In our recent report on the 2013 US Library Survey, we noted that faculty members and library directors have different views on the role librarians play in information literacy education. Seventy-two percent of library directors agreed with the statement “Developing the research skills of undergraduate students related to locating and evaluating scholarly information is principally my library’s responsibility,” compared with just 22% of faculty.

This is an area where participants in our local faculty survey have paid special attention to see how faculty attitudes may differ on their campuses from the national norms.  For instance, at Swarthmore, where College Librarian Peggy Seiden reports that new subject librarian hires have made significant inroads in their outreach to departments and through their instruction, faculty do see educating students as an important function of the library.

We invite you to read more about the implementation of the local survey at Swarthmore.  For more information about Ithaka S+R’s local survey program, please visit our website.