The Library and Graduate Faculty Collaboration: Curriculum Development at Small Universities

Elaine WalkerFollow

Start Date

3-16-2020 4:10 PM

End Date

3-16-2020 4:20 PM

Author(s) Bio

I am a graduate of the University of Southern Mississippi's School of Library and Information Science. While in graduate school, I worked at the Newberry Library and The Art Institute of Chicago's Flaxman Library. I recently accepted a position as Graduate Studies Librarian at Mississippi University for Women in Columbus, MS.

Keywords

Collaboration, Committees, Curriculum Development, Faculty Librarians, Graduate Librarians, Library User Education

Description of Proposal

In my position as the Graduate Studies Librarian, I have been able to start from scratch in researching new ways to serve this population. One advantage of working at a small university is that we are integrated into the life of the university as faculty, including being members of the Graduate Council and Faculty Senate. We have the opportunity to be directly involved in curriculum building and developing new graduate programming for the university and provide feedback during the process. Being integrated in this way gives the library visibility, allows for networking within the larger community, developing relationships and organically sharing information about library services and resources (Atkins & Loop, 1996). The library can support degree program decisions by letting faculty and administration know the library’s limitations or making adjustments to purchase necessary resources to support and sustain these programs as they are being developed. This establishes a partnership in which the library and faculty are allies in advocating for essential information and technology resources. This session will lay out the successes and potential pitfalls of being integrated into the curriculum development process and encourage discussion among participants regarding structural changes that could be made to strengthen libraries’ participation in the development of new courses and programs.

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Mar 16th, 4:10 PM Mar 16th, 4:20 PM

The Library and Graduate Faculty Collaboration: Curriculum Development at Small Universities

In my position as the Graduate Studies Librarian, I have been able to start from scratch in researching new ways to serve this population. One advantage of working at a small university is that we are integrated into the life of the university as faculty, including being members of the Graduate Council and Faculty Senate. We have the opportunity to be directly involved in curriculum building and developing new graduate programming for the university and provide feedback during the process. Being integrated in this way gives the library visibility, allows for networking within the larger community, developing relationships and organically sharing information about library services and resources (Atkins & Loop, 1996). The library can support degree program decisions by letting faculty and administration know the library’s limitations or making adjustments to purchase necessary resources to support and sustain these programs as they are being developed. This establishes a partnership in which the library and faculty are allies in advocating for essential information and technology resources. This session will lay out the successes and potential pitfalls of being integrated into the curriculum development process and encourage discussion among participants regarding structural changes that could be made to strengthen libraries’ participation in the development of new courses and programs.