Keynote presentation delivered at the 2007 BBSLG Conference hosted by the University of Northampton, 27-29 June 2007.

1. Swallow your medicine …
Chris Powis
University of Northampton
BBSLG, June 2007
(chris.powis@northampton.ac.uk)

2. The changing student body
• Time poor
• ‘intellectually lazy’ or just strategic
learners?
• Digitally savvy?
• Value for money - customers now
• Perception of libraries
 Anti-intermediary, anti-expert

3. ‘Shouting into the wind’
• Power of the reading list
• Major influences on student choice are
academics and friends - not us
• Importance layout/length in choice
• Most have good search skills - evaluation is what
they need
• No use of traditional ‘library’ tools like abstracts
• But - there is hope …

4. Expectations
• Almost certainly low?
• Passive
• Boring
• Spoon fed

5. Start with the learner
• Audit their needs and expectations
 Ask them
 Discuss with stakeholders
• Academics
• Techies (IT and/or media)
 Triangulate

6. Planning - learning styles
• Be aware of your own style
• Be inclusive (gender, culture, add. Needs)
• Variation is the key

7. Once you’ve got them …
• Conversation
• Innovation
• Variety
• Active
• Challenging

8. Once you’ve got them ….
• Provide a rationale
• Build on early success
• Give feedback/assess
• Use the group
• Manage crises

9. Once you’ve got them …
Relevant and interesting
• To the subject but also the student
• “librarians love to search everybody else likes to
find” (Eric Lease Morgan, Notre Dame Univ.)
 Performance
• Whether you like it or not
• Spontaneity or planned
• Technology
• Double acts