Emerging findings from Researchers of Tomorrow study

Emerging findings from the first annual report of a major three-year study into the information seeking behaviour of Generation Y doctoral students show that there are striking similarities between students born between 1982 and 1994 and older age groups.

Researchers of Tomorrow was commissioned by JISC and the British Library to establish a benchmark for research behaviour, against which future generations can be measured – and also to provide guidance for librarians, information specialists and policy makers on how best to meet the research needs of Generation Y scholars.

Generation Y students and older students concur on a number of areas:

-    Open access and open source – like students of other ages, Generation Y researchers express a desire for an all-embracing, seamless accessible research information network in which restrictions to access do not restrain them.  However, the annual report demonstrates that most Generation Y students do not have a clear understanding of what open access means and this negatively impacts their use of open access resources, so this is an area to be followed up in the next year.

-    Networked research environment – both Generation Y and older students express exasperation regarding restricted access to research resources due to the limitations of institutional licenses.  This is born from a sophisticated knowledge of the networked information environment and students regularly speak favourably about sector-wide shared services and resource sharing.

The research indicates, however, potentially interesting and important divergences between Generation Y and older doctoral students; for example, where students turn for help, advice and support and attitudes to their research environment.

-    Supervisor and librarian support – Generation Y scholars are more likely to turn to their supervisors for research resource recommendations than older doctoral students.  Also, 33% of Generation Y students say they have never used library staff for their support in finding difficult to source material.

-    Using library collections and services – Library collections are used heavily by students in their own institutions, but only 36% of Generation Y students have used inter-library loan services compared to 25% of older students, with 42% of arts and humanities students using these services regularly compared to 13% among science students.

Charles Hutchings, JISC’s market research manager, said, “What is striking about these interim results is the current overlap between the behaviours of these young researchers and their older counterparts. While JISC will use these studies to provide guidance for librarians, information specialists and policy makers across the UK on how best to meet researchers’ needs, we should also be aware that these behaviours are changing all the time with the advent of new digital tools for research.”

Find out more and read the report at http://www.researchersoftomorrow.net/

Gregynog Colloquium – presentations now available

This years organisers would like to extend their thanks to everyone for attending and making the event as successful as it has been. Your feedback has been received and will be forwarded in due course to next years organising committee at the University of Glamorgan.

I am pleased to report that the presentations we have managed to acquire are now available on the website, hyperlinked against their original programme entry here.

UK Government’s drive to cut costs

A number of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport’s (DCMS) 55 public bodies are set to be merged, abolished or streamlined as part of the Government’s drive to cut costs and increase transparency, accountability and efficiency, Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt announced today.

Mr Hunt has proposed a number of changes, including:

• abolishing the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council to focus efforts on front-line, essential services and ensure greater value for money. Government support for museums, libraries and archives will continue.

Further proposals include:

•  abolishing the Advisory Council on Libraries and winding up the Legal Deposit Advisory Panel.

More at: http://www.culture.gov.uk/news/news_stories/7280.aspx

Cardiff University home for new information literacy project

Information Services at Cardiff University has become the home for a new project to establish a national Welsh framework for information literacy.

Funded by the Welsh Assembly Government’s CyMAL: Museums, Archives and Libraries Wales division as part of its Libraries for Life strategy, the project will develop a unified and progressive framework to support information literacy in schools, further and higher education, the workplace and the wider community.

This exciting project aims to raise awareness that information literacy is a key skill in the 21st century, one which will contribute to a whole host of social and academic benefits throughout Wales.

The project will be managed by Information Services’ Cathie Jackson, Senior Consultant in Information Literacy, who has recently been joined by the new Information Literacy Development Officer for Wales, Joy Head.

Joy and Cathie will be working closely with stakeholders throughout the education and libraries sectors in Wales to provide evidence of information literacy best practice via case studies, to highlight current work across all sectors and to map information literacy across the curriculum. Joy comes to the project with an extensive background in IT, project management and secondary school teaching which ideally complements the expertise of librarians in the all-Wales cross-sector steering group.

“The appointment of the new Information Literacy Development Officer for Wales, and decision to base the project here, further underlines Cardiff University’s positive national, and international, reputation for information literacy,” said Janet Peters, Director of Libraries and University Librarian.

“We know how important information literacy is to Cardiff University – information literacy is embedded into the curriculum for 56% of our students – but this project will explore the links between the kinds of information literacy skills needed in primary and secondary education, in further and higher education, and in employment and lifelong learning. Embedding information literacy training throughout education and employment in this way will enable Wales to capitalise on the benefits of information literacy, such as increasing social inclusion, enhancing academic achievement, and allowing all citizens to access key knowledge,” added Janet.   

Read more about information literacy at Cardiff University on our website – www.cardiff.ac.uk/insrv/infolit

For more information on the Welsh framework for information literacy, please contact Project Manager Cathie Jackson (JacksonCM@cardiff.ac.uk) or Joy Head (HeadJA1@cardiff.ac.uk).

Chair in Digital Collections

The National Library of Wales is currently seeking to fill a new Chair in Digital Collections, funded by the University of Wales.

“An opportunity for an outstanding individual from any relevant academic background, with a passion for the digital.

You will be expected to undertake and lead research based on the latest developments in your chosen field of expertise, while applying your findings to the large digital collections housed at the National Library of Wales.  You will have a world-class research profile in any aspect of digital curation: the creation, provision, investigation, interpretation and conservation of digital collections – encompassing legal issues, the management of data, innovative research methods, and technological developments in access, search and exploitation.”

http://www.llgc.org.uk/fileadmin/documents/adDisSwyddSaesPrifysgol.pdf

Closing date for receipt of applications: 9 August 2010.

HEFCW Corporate Strategy 2010-11 – 2012-13

Download HEFCW’s three-year corporate strategy, which sets out their vision and targets for higher education in Wales by the year 2013:

http://www.hefcw.ac.uk/documents/publications/corporate_documents/Corporate%20Strategy%20final%20English.pdf

The Strategy will:

• help to deliver For our Future, the Welsh Assembly Government’s Twenty-First Century Strategy and Plan for Higher Education
• help higher education in Wales to contribute to the Welsh Assembly Government’s priorities of strengthening social justice and supporting a buoyant economy
• work to change the shape of higher education in Wales and enhance its effectiveness.