Implication for practice

This research has demonstrated that the intentions articulated by the participant librarians and the orientation of their reported professional practice, is at times misaligned .This dissonance hinders arts librarians in their interactions with art student learners and is fostered and perpetuated in a number of ways including:

 The continued prevalence of directive, process-orientated and skills-focused approaches of librarian interactions with students

 Polarised and binary views of art theory and practice and categorisation of disciplines and students as ‗academic‘ and ‗non-traditional‘

 A tendency to homogenise and ‗otherise‘ creative arts students and insufficient challenge or questioning of student stereotypes or historical and habitual art library customs and practices

 Framing students and academics as ‗the problem‘ and focussing on fixing or correcting behaviours, which may hinder the development of successful collaborative interactions and relationships

 Variable levels of knowledge and understanding of the discipline of art and design exacerbated by limited access to the curriculum and limiting views of academic engagement, which may inhibit librarians‘ support of students and interactions with staff

 Variable levels of knowledge and understanding of the institutional, teaching and learning contexts within which these librarians operate and insufficient autonomy resulting in a lack of professional confidence and a loss of a sense of agency  A lack of clarity of understanding about the role of the academic librarian and

fragmentation of librarian identity as a result of changes to the profession and the sector, leading to mutual misunderstanding with academic staff and students about their professional purpose and their contribution to the learning environment

 Insufficient opportunity to learn about pedagogies or for on-the-job informal and ongoing development, including peer mentoring and peer observation and a lack of time for reflective practice which may inhibit the construction of confident teacher identities

The dimensions of arts library practice, which emerged from the narratives, point towards a number of different ways in which academic librarians in the creative arts could be supported to maintain their motivation, develop their awareness of pedagogy and continue to improve the student learning experience. Opportunity for ongoing, relevant and specific professional development is crucial. Hallam and McAllister (2008) propose that a holistic approach is needed to provide career-long support for librarians, which could include work placements and career mentoring as well as the encouragement of critical reflective practice, technical skills and strong self-

understanding.

Day (2002) suggests rebuilding teacher professionalism through critical dialogue which encourages mutual trust and respect. He also highlights the importance of collaboration and increasing confidence through the development of productive working relationships. Corrall (2010, p.587) concludes that the need for CPD will increase particularly for ‗blended professionals whose updating needs are clearly greater than those of traditional professionals‘.

This thesis has substantiated research which suggests that librarians need to think more deeply about pedagogy, not just in terms of information literacy, but more broadly in order to ask new questions of ourselves and our profession:

‗Thinking about pedagogy in this broadly conceived way is of particular importance for librarians since a significant amount of the pedagogical work we do happens outside of the traditional classroom setting. When we think about our pedagogical work, we need to include not only the work we do in classrooms but our work in reference situations, collection development, library and campus committees, professional organizations, campus and community groups as well as formal and informal conversations with students, colleagues, peers, administrators and community members‘ (Jacobs, 2008, p.258).

As part of the process to re-orientate librarianship and library roles in Higher Education, Myburgh (2003) and Broady-Preston (2009, 2010) propose that the profession also needs to acknowledge where traditional professional skills and

expertise are now obsolete. This was the view of several of the interviewees who felt it was important that colleagues come to terms with ‗lost‘ skills and deal with future challenges by embracing change. Librarians perhaps should be bolder about

identifying themselves as teachers and prouder of the contribution they already make to student learning.

This study provides further evidence that improvements to teaching and learning can be achieved by surfacing and acknowledging the social roots of the frameworks and beliefs which underpin practice (Trowler and Cooper, 2002). This extension and enhancement of librarians‘ understanding may also increase the chances of successful learning, both for themselves and for the students they support. Research by Trowler and Cooper (2002), proposes that self-awareness of pre-conceptions is important and the implications of shifting such thinking can be deconstructed by exploring and critiquing issues of learning, teaching and course design. In order to improve or enhance their practice, academic art librarians could usefully reflect on:

 The disjunction and anomalies between statements and practices, espoused theories and theories in use, what is implicit and what is explicit in shared professional discourse, what is accepted and what is assumed

 The institutional and cultural challenges to the development of professional

identities and the divisions of power between learners and those who support them  Recognition of conceptual frameworks and shared professional beliefs and

seeking ways in which to break down obstacles to sharing good practice and to building a community of practitioners (Trowler and Cooper, 2002, p.235-238).

The findings of this study suggests that research and reflection which addresses such issues is highly relevant to the academic art library context and the work undertaken by art librarians to enable creative art students to become successful in their studies. Dissonance between the learning strategies encouraged by an arts curriculum and used by students and the perceptions and orientations expressed by the librarians who support them, is evident in the librarians‘ discourse. Perceiving students as

problematic and the pervasive and often anxiety-laden nature of the discourse used to describe them, inhibits effective professional practice which is congruent with student intentions and actual student learning need and which is fully aligned with creative arts pedagogies.

The motives and actions of these librarians appear to be informed by a lack of confidence in their own teaching identities and a lack of belief in arts students as

competent and capable learners. These orientations have the potential to diminish librarians‘ sense of agency and negatively influence and impact on staff and students‘ relationships. This in turn could lead to misunderstandings of each other‘s intentions and actions. Ultimately this dissonance may create barriers to effective learning which could affect student achievement. Therefore opportunities which enable effective and meaningful reflection on art librarians‘ experiences and increases their confidence as practitioners may result in more positive learning outcomes for staff and students alike.