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Join Johanna Anderson to learn more about her research working in a school library in Malawi in 2008. Johanna works as a Subject Librarian at the University of Gloucestershire. She is also co-founder of Voices for the Library and her dissertation entitled 'Library Aid to Developing Countries: A case study investigating how a Western literary library model is integrated into a Sub-Saharan African oral culture within the Malawian primary education system' received the Library and Information Research Group (LIRG) Student Award in 2010. See article in LIR (Library and Information Research)
Really interesting and original piece of research.
Johanna will speak at the next International Library and Information Group (ILIG) Informal event.
Title: Are we having the impact we intend? A case study of book aid to a Malawian primary school library.
Date: Wednesday, 11th April 2012
Time: 18.00 - 19.45
Place: CILIP HQ, 7 Ridgmount Street, London WC1E 7AE
Cost: FREE (but please confirm attendance by emailing Alice Tyler: a.m.tyler@btinternet.com)
Can a Western literary library model work in a sub-saharan African context? Does the book donation model widely supported by international donors and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) achieve its aims of improving literacy.
Directions to CILIP: http://www.cilip.org.uk/contact-us/pages/map.aspx
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Catching up on my reading and came across an article in the 2012 January's CILIP Update about learning facilitators Claie Harrop and Laura Sneddon getting students to expand their research horizons. I was interested in this article as it covered my interest in research and information literacy.
Research - a frustrating experience
Students on courses with a practical base were often finding the research process for assignments a frustrating experience. They wanted to gather information as quickly as possible and did not invest their time in the process or consider the extra benefits of research skills to their chosen professions and their academic success. For many of our students, spending time on extensive research seems to be a luxury they feel they cannot afford. So we decided to start use our information literacy sessions to explore how research skills would enable them to engage with developments in their industries, boost their employability (and grades) and allow them to communicate with others working in the field. We hoped that this would start a shift towards students and staff valuing, enjoying and claiming ownership of their research.
It also linked to an earlier activity I had just engaged with, that of responding to CILIP's Future Skills consultation on CILIP's Body of Professional Knowledge (PBK). The current PBK's only reference to research is "familiar with research methods". I feel as information professionals we should be engaged with research in a number of ways including those referred to above and carry out or being involved in research projects where possible.
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There were a couple of themes that caught my attention in Tom Haigh's presentation. He said that historians like to tell stories and I think they are not alone. We all like to hear a good story and often use stories to recount something or use it to represent a viewpoint or example of how something happened. For example oral history - interviews with people involved in a topic or their experience of a war, working in a type of industry that is no longer operating.
Hearing people's stories have becoming increasingly popular and used as case studies and or examples of good practice.
Different historical approaches included: intellectual history; social history, cultural history, institutional history and history of practice/labour. In relation to history and information science he identified 'Information History' apparently coined by Alistair Black. I will need to check that with Dr John Crawford an ex colleague of mine who is interested in this area and knows Alistair as well as Toni Weller who was mentioned. Information history includes history of libraries, books, reading, publishing; Information Disciplines; Information Society.
The workshop task to create a group of 4 or 5 people and identify a member of the group who is actively engaged in a research project that could make use of the historical approaches was useful as it made participants think of practical applications from the presentation.
For the full details see / hear Tom Haigh's presentation
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