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Supporting Staff: Academic Support

Curriculum design and collaborating with the Library

Library Staff work together with academic and professional services staff in the following ways

  • Attend and contribute to relevant meetings, to promote and advise about library developments and to respond to feedback.
  • Understand priorities for research groups, curriculum development and delivery and student engagement.
  • Work with academics on the development of collections for teaching and research, including the ordering of new resources and the review and quality assurance of existing resources.
  • Provide advice and guidance about reading list development, with online reading list guidance.
  • Induct new and current staff on how to make the most of the Library and our resources.
  • Use the Library Research Skills Framework to work with academics and other staff to ensure appropriate curriculum design based on the learning outcomes, and the assessment within a module. We will do this by creating curriculum maps, which will map out the best journey for students through each programme supporting the constructive alignment of the content and the development of the appropriate library research skills at the appropriate point of need and with reference to QAA benchmarking statements.
  • Provide specialist advice and training online covering research skills, such as finding and evaluating information, managing data, referencing and plagiarism and using library systems and resources.
  • Collaborate with staff in other professional services teams including Student Disability and Inclusion, Enhancement, iSolutions, Careers 
  • Contact us to discuss your needs libenqs@soton.ac.uk 

Collection development

Engagement Librarians collaborate with you on the development of collections for your subject:

Support for your students

An image of a central hexagon which has the wording inside of it saying 'Library Research Skills'. Surrounding the central hexagon are 6 more hexagons which have wording inside. Working from the top hexagon and going around the outside in a clockwise direction the wording reads as follows; Transition skills, Skills for studying online, Finding information, Evaluating information, Citing and referencing, Digital literacy.Developing your students' research skills: Embedding the Library Research Skills Framework

This section outlines how the Library can work with you, as part of a programme level approach, to embed research skills into your programme or module by providing support linked to learning outcomes and assessment to develop your students' research skills.

The Library recommends that research skills support be embedded in the following ways:

  • Help students with Getting Started at a University Library.
  • Help students find reliable information via their subject guide and library catalogues.
  • Support you with collection development for independent reading.
  • Map research skills to the programme using the learning outcomes, assessment and curriculum mapping, contact us for more information.
  • Embed tutorials, videos and guides in the VLE to support assessment
  • Link to research skills support in your feedback
  • Signpost students to co-curricular library training and workshops
  • Talk to your librarian
  • Direct students to their essential and recommended reading with an online reading list

At the Education Committee in March 2022 our approach was discussed and approved. Linked below is the full report sent to the Education Committee outlining our plans and the reason for them.

Library Research Skills Framework

Using the Library Research Skills Framework, we will work with academics and other staff to ensure appropriate curriculum design based on the learning outcomes, and the assessment within a module. We will do this by creating curriculum maps, which will map out the best journey for students through each programme supporting the constructive alignment of the content and the development of the appropriate library research skills at the appropriate point of need. Find case studies and examples of curriculum mapping for Psychology and Business Studies next.

Our Library Research Skills Framework has been created by benchmarking with national and international frameworks.

 

Feedback

“The Library Research Skills Framework is a welcome approach to improving students’ information literacy and awareness of library resources and support. This aligns perfectly to the approach of the Enhancing Academic Transition Support project, where we are keen to move away from overloading students with information during induction and move towards support at the point of need throughout the academic journey. The framework enables academics to work in partnership with Engagement Librarians to identify appropriate opportunities to deliver support that are linked to the curriculum – for example embedded in modules and assessments that motivate students to engage with the learning. The pilot of curriculum mapping and support delivered within SBS has shown that this is an effective and efficient way to support students across programmes of study and avoid duplication between modules.”

~ Neil Ford, Principal Teaching Fellow, Education Development, Southampton Business School 

“We were delighted to pilot the Library Skills Framework in Psychology. It was great to see a framework that was tailored for each cohort. The sessions given by the Library complemented perfectly our sessions on transition and expectations for each year, given by our Year Leads. Feedback on the sessions from our course representatives at our last SSLC was very positive, with students in their final year stating that the resources were especially useful for their Literature Review module and that they wished that they had been given the information earlier in the degree. Recordings from the sessions have been uploaded to our Employability Blackboard sites to enable the students to watch the presentations again whenever needed. Signposting to these valuable library resources will also be made more salient on these Blackboard sites, with regular reminders from module leads to make use of the helpful services and resources.”
~ Dr Claire Hart, Programme Lead, Psychology
“The content for MANG1003 was very helpful in directing the students and getting them to engage with useful and relevant information. In particular, we worked, over two weeks, on citing and referencing, how to use the library website (Webcat and DelphiS), and then evaluating that information. These are vital skills for students to learn in their transition to undergraduate study. Just signposting these and having a framework to use was a relief for me and improved the overall content. now, every student in the Business School has had this introduction. I certainly found that their overall research was better as was their referencing.”
~ Dr David Cross, module lead for MANG1003 and Faculty Academic Integrity Officer (UG)

"Curriculum mapping has ensured that I teach the library session at the appropriate time and align it with the learning outcomes of the course. Using the Library Research Skills Framework enabled me to pitch my training session at the right level, and its flexibility means that I can choose the relevant elements according to the experience of the students. Having the lecturer co-present with the Engagement Librarian and being embedded in the module sends the students the message that this is an integral part of their course. We have been fortunate that the lecturers in Psychology have engaged so well with this pilot and their input has been invaluable."

~ Kate Walker, Engagement Librarian