Relationships Between Teaching Librarians and Teaching Faculty, and: Libraries within Their Institutions: Creative Collaborations (review)

Abstract

Reviewed by: Relationships Between Teaching Librarians and Teaching Faculty, and: Libraries within Their Institutions: Creative Collaborations Dane Ward Relationships Between Teaching Librarians and Teaching Faculty, ed. Susan B. Kraat. Binghamton, NY: Haworth Information Press, 2005. 182p. $24.95 softcover (ISBN-13: 978-0-7890-2573-9), $39.95 hardcover (ISBN-13: 978-0-7890-2572-2) Libraries within Their Institutions: Creative Collaborations, ed. William Miller and Rita M. Pellen. Binghamton, NY: Haworth Information Press, 2005. 230p. $39.95 softcover (ISBN-13: 978-0-7890-2720-7), $59.95 hardcover (ISBN-13: 978-0-7890-2719-1) Collaboration is like motherhood and apple pie. Librarians, administrators, and colleagues all across higher education aspire to work together for the greater good. Through collaboration, we hope to pool financial and human resources to accomplish what cannot be achieved on our own. However, collaboration is more than a good idea; it is a practice that requires us to fundamentally rethink who we are, how we work, and where we allocate resources. As the articles in these two books suggest, collaboration can be a challenging process, but the benefits are well worth the effort. Within the literature of librarianship and higher education, collaboration frequently means working together across departmental boundaries to achieve common goals. Typical articles describe projects involving individuals from several departments working to accomplish those goals. They do not usually describe the often messy interpersonal processes that are foundational to any collaborative enterprise. The articles in these two books say much about the nature of our thinking and writing on collaboration. There are fine examples of projects here and some that do touch upon what occurs between partners. In reality, however, neither work focuses primarily on those relationships. Instead, they emphasize the diversity of interdepartmental projects involving libraries and their on- or off-campus partners. Taken together, these works provide a good roadmap of collaborative partners and projects. Relationships Between Teaching Librarians and Teaching Faculty, consisting of 10 articles, was edited by Susan B. Kraat, reference librarian and coordinator of library instruction at the State University of New York at New Paltz. The projects presented in these articles are generally closer to the experiences and initiatives of individual librarians than those found in the other work. Topics include integrating information literacy into specific disciplines, developing and/or grading research assignments, and establishing new forms of communication between departments. There are also two interesting studies, one concerning librarian attitudes toward faculty (Lisa M. Given and Heidi Julien) and the other about faculty attitudes toward library instruction (Kate Manuel, Susan E. Beck, and Molly Malloy). Throughout this work, one senses the difficulty of collaborative activity. We read of the separation experienced by librarians and faculty, their mutual misunderstanding, and, at its worst, mutual [End Page 234]demonization. At the same time, many of the authors identify practices and strategies that overcome perceived or actual barriers. We read, for instance, about the importance of openness and dialogue (Navaz P. Bhavnagri and Veronica Bielat), defining mutually valued goals (Michelle Toth), and maintaining flexibility while ensuring equal participation of library and discipline faculty (Lynn Lampert). It is worth noting, though not surprising, that effective collaboration requires a conscious effort to enhance the quality and quantity of conversation between librarians and faculty. Real success results from personal commitment and a willingness to take risks in reaching out. Nothing undermines collaboration more than assuming that those with whom we work have bad intentions. Libraries within Their Institutions: Creative Collaborationswas edited by William Miller and Rita M. Pellen, the director and associate director, respectively, of the libraries at Florida Atlantic University. Containing 15 articles, this work generally emphasizes the broader context of collaboration between libraries and other departments, centers, and organizations both on and off campus. Included here are studies of working with teaching centers, library science programs, and city governments. Additionally, the book includes several provocative articles, including one about the formal and informal structures that facilitate collaboration (Jordana M. Y. Shane) and another about "embedding" the library into significant aspects of campus (Barbara I. Dewey). In this broader framework, collaboration is facilitated, according to many of the authors, by systematic planning and development. Still, the personal component...