The CSU Library - a university-wide BFL strategy!

While we have lots of activity related to developing BFL strategies at course level at the moment, whaat we often don't think about are the BFL strategies of those areas of our university that are engaging with much larger groups of students on a daily basis. Enter left stage, our CSU Library.

Our library has been using a wide range of strategies for sharing resources and interacting with both staff and students for some time. In this case study, they are with us how they use virtual and physical spaces to 'foster research, study and interaction in an environment where diversity and ideas are embraced and respected.' 

CSULibrary has developed a BFL case study to show how a university-wide division is using blended and flexible learning strategies to remain current with the changes to information-seeking behaviours of both staff and students.

The inspiration for this case study came from a conversation I had with Tabitha Merrill in Orange after the CSUDegree Bookclub event on Blended and Flexible Learning (archive available here, CSU login required). One of the topics that was discussed was multi-literacies, one of the five BFL perspectives that we're encouraging CSU Course Teams to consider their courses from when developing a comprehensive strategy. Of course, information literacy is a key skill our students are expected to master during their time at university, but it's clear that the times when this meant knowing how to look up a card catalogue are long gone.

As the library team notes in their case study, competition from search engines, the abundance of freely available electronic resources and time-poor staff and students has meant that information-seeking behaviour has changed dramatically. Resources and help options need to be available when and where they are needed, and there are significant challenges in developing library research skills online.

This case study looks at how the Library is engaging with staff and students - from access to thousands of eBook titles, subject and research skills support to Live Chat - how it's all working, and what they are working on for the future. If the development of your students' library research skills are important to you, it's definitely worth taking a look. Do you know all that is available to your students - are you making use of all that's available to you? What can you learn from the Library's lessons about what works for them on a large scale, and what doesn't?

Our many thanks to the team who developed the case study: Tabitha Merrell, Vanessa Salway and Carole Gerts, with help from the Library's new Information and Liaison Services Manager, Lars Rutz.