Abstract
This paper reports on an innovative project at the University of Johannesburg during the first semester of 2009 to teach first year engineering students who firmly believed that they don’t require library skills in order to become engineers, how to use the library. It also focuses on the important partnership between an information librarian and instructional designer to achieve this goal. The fundamental academic competencies required by a first year student to utilise the library successfully in his/her studies include the ability to source relevant literature using the various tools and services provided by the library, identify the key role of different professional
Engineering Institutions, and synthesise and present the ideas of others in a cohesive and logical form. This project showcases the innovative use of Blackboard (learning management system) to facilitate the development of knowledge and skills to utilise the library, and source literature in an appropriate manner for academic purposes. It was specifically designed so
that students can learn from their own experiences and mistakes. The targeted group had multiple opportunities to complete the task. The process reduced unethical practices by students and was self-administrated, with little intervention from the information librarian or instructional designer. Student feedback was collected from a follow-up survey. This project contributes to dialogue on ideal options to solve teaching and learning problems by using the learning management system
that the students are familiar with. At the same time the aim is to focus on new roles and build relationships between the information librarian, instructional designer and lecturer.