Joe Eshleman - Librarians and Instructional Designers: Collaboration and Innovation

L earning in the digital age is a networked and participatory process. Therefore, supporting faculty members and students ability to master digital methods and tools increasingly requires thoughtful partnerships between librarians and instructional designers. As technology continues to influence the direction of higher education, each of these fields faces both challenges and opportunities. Those individuals who are able to keep up with the consistent change are at an advantage. More importantly, those who are open to collaborative opportunities become more valuable to their institutions as they build networks of relationships and shared skill sets. Due to the increased importance and influence of digital technologies and the move toward design thinking as a way to offer strategies and solutions, it is time for librarians and instructional designers to team up to show their value to their institutions.

It is the combined interest in design along with a deep understanding of information creation and use with a focus on technology that is so important here. The intent is not to develop a magic bullet that somehow solves all of the woes of higher education. It is instead the desire to bring together human resources with unique and helpful knowledge (and skill sets). They can become valuable assets in the move to the newer technology-driven types of teaching and learning that current and future students need. Note that although technology continues to influence education, our focus here is on the people (librarians, instructional designers, students) and the collaborative opportunities available to them. While awareness and understanding of how to use the tools offered by todays technology are of utmost importance, they do not supersede the need for relationship building.

Certain day-to-day realities, as we all know, have the potential to make good intentions fall by the wayside. How can I begin working with a librarian or an instructional designer when that is not part of my job? In some cases, the position of instructional designer may not even exist in a given workplace. Yes, this is a good idea, but what does it look like in reality on my campus? These are good questions to ask as we search for creative but practical solutions. Creating a concrete plan for moving from a basic project in which a designer and a librarian work together to one that involves a team that influences and impacts campus decisions is a justified goal. Hopefully, in addition to the examples we provide, this book will also generate conversations that help to add new and improved strategies to our ideas.

To be clear, this book is a combined effort between librarians and instructional designers and in some ways does more to represent the goals within it than what has actually been written. Furthermore, within our own various institutions, we continue to work toward its loftier goals. That is to say that although we work in tandem with our own instructional designers and librarians (as the case may be), we have not yet been able to achieve the kind of interest or influence on our own campuses for which we strive. As a type of enthusiastic exhortation rather than an extensive review or an exhaustive reference, this book is meant to inspire librarians and instructional designers to get to know one another and then to work collaboratively. The group foundation of this effort (two librarians and two instructional designers/technologists) supports this notion. The main goal is to spark ideas for collaboration among those who have not yet done so and to open up avenues of opportunity for those who cannot find them in their environments.

Once more, in the implementation of these ideas, another common question is likely to arise: How does a concrete collaborative relationship between librarians and instructional designers that influences administration on my campus work and what form would it take? While we provide numerous examples of what has already been done, we also put forth theories and conjecture to encourage creative solutions on the part of readers. The goal at this point is not to give that question one distinct answer but, rather, to inspire more people to ask the question and to come up with answers that make sense for them and their institutions.

A renewed focus on the building of academic networks that can create strong bonds on campus needs to be discussed to improve higher educations capability to move forward. As a way to think about how librarians are affected, Keith Webster, in a recent presentation titled Leading the Library of the Future: W(h)ither Technical Services?, points out:

We operate in a networked worldlocal collections in themselves make learning and research incomplete.

We should no longer focus on acquiring the products of scholarship; we must be embedded within scholarship.

New methods of researchopen science, digital humanities, etc.reshape researchers needs and demands.

How do we get there?

One way to get there is to change the way we think about what librarians do and how our institutions think about librarians. We must also come to the realization that we cannot get there alone. Looking for those on campus to work with has frequently led us to view faculty as good partners, and this has provided for many fruitful collaborations. Still, such relationships have not created the elevated reputation or integration for librarians that we desire. We have much to offer our institutions that remains hidden below the surface. Although many partnerships with teaching faculty work well, there may be even more opportunities and situations in which librarians and instructional designers are better matched as peers. There are numerous cases where librarians and instructional designers have worked together in the past, yet the opportunity for more cross-pollination between these two campus roles has yet to be fully realized. This book recommends exploring those opportunities that may yield collaborations on campus. It places emphasis on making the effort to work with those in technology and design positions because these areas will continue to both impact and define higher education. Additionally, a focus on design allows us to reinvent roles and helps us to be prepared when considering ourselves as campus leaders.