Implementing Information Literacy through the Personal Librarian Model: Prospects and Challenges

Abstract

The paper explores the concept of Personal Librarianship which is fairly a novel concept in the library and information science context in Africa. The Personal Librarian Programme encourages students to build relationships with their personal librarians who provide learning support, and introduce the library as an enabling environment that supports students’ learning needs. The ultimate goal of this concept is to make First Year Students Information Literate. The idea behind the programme is that the personal librarian becomes the student’s primary contact throughout his/her studies. The study reviews the two most widely used models of teaching and imparting Information Literacy by pointing out their strengths and weaknesses. In the end, the research highlights the importance of complementing these existing efforts with the Personal Librarian concept. The research also demonstrates the feasibility of implementing the Personal Librarian Programme in a higher education context in Africa. Finally, the study elicits some challenges in using the Personal Librarian Programme to implement Information Literacy. Overall, the study contributes to efforts aimed at proactively engaging students to enhance their competencies in information usage.