in their
disciplinary areas, in particular new online resources. Further collaboration between
library staff and teaching staff needs to occur to ensure optimal access to, and usage
and archiving of, digital learning and teaching objects. This collaboration should also
extend to information technology, learning and teaching support and student services
staff.
Facilities for learning and teaching
In recent library building refurbishments and in newly designed buildings, strong
emphasis has been placed on catering for student centred learning. In particular, more
workstations for accessing online resources and software have been provided in
1
Australian and New Zealand information literacy framework: principles, standards and
practice, 2nd edition. Adelaide, Australian and New Zealand Institute for Information Literacy,
2004. http://www.caul.edu.au/info-literacy/InfoLiteracyFramework.pdf accessed 5 May 2004.
______________________________________
CAUL submission on the Learning and Teaching Performance Fund Issues Paper April 2004
3
flexible and collaborative learning areas. Library facilities need to be planned in
conjunction with teaching staff so that the facilities provided are conducive to
productive study and suitable for teaching purposes. In some libraries, teaching rooms
and facilities are shared between library and teaching staff.
The library is increasingly becoming a multi-purpose support facility for learning and
teaching. As well as bringing together open access computers and books, it is also
providing diverse, flexible work environments which cater for groups, such as grouped
computer workstations, meeting rooms, and social meeting spaces. Wireless
technology is facilitating this.
Quality
Library and information services are reported upon in a separate section in the quality
audits of universities conducted by the Australian Universities Quality Agency (AUQA).
Recent AUQA audits include findings that are commendable with regard to libraries
and other findings where they have recommended improvements be made. As each
institution is audited in terms of its mission and objectives – its fitness for purpose – the
significant role that each of the libraries has in effectively supporting high quality
learning and teaching is recorded in the overall findings for each university.
Strategic planning and policy
University librarians should be included in planning forums with other senior university
staff to ensure library services and initiatives are included in university strategic
planning documents and are responsive to them. Each university prepares a Teaching
and Learning Plan that includes strategies to achieve excellence in learning and
teaching. Ongoing advice and support for university initiatives is given through library
staff participation in teaching-related university standing committees. Input is provided
on the development of graduate attributes, classroom teaching and assessment
(information literacy), quality indicators, internationalisation and flexibility in delivery of
courses.
Customer satisfaction
Most Australian university libraries undertake a comprehensive customer survey,
usually biennially, of the perceptions of students and staff on how well their library is
performing on a range of variables, many of which are concerned with the quality of
services for learning and teaching. Most libraries use a similar survey so that survey
results can be subsequently used for comparative benchmarking purposes across
university libraries. Survey results and comments are used to inform improvements to
services for primary clientele – the students and staff.
Conclusion
The direct and positive impacts of university libraries on learning and teaching activities
have been demonstrated throughout this submission. The Council of Australian
University Librarians consider that the roles that libraries undertake play a significant
role in producing quality educational outcomes and request that the activities outlined
be noted by the Department.
Madeleine McPherson
President, CAUL
Contact: Diane Costello, Executive Officer, CAUL at 02 6125 2990 or diane.costello@caul.edu.au
______________________________________
CAUL submission on the Learning and Teaching Performance Fund Issues Paper April 2004
4