One of my goals for this sabbatical is to delve more deeply in to the educative role of librarians – to understand better what it is our students need to learn and want to learn, appreciating that the two may be distinctly different. I’d also like to gain a better grasp of pedagogical theory and practice. And I thought as I engage in this journey, I might as well share some of that which I’m finding. Afterall, having attended many conferences with other instructional librarians, I know those who are passionate about information literacy and teaching, enjoy nothing more than to read, share, and discuss experiences and knowledge.
Perhaps an inspiring place to start is with William Poole, one of the early advocates of the role of academic librarians as teachers. Poole’s writings are referenced in an article by Edward K. Owusu-Ansah titled “Beyond Collaboration: Seeking Greater Scope and Centrality for Library Instruction” published in portal: Libraries and the Academy, Vol. 7, No. 4(2007), pp.415-429.
In an article William Poole wrote for Library Journal in November 1893 titled “The University Library and the University Curriculum”, he states
“I wish to show that the study of bibliography and of the scientific methods of using books should have an assured place in the university curriculum; that a wise and professional bibliographer should be a member of the faculty and have a part in the training of all the students; that the library should be his classroom; and that all who go forth in the world as graduates should have such an intelligent and practical knowledge of books as will aid them in their studies and through life.”
He also writes that:
“This facile proficiency does not come by intuition, nor from the clouds. Where else is it to be taught, if not in the college or university? With it, a graduate is prepared to grapple with his professional studies, to succeed in editorial work, or in any literary or scientific pursuit for which he may have taste and qualification”.
Okay, so we know the information landscape has changed a lot since then, and we know we talk about “information literacy” and not “library instruction” or “bibliographic instruction”, but yet this and other early writings can still inspire and remind that the educative role of libraries is longstanding and that some of the fundamentals remain the same. Food for thought, at any rate!