The North-West University Library and Information Service (NWU LIS) recently hosted the inaugural Information and Learning Services (ILS) Workshop on Information Literacy on Monday, 05 May 2025, bringing together librarians from all three campuses—Mahikeng, Potchefstroom, and Vanderbijlpark. This historic meeting marked the first time many colleagues met in person, creating a significant milestone in fostering collaboration and strengthening inter-campus relationships.
The workshop served as an Information Literacy (IL) Focus Group—a platform for librarians to share experiences, identify challenges, and recommend improvements to NWU’s IL training programmes. The insights gathered will be instrumental in refining our IL offerings and enhancing the quality and reach of our training interventions.
Dr Sabelo Chizwina, Director: Information and Learning Services, set the scene with a powerful message on the strategic importance of IL. He reminded librarians that NWU LIS should aspire to be a continental and global leader in IL. “Academic libraries across Africa should be benchmarking with NWU LIS,” he emphasised, highlighting the need for innovation and excellence in IL programming.
Martha van der Walt, Faculty Librarian: Education, stressed the importance of building strong relationships with faculties. She encouraged librarians to:
Familiarise themselves with the structure of the faculties and schools
Understand the types of students they support (contact and distance)
Know faculty directors, their administrative staff and other key stakeholders
Compile fact sheets on faculty staff and their research specialisations
Adopt the role of Personal Librarians for their faculties
Mr. Jons Moretedi, Senior Librarian at the Mahikeng Campus library, introduced an exciting tool—Avidnote AI, a platform that supports researchers in note-taking, summarisation, PDF annotation, and data analysis. His live demonstration sparked discussions about the importance of exploring emerging AI tools to enhance library services and information literacy.
Librarians shared valuable strategies for improving IL delivery:
• Conduct targeted training aligned with student needs (e.g., exam paper searches near exam periods),
• Offer sessions at student residences, open days, orientation programmes, and Faculty Assembly Points,
• Develop lesson plans and maintain training notes to ensure consistency and clarity,
• Participate in Train-the-Trainer programmes for ongoing professional development,
• Gather and analyse post-training evaluations to adapt and enhance training,
• Acquire digital literacy skills to support students in a digital learning environment effectively.
• Avoid repetitive training topics to prevent student disengagement.
There was a strong emphasis on the need for personalised, student-centred approaches in delivering IL content.
Research and AI Integration
As part of professional growth, librarians were challenged to contribute to the profession by:
Presenting at local and international conferences, and
Publishing peer-reviewed articles on IL practices and innovations.
Dr Zander Janse van Rensburg from the NWU Writing Centre encouraged librarians to engage critically with AI tools. He suggested developing a departmental AI policy aligned with university guidelines and urging librarians to experiment responsibly with AI and integrate it thoughtfully into library services.
Ms Marcia Mabhula, Librarian for Faculty and eLearning Services, led the focus group session, which allowed librarians to reflect on IL strategies, voice suggestions, and contribute to a shared vision for improving IL delivery across the university.
This workshop forms part of a three-pronged project on IL:
Librarian Focus Group: The session is described in the reflection.
Academic Literacy Lecturers Focus Group: An upcoming session to gather academic staff inputs.
The findings from all three components will be consolidated and shared with the university community in due course. This workshop was a landmark event that not only encouraged collaboration across campuses but also reaffirmed our collective commitment to advancing Information Literacy at NWU. It was a time for learning, sharing, and envisioning a more informed, research-savvy student body.
The North-West University Library and Information Service (NWU LIS) recently hosted the inaugural Information and Learning Services (ILS) Workshop on Information Literacy on Monday, 05 May 2025, bringing together librarians from all three campuses—Mahikeng, Potchefstroom, and Vanderbijlpark. This historic meeting marked the first time many colleagues met in person, creating a significant milestone in fostering collaboration and strengthening inter-campus relationships.
The workshop served as an Information Literacy (IL) Focus Group—a platform for librarians to share experiences, identify challenges, and recommend improvements to NWU’s IL training programmes. The insights gathered will be instrumental in refining our IL offerings and enhancing the quality and reach of our training interventions.
Dr Sabelo Chizwina, Director: Information and Learning Services, set the scene with a powerful message on the strategic importance of IL. He reminded librarians that NWU LIS should aspire to be a continental and global leader in IL. “Academic libraries across Africa should be benchmarking with NWU LIS,” he emphasised, highlighting the need for innovation and excellence in IL programming.
Martha van der Walt, Faculty Librarian: Education, stressed the importance of building strong relationships with faculties. She encouraged librarians to:
Mr. Jons Moretedi, Senior Librarian at the Mahikeng Campus library, introduced an exciting tool—Avidnote AI, a platform that supports researchers in note-taking, summarisation, PDF annotation, and data analysis. His live demonstration sparked discussions about the importance of exploring emerging AI tools to enhance library services and information literacy.
Librarians shared valuable strategies for improving IL delivery:
• Conduct targeted training aligned with student needs (e.g., exam paper searches near exam periods),
• Offer sessions at student residences, open days, orientation programmes, and Faculty Assembly Points,
• Develop lesson plans and maintain training notes to ensure consistency and clarity,
• Participate in Train-the-Trainer programmes for ongoing professional development,
• Gather and analyse post-training evaluations to adapt and enhance training,
• Acquire digital literacy skills to support students in a digital learning environment effectively.
• Avoid repetitive training topics to prevent student disengagement.
There was a strong emphasis on the need for personalised, student-centred approaches in delivering IL content.
Research and AI Integration
As part of professional growth, librarians were challenged to contribute to the profession by:
Publishing peer-reviewed articles on IL practices and innovations.
Dr Zander Janse van Rensburg from the NWU Writing Centre encouraged librarians to engage critically with AI tools. He suggested developing a departmental AI policy aligned with university guidelines and urging librarians to experiment responsibly with AI and integrate it thoughtfully into library services.
Ms Marcia Mabhula, Librarian for Faculty and eLearning Services, led the focus group session, which allowed librarians to reflect on IL strategies, voice suggestions, and contribute to a shared vision for improving IL delivery across the university.
This workshop forms part of a three-pronged project on IL:
The findings from all three components will be consolidated and shared with the university community in due course. This workshop was a landmark event that not only encouraged collaboration across campuses but also reaffirmed our collective commitment to advancing Information Literacy at NWU. It was a time for learning, sharing, and envisioning a more informed, research-savvy student body.