Developing an Information Literate Student: The Case of the University of the West Indies (UWI), St. Augustine Faculty of Engineering

Abstract

Any subject librarian wants to help a client achieve their research goals. The client in turn must be able to conceptualize and articulate the parameters and requirements (e.g. depth of study, length of report, timescale) of their research. Unfortunately many clients (students), particularly at the undergraduate level, are ill-prepared for scholarly research (or sometimes do not even want to be taken out of the comfort zone of 'not thinking'), especially in the digital environment. They expect subject librarians and faculty supervisors to guide them through every step in the process, sometimes with little personal input. This paper examines the approaches used to develop the research skills of information needy students at the Faculty of Engineering of The University of the West Indies (UWI), St. Augustine Campus, Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. It is written from the perspective of an academic with 37 years worth of experience and a faculty liaison librarian. The study provides insights into experiences and successes of academic librarians from small developing countries as they attempt to improve student information literacy.