Reference Services ReviewCreating collaborative partnerships: building the frameworkLydia Jackson Julia Hansen

Article information:To cite this document:Lydia Jackson Julia Hansen, (2006),"Creating collaborative partnerships: building the framework",Reference Services Review, Vol. 34 Iss 4 pp. 575 - 588Permanent link to this document:http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/00907320610716468

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Creating collaborativepartnerships: building the

frameworkLydia Jackson and Julia Hansen

Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville, Illinois, USA

Abstract

Purpose – The paper seeks to explore the nature of a collaborative relationship among school andacademic librarians in order to enhance the information literacy skills of students as they matriculateto college.

Design/methodology/approach – The paper discusses collaboration among school librarians inMadison County, Illinois and one academic library. The major reasons for creating these partnershipsand the critical success factors of the project are also discussed.

Findings – The academic library’s role in facilitating collaboration may be challenging but buildingpartnerships with local school libraries is mutually beneficial.

Originality/value – Extracts the valuable lessons learned which will help others to effectively buildsimilar relationships between school and academic librarians.

Keywords Information literacy, School libraries, Academic libraries, College libraries,University libraries

Paper type General review

IntroductionThis article discusses the development of a collaborative relationship among localcounty school and academic librarians focused on strengthening student informationliteracy skills. Supported by a Library Services and Technology (LSTA) grant,“Community Resources without Walls”, academic librarians from Lovejoy Library atSouthern Illinois University in Edwardsville examined ways to build the foundationfor dialogue and communication with area school librarians. We made site visits tolocal school libraries, developed and conducted an assessment of library studentpreparation, and shared findings of our site visits and survey results in a workshopconducted for local school librarians on our campus.

The ultimate goal of our project was to enhance the information literacy skills ofstudents while in high school and prepare them to successfully transfer their researchskills to the college environment. To achieve this goal we needed to learn about whatinformation literacy skills are taught to middle and high school students. Thisinformation would not only help us to plan programs better for incoming freshmen, butwould also allow us to help secondary school librarians understand the University’sexpectations. Collaboration with the area school librarians was key to the program.Benefits of the collaboration include: enhanced information literacy skills of students,librarians and teachers in the middle and high schools; assimilation of informationliteracy skills into the school curriculum; enhanced visibility of the academic library inthe community and a restatement of its role.

The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at

www.emeraldinsight.com/0090-7324.htm

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Reference Services ReviewVol. 34 No. 4, 2006

pp. 575-588q Emerald Group Publishing Limited

0090-7324DOI 10.1108/00907320610716468

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“Information power: building partnerships for learning” (American LibraryAssociation/American Association of School Librarians, 2002) cites the significanceof collaboration to library programs and the librarian’s role. “Effective collaborationswith teachers”, “Information power” points out, “helps to create a vibrant and engagedcommunity of learners, strengthens the whole school program as well as the librarymedia program, and develops support for the school library media programthroughout the whole school” (p. 51). This model of collaboration works equally wellbetween school libraries and academic libraries and is especially appropriate for thedevelopment of information literacy skills.

Both school and academic librarians have embraced information literacy as anessential learning goal for their students. Defined by the Association of College andResearch Libraries (ACRL) as “the set of skills needed to find, retrieve, analyze, and useinformation”, information literacy has evolved as a core service in academic libraries,and has become increasingly important in public and other types of libraries, as well.By extending the community of learners beyond the boundaries of individual schools,engagement in the critical discussion of shared educational goals is significantlyenhanced.

BackgroundSouthern Illinois University Edwardsville (SIUE) is a Metropolitan University, with anenrollment of over 13,000 students, located in Southwestern Illinois and within closeproximity to St Louis, MO. SIUE offers undergraduate and graduate degrees in theArts and Sciences, Business, Education, Engineering and Nursing, and professionaldegrees in Dentistry and Pharmacy. More than 80 percent of our students are fromIllinois and of those, more than 50 percent are from the surrounding Madison and StClair counties. Collaborating with the librarians who serve the majority of ourincoming students is both feasible and essential.

Most SIUE freshmen students are provided with library instruction. We believe thatinformation literacy is a developmental skill that cannot be taught in a one class,one-shot effort. It has to be recognized as an educational objective. In spite of oursuccess in reaching a large percentage of freshmen students at SIUE in the English 101and 102 courses, there were several pertinent questions we needed to explore:

. What is the relationship of students’ previous research skills to theircomprehension of initial college level library instruction?

. What are the best ways to teach the use of print and electronic resources as adevelopmental learning process?

. What are some best practices for integrating undergraduate research skillsacross the curriculum?

A natural connectionKnowledge gained from previous collaborative partnerships encouraged us to explorethe opportunity to collaborate with school librarians in Madison County[1]. In our ownstate, several Illinois community college librarians have reported on their collaborativeefforts with area high school teachers in a research project funded through an Instituteof Museum and Library Services (IMLS) National Leadership Grant entitled

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“Information Literacy for the 21st Century: Preparing Students to Learn for Life” (Dareand Warren, 2003). Collaboration among school librarians and the academic library canimprove student achievement through the development of information literacy skillsand the effective use of information and instructional resources.

These collaborations demonstrated that to be successful, collaboration must bebased on common goals, a shared vision and a climate of trust and mutual respect. Tobe motivated to collaborate, all participants must first see some personal value incollaboration and believe that they have the knowledge and skills necessary to besuccessful collaborative partners (Muronaga and Harada, 1999, p. 10).

Even though there are differences in the standards for school and academiclibraries, we share similar information literacy goals. ACRL has published informationliteracy standards and competencies that include performance indicators. TheAmerican Association of School Librarians (AASL) and the Association of EducationalCommunications and Technology (AECT) both have developed similar standards. TheACRL document builds on the AASL/AECT standards and reinforces the conceptualframework of information literacy skills as a continuum across educational levels.

These shared goals include helping students to know how to:. formulate an information need;. carefully select and evaluate information;. communicate information to others; and. use information responsibly by acknowledging the work of others and citing

properly.

By cooperating, collaborating, and supporting each other regardless of the level oflibrarianship, information literacy advocates can teach students the most effectiveways of finding, evaluating and using information. In addition, in order to cultivate thegrowth of information literacy skills across educational levels both school andacademic librarians need to understand the value of collaborating with their teachingfaculties and administrators.

Recognizing the value of developing partnerships across the local librarycommunity, we proposed formalizing a collaborative relationship that fosteredmentoring among school librarians in Madison County and librarians at SIUE. Weanticipated that this project would allow us to better understand and prepareinstruction to accommodate the research needs and information literacy skills ofincoming freshmen. We also anticipated this project would enhance the researchexperience of students prior to entering college by aiding in their understanding andutilization of library resources available in local school and community libraries.

Information literacy needs assessmentStudents today are bombarded with information. Providing access to information maynot be the primary problem for most school libraries. More often, the problem facinglibrarians is teaching students what to do with the volume of information theirsearches may produce. Because high school students often lack the skill and experienceto construct efficient and effective search strategies, they may become frustrated by the

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array of resources they retrieve. Students may end up using information that is notrelevant to their research, or they may abandon their searches entirely.

If these same students enter college without instructional intervention to assist themin developing their information seeking skills, they will be, as Ury noted, among the“many students [who] enter college unprepared to function efficiently and effectively inan academic library” (Ury, 1996, p. 48). Although some students may appear to havegreater abilities to determine what information to accept, reject, or modify, they needguidance in developing these critical evaluation skills, in order to undertake therigorous research requirements of college level work.

Upon entrance to college, faculty assume freshmen students have adequate researchskills. First-year students are expected to employ sophisticated information gatheringtechniques to support their coursework. However, awareness among classroom facultyof actual student information literacy skills is low. As Michael Gorman noted morethan a decade ago, the increased number of students entering college without libraryskills has had a significant impact on library instruction in higher education. Ifacademic libraries are to reach the student with few or no library skills, it is vitallyimportant that the instruction program has a major impact in that student’s first yearat the university so that new library skills are part of the educational experience fromthe start (Gorman, 1995, p. 29).

Librarians have identified different avenues for introducing information literacyskills into the curriculum. Four research studies – the California Study (2002), theDunn Study (2002), Understanding University Success (Standards for Success) (2003),and Rising to the Challenge (2005) – provide a counterbalance to the trend towardcontent area accountability which is currently in vogue (Fitzgerald, 2004; Achieve,2005). While content is important, these studies recognize that applied knowledgeshould be reinforced. Information literacy skills, habits of mind, and other processskills provide lifelong learning that is applicable across disciplines. Whether through acontent or an applied knowledge, academic librarians should heed Gorman’s challengeto “take the lead in dealing with the consequences of inadequate high school education[and] assert themselves as a prime component of the teaching mission of theuniversity” (Gorman, 1995, p. 29).

We make the following assumptions regarding the information literacy needs offreshmen at SIUE:

. The information environment is too complex and is changing too rapidly toexpect freshmen to acquire information literacy without a planned, systematic,and cumulative instructional program. The hit-or-miss strategy that worked forstudents in the past is not efficient or effective.

. A student’s most effective learning experience in the library is usually connectedto a specific information need and is often discipline specific. Examples includethe preparation of a research paper or gathering documentation for a persuasivespeech.

. Freshmen must learn critical thinking and research skills in their disciplines aspreparation for a lifetime of changing information needs.

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. Freshmen have different learning styles and acquire information in differentways. Information literacy instruction must accommodate these differences byusing a variety of formats that provide practice application of these skills.

. Lovejoy Library cannot reach all students nor can we meet all their informationliteracy needs. The most effective way to reach more students and address theseneeds is through a collaborative relationship among schools and the academiclibrary, prior to the students’ arrival on campus.

Reports on cooperative programs between librarians and faculty at high schools, andat colleges and universities, uniformly endorse partnerships between high schools andpostsecondary institutions. “Since 1998, an AASL/ACRL Task Force on theEducational Role of Libraries has emphasized the importance of informationcompetency instruction for the entire K-16 spectrum and has gathered examples ofhigh school-college partnerships. Academic librarians have been urged to work withtheir K-12 colleagues to ensure greater student success in higher education. Highschool library use has been found to be a predictor of college library use, thusreinforcing the importance of information literacy programs in secondary schools.Librarians have made efforts to examine whether and to what extent high schoollibrary instruction impacts research behavior once students get to college” (Smalley,2004, pp. 193-4). School and academic libraries have a significant overlap in theirservice populations and in their missions to support students’ information needs. Thissituation provides a rich opportunity to work collaboratively on improving theawareness and appropriate use of information resources throughout the extendedlibrary community. While some middle and high schools face more significantsocioeconomic and geographic barriers than others, all can benefit from the support oftheir local academic library.

The grantThe Lovejoy Library at Southern Illinois University in Edwardsville was awarded aLibrary Services and Technology (LSTA) grant for $12,000 to begin to form afoundation for cooperation among middle and high schools and our Library tostrengthen information literacy education and to increase students’ success when theybegin their college experience. The proposal sought to enhance freshmen informationliteracy skills through developing a partnership with high-school librarians andteachers to identify and develop these critical skill sets. In addition, Lovejoy Libraryproposed a workshop for middle- and high-school librarians in Madison County,Illinois, as a means of disseminating information and fostering a working relationshipbetween the academic library and the school librarians and media specialists.

ImpactIn our grant application we identified many potential impacts from the proposedproject. The State Library provides resources, through its connectivity and databaselicensing efforts, which are aimed at ensuring that all citizens have access toinformation.

This project contributes to the state’s investment in its informed and educatedcitizenry by providing tools for students to develop lifelong learning skills. Students

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have increased access to information, especially in electronic format, and they need toknow how to effectively find, use, and evaluate that information. Cooperation betweenmiddle and high schools and our Library in the area of information literacy educationwill increase student success in information seeking efforts.

As part of the grant we proposed a workshop to be held at our Library. A segmentof the program would be devoted to explaining services provided by the State Libraryas well as our services at Lovejoy Library. As a result, each participant would becomeaware of systems in place at Lovejoy Library and would be in a much better position tohelp students and classroom teachers understand how to take better advantage ofstate-wide resources.

This project acknowledges the existing strengths of school librarians in MadisonCounty and contributes to the foundation of a new relationship effort. We were eager topursue the project outlined here as an initial step towards more school/academiclibrarian collaborations and hoped to provide leadership in coordinating these effortsacross educational levels.

As a result of these collaborative efforts we anticipate that we will be better able toserve our incoming freshmen. With advance knowledge of their preparation andexperience, we will be able to design learning experiences that will support and extendtheir research skills in the college environment. We can also begin to bridge the gapthat is so often a barrier, by opening communication with classroom faculty who mayhave unrealistic expectations of their students’ research abilities.

Expected outcomesWe anticipated significant outcomes for librarians, teachers, and students. First, thereis an opportunity to create a new collaborative model of developmental research skillsinstruction. Second, there will be the chance to disseminate what we learn to:

. school librarians;

. SIUE community;

. throughout Illinois; and

. LOEX, the national library instruction clearinghouse.

Third, students can learn how to interpret research tasks, find information, assess theauthority of sources, put evidence to use, and recognize their role in creatingknowledge. Finally, skills acquired in this process will teach students the analyticaland information seeking skills necessary for use beyond high school and college, i.e.lifelong learning.

This project further offers the potential to:. build teams of librarians across the county;. improve service by providing finding aids for curricular use across the

disciplines;. enhance the teaching role of the library, particularly highlighting new ways of

using resources;. add value to secondary education by enhancing instruction;

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. contribute outside Madison County to later include future state-wideprogramming; and

. improve understanding and use of printed resources, electronic databases andother emerging technologies.

We anticipated the workshop would be valuable to librarians, students, and facultyworking in many different disciplines, as well as community based partners. Theworkshop could be adapted for future use at various schools. For example,presentations could be designed on the collection of information for classroom teachersor might be adapted for students in different ways.

The collaborative processWe collected data through personal interviews and surveys from middle and highschool librarians and media specialists to determine how to best plan our initialworkshop. The school librarians were encouraged to share information about theirprofessional responsibilities, information literacy programs, library collections andresources. We sought input from the intended audience on the content of the sponsoredworkshop.

The collaboration process among the academic and school librarians began with theinitial solicitation being made by the academic librarians. Each school librarian wascontacted to explain the grant and its intent. A critical step in this process was to gainthe interest and trust of the school librarians. We concentrated on developing closeworking partnerships recognizing the limits on the school librarian’s time andresources.

By extending its literacy efforts to middle and high school libraries in MadisonCounty, Lovejoy Library expected to consolidate individual librarian’s efforts into acomprehensive, collaborative strategy for raising the information literacy skills ofstudents throughout the county.

Evaluation planWe evaluated the project with various mechanisms and made revisions wherenecessary for its success. The evaluation included a process evaluation, and anoutcome evaluation. The process evaluation focused on clearly describing andassessing program design and program implementation. The evaluator was able tocompare and explain differences between the program as planned and the program asimplemented. The process evaluation tracked progress towards successfulimplementation of the project, while providing feedback to school librarians forcontinuous improvement of information literacy skills. The project leaders developed asurvey (see the Appendix) to be distributed to school librarians during the initial stagesof the project. The entire process and summative evaluation were linked to goals andobjectives.

Our goals were to demonstrate how to:. ensure that students develop a baseline level of information competency skills

before they begin their college years; and. create flexible means of delivering instruction.

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Our objectives were:. students will be able to identify appropriate resources for their research needs;. students will be able to search relevant general databases; and. students will have access to instruction via alternative delivery methods that can

be used with both on-site and remote users.

Probably the most important aspect of successful management of the project was thewillingness of school librarians or media personnel to participate. This was facilitatedby:

. involving them in creation of the plan;

. providing time during the project to discuss their experiences;

. securing organizational support for them to participate in professionaldevelopment; and

. ensuring that the workshop would be interesting and productive.

PromotionWe promoted the grant by:

. Conducting an initial survey of Madison County school librarians (either inperson or by mail). This initial survey provided us with a basic inventory of whoprovided library service at the building level (i.e. professional librarian, mediapersonnel, clerical staff, student or community volunteers) as well as aninventory of resources available via the library.

. Sending a follow-up letter to librarians inviting them to attend the workshop.

. Obtaining registration confirmation via e-mail or phone.

. Sending flyers to school library/media staff, superintendents, and the regionallibrary system.

. Following-up with telephone calls.

SustainabilityWe expect to continually share our experiences and the developed resources throughformal and informal means. The librarians involved in this project will be connectedthrough discussion lists. We have also begun developing a website for sharingassignments, exercises, and assessment techniques and to encourage betterinstruction. Information collected on the evaluation forms distributed at theworkshop will be used to determine the shape and nature of future gatherings. Wewill also share the data by e-mail, discussion list or at follow-up meetings. Finally, weplan to submit relevant reports and resources to the LOEX.

This collaborative relationship is a continuum and will be assessed through othermechanisms as students from feeder schools enter college at SIUE and conductresearch assignments. The quantitative and qualitative data gathered on students’strengths and weaknesses in library skills will be of interest to a variety ofstakeholders including faculty, students, administrators, lawmakers and accreditingagencies. Specific information gathered from this project will benefit not only the

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participating school libraries and SIUE’s Library, but academic programs such asEnglish 101-102, and SIUE academic support services, including the Writing Center,Speech Center, International Students Office and Special Services.

By using standards already in place for school and academic libraries as well asuniversity courses, participants will be able to link library assessment to learningoutcomes. Furthermore, this collaboration will provide support for librarians teachinglibrary research skills and give them opportunities to reflect on the practice of teachinglibrary skills with their colleagues.

We will seek additional funding to sponsor a colloquium for SIUE faculty teachingfirst year students, to discuss the findings from this project. This will help us tocontinue the dialogue focusing on faculty expectations for incoming freshmen.Furthermore, we plan to pilot a pre-test for incoming freshmen using a modifiedassessment tool and the summaries of findings from our workshop and proposedcolloquium.

Site visitsThe purpose of the on-site visits and interviews with school librarians/mediaspecialists was to build rapport and gather an overview of school library collections,services, and needs. In our site visits to middle and high school libraries in MadisonCounty it was readily apparent that the school librarians were committed to promotinginformation literacy. We observed many similarities between the middle and highschool libraries. They were busy places and were used for a multitude of curricular andprogrammatic purposes.

The intent of the site visits was not only to get a true sense of the school library’ssurroundings and the average work day for the school librarian. We also felt it wasvery important to begin the collaborative process by reaching out to school librariansin their domain.

We discovered diverse and unique facilities and resources existing among librariesthroughout the county. Differences in collections and resources were not always relatedto school enrollment, or to the age of the school building. Staffing varied significantlyamong the schools and often affected student access to resources. Due to limitedstaffing, some libraries had reduced hours of operation. Several librarians had multipleschool assignments. Most libraries had only one certified media specialist directingtheir efforts. Few libraries had full time support staff. Finally, limited budgets were afactor which impeded the information and research needs of students and professionaldevelopment activities for librarians and teachers. It is worth noting that many of thesefactors are similar to ones that challenge the academic library.

Workshop designThe workshop was held in our library at SIUE, in order to showcase our facilities andprovide an overview of our services and access to library resources. The format for thehalf-day workshop was:

. introduction and overview of the session and its learning objectives;

. presentation or demonstration of the relevant material from the project;

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. small group work to brainstorm ways for libraries to work together to furtherinformation literacy skills; and

. recapitulation of the main concepts.

Workshop findingsThe workshop provided a valuable foundation for this collaborative effort. Thesefindings immediately informed future meetings and lesson plan development for thenext component of our project.

We discovered:. Many librarians have limited time to devote to professional development during

their normal working hours.. The local educational community can be considered significant users of

academic-library resources and a target of outreach efforts. School librarianswere not uniformly aware of professional development opportunities offered bythe University.

. School librarians were pleased to know that we welcomed their visits.

. Many school librarians were interested in having us facilitate library instructionsessions for classes.

. Librarians were also interested in knowing about the possibility of check-outprivileges available through the consortium agreement.

Our findings support the belief that the collaborative relationship between schools andthe academic library allows for reciprocal benefits. First, communication is improvedwhich facilitates improved community relations, and an enhanced public image for theLibrary and the university. Collaboration may also provide an opportunity to recruitfuture students. “The most successful high school/academic library cooperation isfound where direct service links exist between a college and its surrounding local andregional high school communities”. The instigating force does not seem to be statefunding, but rather the recognition by colleges that many of these high school studentswill potentially come to their institutions. (LeClercq, 1986, p. 16). Administrators hopethat by familiarizing students with the library facilities and resources, students willconsider the university in college selection. Indeed, recent studies note that satisfactionwith the Library is the second highest factor for students when selecting a college(June, 2006, p. 1). Second, according to Joseph, “research indicates that students whohave had successful experiences in an academic setting at the high school level aremore likely to attempt to use the library once they arrive at college“ (Joseph, 1991,p. 113). Students who gain experience utilizing the resources of the academic librarywill get a head start on the expectations of college research. Finally, regardless ofwhether students enroll at our university, they will have had positive libraryexperiences which will assist them in their transition from high school to college.

Problems encountered, lessons learnedOur original plan incurred problems. Initially we hoped to conduct an informationalworkshop at the county-wide Teachers Institute Day. However, rather than meeting

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jointly, a change was made to hold professional development institutes in eachindividual school. This made it logistically impossible to meet with all of the schoollibrarians on their Institute day. We reorganized our project and planned to conduct theworkshop at our own institution. While we could do this with relative ease, we were notaware of the rules and regulations pertaining to obtaining release time for our intendedparticipants. Most had to make special arrangements to secure coverage for theirlibraries and many were required to submit professional development requests severalweeks in advance of the event. School calendars were not uniform throughout thecounty and were not coordinated with the university calendar.

In addition, we found it difficult to make connections with many school librariansbecause some were assigned to multiple locations; librarians often worked with limitedstaff; and we encountered time and scheduling constraints. Scheduling on site-visitswas often problematic because of school related commitments by the librarians.Although there were some setbacks we did not lose faith but increased our efforts tobuild relationships with the school librarians.

ConclusionWorking with school librarians is meaningful despite its challenge. As Carr andRockman (2003) noted, academic librarians must work with their K-12 colleagues inenabling students to succeed in college (p. 52). First, this collaborative relationship isimportant to the school curriculum. Second, professional development activities areessential in enhancing information literacy for students as well as educators. Finally,workshops such as the one we conducted can be helpful to librarians. They can becarefully focused on particular goals and objectives; may be intensive and personal;will build useful relationships; and benefit students as well as educators.

As information literacy navigators we must lead. Whether as school or academiclibrarians, we need to advance the integration of information literacy competencies intocurriculum planning. As information literacy professionals we need to be less defined byplace or teaching level and more collaborative in nature and focus. This project marksthe beginning of SIUE’s partnership with school librarians, to foster the development ofinformation literacy in Madison County, Illinois. We believe that while informationliteracy teaching and learning should begin in the K-12 environment, it is neither realisticto expect nor fair to assume that the responsibility to prepare students for the complexworld of information in the 21st century lies solely with school librarians.

Note

1. Nutefall’s book, Many Faces of School-University Collaboration provides many examples ofsuccessful partnerships. The Information Literacy Community Partnerships Toolkit, as wellas other articles in C&RL News provide cumulative knowledge about establishing suchpartnerships (Nutefall, 2001, p. 312).

References

Achieve (2005), “Rising to the challenge: are high school graduates prepared for college andwork?”, available at: www.achieve.org (accessed April 17, 2006).

American Library Association/American Association of School Librarians (2002), “InformationPower: the nine information literacy standards for student learning”, available at: www.

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Appendix

Figure A1.Assessment of library

student preparation

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Corresponding authorLydia Jackson can be contacted at: ljackso@siue.edu

Figure A1.

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