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When Librarians and Professors Collide: Collaborate!

Will they annihilate each other like matter and antimatter? This presentation will provide an overview of library resources available to faculty and their classes. Also discussed, ways in which faculty librarians and teaching faculty can collaborate.

Ways faculty librarians and professors can collaborate

Collaboration opportunities:

Library Contributions to Student Success

Among the findings:

  • Library instruction builds students’ confidence with the research process.
  • Library instruction contributes to retention and persistence
  • Students who receive library instruction as part of their courses achieve higher grades and demonstrate better information literacy competencies
  • Multiple library instruction sessions or activities are more effective than one shot instruction sessions.

Click the image to read the Executive Summary. Full report linked below:

Summary of benefits:

 Teaching Faculty Benefits

  • Faculty evaluate resources before designing an assignment, which in turn leads to better student products
  • Taking advantage of a librarian's expertise makes sense and saves time
  • Facilitates the selection of Library resources for new courses and new programs
  • A better library collection in the faculty member's subject area results from increased communication
  • Faculty member gets expert advice and assistance in designing assignments that involve library resources and information literacy concepts
  • Faculty member gets personalized reference and research assistance from the librarian
Librarian Faculty Benefits
  • Collaboration helps define librarian's academic role
  • Librarians use their subject specialties and research expertise
  • Librarians are better able to help students with assignments
  • Librarians get feedback from the teaching faculty about student products
  • Gives all librarians more credibility and visibility in the academic community

Student Benefits

  • Assignments are more meaningful and better planned
  • The student learns about intellectual property
  • The student develops critical thinking skills needed to evaluate resources
  • The student becomes an independent learner and develops intellectual curiosity
  • Students do better work and learning expectations are raised

Source: Texas State Univ., Albert B. Alkek Library