Shrugging off the cardigan: learning and teaching identities for the information professional

We now accept that teaching and supporting learning is part of our professional domain, irrespective of the sector in which we work. We may achieve this in very diverse environments: teaching information literacy in a university, school or college, helping users on an enquiry desk, producing guides to services or engaged in reader development and other community librarianship. Although many of our examples will naturally stem from the authors’ university working environment, we believe that whatever the context, we need to understand the learning process and be able to plan, deliver and assess effective learning engagements. However, although our changing role is apparent, how clearly do we understand what it means to be a teacher? This interactive workshop will explore what we understand of identities as teachers and ways of developing confidence and expertise in this role. We will focus on the concept of a teaching team as a means of constructing a holistic learning experience for our users and as a focus for personal learning and development. The facilitators are both senior librarians in UK universities and have been recognized for their outstanding impact on the student learning experience through the award of prestigious National Teaching Fellowships. They co-authored Teaching information skills: theory and practice (Facet Publishing, 2004).