This document discusses a collaboration between librarians and lecturers at CPUT to integrate library instruction and resources into an e-learning platform. It involved librarians embedding themselves in 3 courses to provide support to students. The collaboration helped strengthen relationships between the library and faculty and improved student work. It led to better quality essays with accurate citations as students learned to use library tools instead of only sources like Wikipedia. The collaboration was time-consuming but improved student understanding and research skills. The document calls for strengthening such collaborations across CPUT.

1. By
Zanele Mathe – Senior Librarian
and
Philomina Aziakpono - Lecturer

2.  Response to CPUT e-learning policy
requirement
 Framework for the second cycle of Quality
Assurance 2012 – 2017
 Generally seeks to respond to the changing
needs of our users
 Increase collaboration with the Faculty & e-
learning department

3.  Develop and test CPUT libraries position in
the area of Blackboard as e-learning platform

4.  3 Librarians
- Siviwe Bangani (Communication105)
- Nomambulu Dolo (Communication 101)
- Nyameka Mila (Consumer Behaviour)
 3 Lecturers
- Philomina Aziakpono
- Ken Barris
- Kevin Ncube
 E-learning coordinator - Sheila Kumalo
 Library IT technician - Claude Meyer

10.  Time consuming exercise
 Technical support
 Crossing traditional boundaries

11. From the library side: -
 Relationships strengthened between the
library and the Faculty of Engineering
 Library invited to the Faculty of engineering
sharing of practices,
 Regularly attend Departmental meetings,
Faculty Board meetings
 Faculty – Librarian collaboration visible at
Senate library Committee level
 Dialogue improved

12. Why interest in the collaboration?
 When students have to do the search for
information on their own they sometimes
encounter difficulties , hence, they use
Google to search for materials
 They copy from only wikipedia or other
sources that are not good academic materials
 The good materials on Google - not be free
(students’ complaint – only abstract)
 Few sessions of library orientation are not
enough
◦ Post-library orientation struggles

13.  Active involvement in all the stages of my
students’ information literacy and research
essay assignments
◦ Regular discussions with students and librarian
◦ Checked first drafts of assignments
◦ Identified the challenges students faced
◦ Felt the need for a self explanatory guide which
will assist the students to search for information
more effectively

14. ◦ Discussions with librarian for more support
◦ Initially direct support was given to each student
 The demand from students was overwhelming
◦ This gave rise to the design of the “How to search
for information guide”
 Available on Blackboard and N-Drive

15.  Effective use of library tools instead of just
copying from wikipedia because of the support
they received from the librarian
 There was great improvement in the quality of the
essays written by students this semester
 The information they obtained from books and
journals helped them to do accurate in-text
referencing – author’s surname, date and page
numbers
 Improved understanding of the topics they wrote
on, compared to the previous year where many of
them copied from only one source
 Helped to reduce plagiarism

16.  Need to strengthen this collaboration at CPUT
 Every lecturer should be encouraged to work
closely with the librarian

17. Thank You!
Questions?