This document discusses librarian-academic collaboration and the role of relationship management. It provides context on the importance of librarian-academic collaboration for student success. Relationship management and strategic communication are identified as important for enhancing collaboration. Interviews with librarians revealed a lack of formal communication strategies, but some intuitive strategic approaches. Recommendations include developing a communication strategy focused on the library's mission and engaging in two-way communication to build strong relationships with academics.

1. Librarian-academic
collaboration: the role of
relationship management
Dr MN Wiggill
School of Communication Studies
North-West University (Potchefstroom Campus)

7. INTRODUCTION
• Context
– Librarian-academic collaboration
– Strategic communication and relationship
management
• Research methodology
• Results
• Recommendations

8. LIBRARIAN-ACADEMIC COLLABORATION
• Role of academic libraries - assist university in obtaining main goals
- research & teaching of undergraduate and graduate students
• Provides access to information & information services
• Information age – must be information literate
• Academic library – “learning centre”
• Academic librarians - active key educators
• Information literacy - vital to students’ academic success, therefore
librarian-academic collaboration vital
• What is librarian-academic collaboration?
– In this collaborative effort, the librarian acts as expert, scaffolding the
faculty member’s skills in technology; the faculty member as an expert,
scaffolding the librarian’s knowledge of research and teaching
pedagogy; and the faculty member and librarian (as peers) collaborating
to scaffold students’ research methods, knowledge and skills (Bhavnagri
& Bielat, 2005:122)

9. LIBRARIAN-ACADEMIC COLLABORATION
- ADVANTAGES
• Academics - understand scope of library’s support for teaching and
research
• Librarians - familiar with course work - assist students more effectively
• Academics - design assignments taking the library’s available resources
into account
• Academics - more reasonable expectations of students’ ability to do
research & use information sources
• Information literacy training - part of formal academic courses (librarians -
implement assessment procedures & act on results)
• Academics, who feel that the library understand their needs and who are
knowledgeable about the library and its services - encourage students to
make use of the library
• Students - appreciate libraries & ensures long-term use of libraries
• Students - understand research process better - improved pass rates
• Independent library research - emphasised as a valuable, life-long learning
skill

10. • Library irrelevant - availability of Internet as “easy” way to find information
• Librarians - required to provide information literacy training
– academics not always required to cooperate with librarians
• Librarians feel unprepared for instructional roles
• Parent instititutions of libraries – little/no acknowledgement of role of information
literacy in strategic statements
• General ignorance - importance of information literacy; role & proficiency of
librarians in conveying these skills
• Negative corporate image – hampers facilitating librarian-academic collaboration
• Academics - mostly ignorant of role of library
– Academics - not always in favour of collaborative program planning and teaching
involving professional library staff - especially due to time constraints
• Unequal balance of power - provision of in-class time for information literacy -“gift”
from the academic & librarians “dependent” on academics
• Librarians – don’t understand nature of academic work & needs of academics
• Unsuccessful llibrary advocacy – one-way communication
LIBRARIAN-ACADEMIC COLLABORATION –
REASONS FOR NO/STRAINED COLLABORATION

11. STRATEGIC COMMUNICATION
MANAGEMENT
• Strategic communication management – engage with stakeholders
to create mutual understanding
– Outcome – strong, mutually beneficial relationships
• Communication strategy - aligned to organisation’s vision, mission &
goals - contribute to success & effectiveness
• Organisation’s reason for being - reflected in its vision, mission and
goals - reflected in its communication strategy
• All communication – reflect reason for being - public legitimacy &
social trust
• Libraries - continuously engage with stakeholders
– Two-way communication - obtain mutual understanding of each others’
goals and needs
– Mutual understanding - strong relationships & more effective librarian-
academic collaboration

12. RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT
Outcomes of strong relationships:
– Trust: integrity, dependability, competence
– Control mutuality
– Commitment
– Level of relationship satisfaction

13. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
• Qualitative approach
• Semi-structured interviews
– 4 academic libraries
• Ferdinand Postma Library, North-West University – Director,
Information Librarians
• Leeds Metropolitan University Library, England – Information
Librarian
• Campusbibliotheek Arenberg, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven,
Belgium - Director
• Library of the University of Amsterdam, Netherlands - Director
– Aim - obtain a better understanding of how academic libraries
communicate to obtain librarian-academic collaboration

14. AIMS OF INTERVIEWS
• Aims of the interviews:
– determine the nature of the libraries’ communication
strategy;
– determine whether the interviewed libraries’
communication is founded in the university as well as
the library’s vision, mission and goals, reflecting its
reason for being; and
– determine how the librarians communicate with
academics to foster librarian-academic collaboration

15. • No communication strategy
• No formally planned communication
programmes, campaigns or plans
• No account of communication needs of strategic
stakeholders
COMMUNICATION STRATEGY

16. STRATEGY-DRIVEN COMMUNICATION –
“reason for being”
• Intuitively strategic – library personnel’s job descriptions
– 2 Directors
• 2 Information Librarians studied university & library’s
vision, mission & goals – plan communication & work
accordingly
• 1 Information Librarian – worked long enough, does not
need vision, mission & goals
• Other Information Librarians – agreed - guide
communication & provide grounds - persuasion
regarding the important educational role of the library

17. COMMUNICATION TO ENHANCE
LIBRARIAN-ACADEMIC COLLABORATION
• Directors:
– No difficulties in conveying the libraries’ reason for being and its supporting
educational role to senior university stakeholders
– Some in academic community – ignorant of library’s role
• Information Librarians
– Librarian-academic collaboration - difficult - many academics do not perceive
librarians & services as valuable; no time to spend on library awareness campaigns
– Leeds Metropolitan University - “How” shift to “why” - librarian-academic collaboration
based on library’s reason for being
– Campusbibliotheek Arenberg - service delivery changed from “Just in time” to “Just
for you”
– Engage in dialogue – NB to ascertain academics’ needs
• Building strong personal relationships - Information Librarians & academics mutually
acknowledge and support each other’s role
– Coinciding information literacy training with assignments – better results
• Some librarians – do not communicate positive outcomes strongly enough
– Academics do not convey information to students
– Some feel that it is not librarians’ role to promote, market or communicate about
library’s services and products, or to have an educational role - no training

18. RECOMMENDATIONS
• Communication and relationship management strategy
based on library’s vision, mission and strategic goals
– Focus on library’s reason for being – legitimacy
– No need for library advocacy – academic community would
understand library’s role
– Improved corporate image
– Students trust librarians & library information sources
– Students more willing to attend training

19. • Engage in two-way communication (dialogue)
– Understanding of academics’ needs & constraints
• Attending departmental meetings, introducing yourself & library services to newly appointed
faculty
• Personal appointments – determine personal needs & constraints – sometimes basic
knowledge gaps
• Personalise service & products for each academic - would feel valued by the
library
– show interest in academics’ research areas – eg recommend relevant/new databases
– Ask questions, feedback on appropriateness of information/services provided
• Focus communication on how library is adding value to academics’ & students’
educational experience
• Provide excellent service - build and maintain strong relationships to ensure
effective collaboration
– Academics need to trust that the librarian are so committed that the best possible
research and service would be provided
PRACTICAL RECOMMENDATIONS

20. CONCLUSION
• Compile communication &
relationship management strategy
• Focus on reason for being
• Build strong relationships with
academics – trust & commitment
foundation
• Result – effective librarian-academic
collaboration

21. THANK YOU