Information literacy developments at TUT Library

Gerda KoidlaDeputy Director, TUT Library

The teaching library mission must be to ensure that all graduates of the university are througly familiar with the information resources and tools in their respective fields of study, trained in their effective use, and beyond that, prepared to conduct a search for information resources in any field of inquiry

Information literacy education has long been a priority at TUT Library.

We are the only library in Estonia that has managed to deliver continuous library user training for about 50 years already.

Through a series of initiatives the library staff have achieved success in integrating information literacy in the university academic curricula.

Training information skills is a major part of the work of our subject librarians in information department.

Courses for different user groups

Web-based courses for All first-year bachelor and diploma students„Generic Information Search Skills“, in the autumn term One part of the university compulsory subject UTT0010 „Organization of Studies“ . Gives 1,0 credit pointsCourse is divided into 3 parts:- general information about the TUT Library, e-Library- traditional and electronic information sources- web-based information search in the working environment

designed by our system administrator, (consisted of two modules – answers` module and evaluation module)

1634 first-year students passed the course in 2009. Our subject specialists delivered lectures and exercises to 81 groups in amount of 372 hours.

Courses for different user groups

Web based courses for the students of master studies programme

„Specialized Information Retrieval: Information Technology SR05050“ (1,5 credit points)

Integrated into TUT academic curricula in the university master programme (2000 – 2009)

Thanks to new (3+2) curricula – free choice course

Courses for different user groups

Specialized Information Retrieval: Chemistry and Materials Technology SR05051 (1,5 credit points) In TUT master programme 2000 – 2009

From study year 2009/2010 continues as compulsory subject KYF0100 (4,0 credit points)

Courses for different user groups

• Short courses for university researches and lectures

• Courses for external users on request „TUT Library on-line information sources“

Courses in co-operation with faculties(Carried out under the main disciplines according to faculties` initiative)

• 2nd year bachelor students and postgraduates the course about information sources and information retrieval: „Chemical Information KYF3630“(4,0 credit points).

The selected subject of the faculty of Chemical and Materials Technology. The compulsory subject of the faculty of Science

The Library`s subject specialist of chemistry gives practical exercies of information search for students, lecturer delivers the lecture

Courses in co-operation with faculties

Students of master studies`programme1) The course in the faculty of Economics and

Business Administration: „Information sources and information retrieval in Economics“

2) The courses in the faculty of Humanities The aim of this general course is to give

knowledge and skills for the search of subject information.

One part of the subject “Bases of Research Work”

Courses in co-operation with faculties

Doctoral degree students - Specialized Information Retrieval course for

students of the Faculty of Economics and Business Administration

The course gives skills for the search of the research information, once in a year

Courses in English for degree students

• “Generic Information Search Skills” in the faculty of Economics and Business Administration

One part of the subject “Business Informatics”,

50 students passed the course in 2009• In the faculty of Chemical and Materials Technology,

One part of the subject “Introduction to Studies”,

20 students passed the course in 2009

IL developments for the nearest future

• Generic Information Search Skills courses for foreign students in all faculties

• IL courses into the academic curricula as part of some kind of subject (f.e. in Moodle environment)

• More collaborative activities of faculty, librarians and administrators integrating IL across the university curricula

Professional development of our subject librarians

• Different distant training courses at TUT “Studying and teaching on the web”, every year

• Summer School for subject librarians of Estonian university libraries, every summer since 2001

• Participation in the UNESCO Training the Trainers on Information Literacy Workshop in August 2008

• Participation in the ERASMUS lifelong learning education and training programmes since 2008