Recognising the teaching and learning support skills of library staff

Last week I was delighted to receive notification of having achieved Fellowship of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA) via the UCL Arena Open programme. The programme is open to UCL colleagues in any role who teach or support students’ learning.

Why apply for fellowship?

For me the initial motivation was the increasing appearance of HEA Fellowship or Associate Fellowship status as criteria for job applications. Although when I started on the route to Fellowship I had no plans to look for another role, I felt that if we at UCL start seeing this as a useful criteria for staff with information skills training responsibilities then those of us who lead in this area really should gain this status. In addition I felt it may raise the profile of library staff as teachers, which could help to gain respect and acknowledgement from academics and potentially increase engagement and integration of library skills into academic programmes. Once I started on the process my motivations developed. The application requires you to formally reflect on your work, which made me question and reform my practices to deliver more effective teaching, and this is really satisfying. And when I spotted the advertisement for the Head of Library Skills role at UCL with one of the desirable criteria being Fellowship, I was able to say I was working towards it. Finally, it means I can now put more letters after my name.

Who should apply for fellowship?

Anyone with teaching or learning support responsibilities may apply for one of the categories of Fellowship, so that includes all sorts of roles within Library Services, from library assistants through to senior managers. It’s a really great opportunity to reflect and develop your skills, identify areas for future development and to enhance our support of students, contributing to the user experience.

What support is available if I want to apply?

I will now be taking the lead within Library Services on support for our staff who wish to undertake an application for any of the categories of fellowship. Following on from sessions arranged this year, I’ll be arranging more training events in liaison with UCL Arena, specifically targeted at library staff. I’ll be undertaking training in becoming a mentor to support candidates. I’ll be implementing ways of working that give staff the experience and opportunities to meet the criteria required. And I’ll be setting up communities of staff who are interested, are currently putting together an application or have gained status already so that we can support each other. So if that sounds like you, then please contact me for more information. And if you already have your Fellowship or Associate Fellowship, either through UCL Arena Open or through another route, such as through a previous employer, then please let me know so that we have a record of this recognition of our teaching and learning support skills.

Angela Young FHEA

Head of Library Skills