The Overlap of Librarianship and Learning Development in Higher Education

Megan Luke (University of the West of England)

I chose to write up this particular talk because here at the University of Portsmouth we find ourselves in the middle of a Professional Services review.  As I type, the new structure of our equivalent team has been announced.  Some colleagues from the once Faculty-based academic skills teams will be relocating to a centralised team based in the University Library but managed by our Centre for Academic and Digital Innovation.  The University Library has not yet undergone its full review so I wonder if this scenario is waiting in the wings for us?

Megan is clearly an adaptable and positive individual, having worked across a range of educational settings, from prisons and underperforming schools to supporting international students transitioning into UK higher education. However, she described the sense of professional identity crisis experienced by learning developers and liaison librarians when the UWE Transformation restructure brought them together into a single role.

It seems that the impetus to build a new identity came from within the newly formed team.  Members stepped back to consider their main function.  It was clearly to help people.  From that point they advocated for and set about upskilling each other, sharing teaching practices and collections knowledge.  

The new role has necessitated a different approach in supporting architecture students, including upskilling the team to learn more about visual literacy and podcasting.  It has also necessitated a more assertive approach with the department:

• Micro-embedding teaching – 5 minutes at the end of a lecture to showcase a database and to encourage students to meet team members in a coffee shop
• Reframing skills development as the essential undercurrent of their degree
• Asserting that the team supports all students; it is not a remedial service

Megan reflected that she and the team were emerging from a challenging 18 months but remained optimistic about the future, recognising the opportunities it had created for a shift in positionality, with team members advocating for one another and valuing and drawing on each other’s expertise.

If you are interested in discovering more about the role of learning developers, visit the ALDinHE website.

Greta Friggens, Faculty Librarian, Creative and Cultural Industries, University of Portsmouth