Expanding Librarian Roles Through a Librarian Initiated and Facilitated Faculty Learning Community

ABSTRACT

The role of libraries is changing to focus more on users rather than the collection of information. Community building and connecting people with shared interests represents a social role for libraries in the information age. Their role adds a new dimension to the traditional domains for libraries. Developing and implementing an integrated medical curriculum became the primary focus of basic sciences faculty at a new medical school. Scholarly teaching and connecting teaching with educational research presented a great challenge for the faculty. In response to the learning, teaching, and developmental needs of faculty members, a librarian established a faculty learning community as an approach to supporting faculty development and growth as teaching scholars and scholars of educational research. The article provides a case to illustrate how a librarian spanned boundaries and took up the responsibilities of establishing a faculty learning community and developing a year-long program in light of different developmental needs of faculty members at the new medical school. It also describes the process of developing the faculty learning community program, its components, and the many roles that the librarian took in implementing the program.

KEYWORDS:

• community of practice
• faculty learning community
• educational research medical library
• medical school
• medical education
• faculty development