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“Teleporting” from boring to cool

B de Kock, G Ehlers & H Kriel, University of Pretoria 

One of the biggest challenges faced by university libraries is to stay relevant to the Net Generation. What magnifies the challenge is the fact that not all clients are members of the Net Generation – not because of age but because of access to technology. Furthermore, it cannot be assumed that because the members of the Net Generation are “digital natives” they are necessarily information literate. 

In this presentation we propose a holistic approach to this challenge which addresses inter alia the physical environment, policy, products and services to enhance the learning experience of students,  grab the attention of the Net Generation and provide them with  the opportunity  to familiarize themselves with the library  and its products and services at their own pace.  

We shall demonstrate how industrial theatre, rap songs and sms language changed the image of the library from boring to cool and how computer gaming can be used for information literacy training. Did your company ever consider online gaming as a training tool?

All of this was developed against the background of the establishment of a Learning Center that specifically focus on the learning needs of undergraduates.  

The challenges facing libraries today forced the library at the University of Pretoria to be innovative and to become “avatars” that “teleported” library products and services into the world of the Net Generation.  One comment from a student sums up this journey: “This is insanely cool!” 

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