The techniques of the library educator need to be flexible in an environment in which the role of digital tools and digital literacy have asserted themselves. This book addresses ways that academic librarians can revisit what it is they need to teach and be more flexible in modes and methods of addressing student learning needs.
Barbara Allan mentions in her introduction to this book that it draws heavily on another previous publication of hers, The No-nonsense Guide to Training in Libraries, published in 2013 (reviewed in AARL, vol. 46, no. 1, 2015). It may seem odd that she is updating this material in such a short time-frame but the reasons she feels inclined to revisit the same topic, in fact, are why this book is so important. Allan defines the current issues as ‘pace, place and mode’ of study. The pace can be slow or accelerated, part-time or flexible. The place can be online, on campus, while travelling, from any country in the world or at home. Likewise the mode can be face-to-face, online or in a blended environment. These three points alone mean that student learning has changed and that consideration of platform and audience need to be addressed with a new multi-modal approach recognising the diversity of the audience. Technology in the current learning environment is a given tool, and there needs to be an emphasis on digital skills and social media both in terms of accommodating known skills of students into institutional models, and to adjust academic models to support more flexible learning styles.
The book is arranged around a series of topics addressing the ways students learn best as well as the many styles of presentation possible. It looks at theories of education in an academic environment, activities which may be used in planning courses, the planning process (taking into account that an audience may be very small or very large), ways to plan and implement successful online courses, and evaluation methods. Blended and online courses are specifically addressed as this is a growing mode of delivery and requires a complete rethink in terms of material, presentation and communication with students. Allan importantly recognises the many different student communities which university libraries deal with, including international students, part-time students, students with learning difficulties and disabilities. She emphasises the many ways in which students learn and that this must be built into course design.
There is a generous array of real life case studies throughout the book, of both library-based training and other examples of learning modules at UK universities. There is also an emphasis on the issue of employment and there is a full chapter on the librarian’s role in assisting students to use their digital skills to aid their employer visibility.
The main criticism would be that the book attempts to do too much and consequently appears like a series of lists. In fact, though, these can be seen as checklists of what you need to consider in your own planning; a useful guide for any library staff who are involved in preparation of courses in a modern university environment.
Westbourne Grammar School
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© 2016 Catherine Ryan
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00048623.2016.1262734