University librarians respond to changes in higher education: example of a medical school

Abstract

If you would like to write for this, or any other Emerald publication, then please use our Emerald for Authors service information about how to choose which publication to write for and submission guidelines are available for all. Please visit www.emeraldinsight.com/authors for more information. About Emerald www.emeraldinsight.comEmerald is a global publisher linking research and practice to the benefit of society. The company manages a portfolio of more than 290 journals and over 2,350 books and book series volumes, as well as providing an extensive range of online products and additional customer resources and services.Emerald is both COUNTER 4 and TRANSFER compliant. The organization is a partner of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and also works with Portico and the LOCKSS initiative for digital archive preservation. AbstractPurpose -The purpose of this paper is to discuss three recent changes in higher education -the addition of technology to every aspect of the curriculum, the increase in the availability of electronic resources, and the introduction of constructivist pedagogy. In light of these changes, the authors aim to explore what university libraries and librarians should reinforce in terms of their concepts and competency and adjust the ways that they serve students. Design/methodology/approach -The authors analyze the related literature and identified technology, electronic resources, and constructivist pedagogy that interact with the new curriculum of universities in a broader way than in the past. Findings -The three dimensions, separately and in combination, require considerable adjustments by librarians, teachers, students, and the school/university community in general. Collaboration among all members of staff, particularly between librarians and teachers, is essential. The emerging paradigm, still firmly based in constructivist principles, recognizes that there is a need for staff guidance of students though they are expected to become increasingly independent as they progress through the system. Meanwhile, two new core competencies have emerged for university librarians: information literacy and problem-based learning (PBL). Originality/value -The emergence of the two competencies has reminded librarians to learn, change and grow constantly to serve PBL students effectively.It is true, however, as Levy and Roberts (2005) point out, that the new learning environment emphasizes a combined process of learning, demanding the best in face-to-face interaction and the use of technologies to reinforce the learner's experience.

Determinants of Undergraduate Students’ Attitude and Perception towards the Use of Electronic Information Resources (EIRs) among Undergraduate Students in Selected Universities in Eastern Cape, South Africa

“…The progress and multiplicity of electronic resources, especially e-journals, in the past decade have led to the reduction of printed journals [6] [7]. Further, [8] contends that technological development resulted in the delivery of new horizons for creating, storing, accessing distributing and presenting information.…”

Recognizing the Personal Competencies of Future Information Professionals

“…Without having a sense of critical thinking, there is no content exchange of idea among professionals [9]. Critical thinking is a logical and judgment-based way of making decisions and always performed by anyone in organization [10]. As a future information professional, they need to have this strong character to cope with the real working environment.…”

“…Creative thinking is the process of modifying ideas from an existing knowledge base with the ability to form or bring forth a new thought by using imagination and intellect. It is a part of an individual's intellectual personality that can be applied to everyday situations [10]. By having the new ideas, these imaginative people will absorb all the information around them, processing then disseminate it as new ideas together with the solution if the problem occur.…”

Leadership in challenging times of academic libraries

“…Popp (2012) identified that academic libraries can lose their reliability and validity status unless they provide much better services, multiple ways to access the resources and facilities to their patrons rather than just collect and provide traditional access to information. It needs to implement new technology to offer innovative ways of satisfying library users, information technology change has greatly influenced academic libraries universally (Chang and Chen, 2011; Chan and Spodick, 2014). Presently, academic libraries are developing their organizational policies, the role and responsibilities, new competencies and skills required for both librarians at all stages and leadership (Gilley et al , 2009).…”