Understanding the Relationship Between the Librarian and the Academic

Abstract

This article presents the findings of a small study that examined the relationship between academic librarians and their academic colleagues in a number of institutions in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. There is an abundance of literature outlining how librarians should collaborate with their academic colleagues but less emphasis on what librarians are doing in practice. This research explores the collaborative aspect of this relationship with a focus on information literacy training. Research findings look at factors which encourage and inhibit collaboration and challenges librarians face in achieving successful collaboration.

KEYWORDS:

• academic librarians
• collaboration
• higher education
• information literacy

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I would like to thank all the librarians who took part in this study for being so supportive and for being very generous with their time. I would also like to thank the reviewers for assisting me in writing this article.

© Anne-Marie Smith