Member interview with Luke Johnstone

 

Luke Johnstone profile photograph

Luke Johnstone is the Team Leader for the Learning and Teaching Team at the Hobson Library, Defence Academy of the UK. Luke is passionate about broadening the understanding and importance of teaching Information Literacy Skills (ILS). Luke has experience of copyright, having worked as a Copyright Officer, several years’ experience as a Liaison Librarian and experience of developing and promoting ILS within the sector. Luke is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, Chartered Member of CILIP and has recently been recognized as one of the CILIP125 recipients.

 

Could you tell us about your background and how you became involved in the information profession?

My involvement and career in the information profession, specifically libraries, was a happy accident. Having completed my Master’s degree in history and having a short stint working in research, I was looking to relocate to the South-West and a position became available to join the UK Defence Academy as a Lead Library Assistant. My time working in research gave me an appreciation for the role libraries have in developing and supporting research skills and understanding that libraries offered far more than is commonly understood.

 

 Where have you worked and in what sorts of roles?

I started my career as a Lead Library Assistant, where I deputised for the Copyright Officer. After two years, I became the Copyright Officer and in that role was I was able to innovate the approach that was taken. I looked at how copyright was submitted, processed, and recorded, as well as introducing copyright teaching sessions for all new members of staff to understand the importance of staying legal. Following a restructure in the Library in 2016, a Learning and Teaching Team was introduced, which allowed me the opportunity to move to an area of libraries that I was deeply passionate about - teaching and supporting the development of ILS. In the team I have been a Liaison Librarian and led on teaching output, which has allowed me to embed the library in the courses taught at the Defence Academy. I am now the Librarian Team Leader for the Learning and Teaching Team. In the roles I have held, I have understood the importance of developing my skills and knowledge to bring the most out of what we can offer, which has seen me Charter as a member of CILIP, complete a teaching post-graduate qualification and become a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.

 

What are you mostly excited about in our profession? Are there any challenges or success stories you would like to share with us?

There is so much to be excited about in my profession with the changing information landscape and impact on how people access information. If I had to pick one area it would be the growing recognition of the importance of ILS in the education experience but also its importance in everyday life. COVID has really shown that we still have a way to go to ensure all information users can develop the skills required to be independent learners and to show how ILS is a key meta-competency that supports all areas. There are some exciting research and innovative approaches being taken to promoting ILS within the LIS sector.

 

 

What advice would you give to someone starting their career as a librarian/information professional?

The best piece of advice I was given, from Charlotte Porter a fellow GIG member, was to continuously develop my skills and build good relations with the wider profession. The LIS sector is constantly changing, and we need to ensure that we do not operate in silos and engage with external colleagues, as many will be working on similar projects. Share, contribute and collaborate - this will lead to great innovation and best practice.

 

What are your (personal/professional) plans and expectations for the future?

I have so many plans, professionally and personally, for the future - I feel we are only scratching the surface of what we can achieve in my team. Professionally, I want to continue to push the importance of ILS and embed it further into the curriculum at the UK Defence Academy, whilst also engaging with the wider defence library sector on how they develop ILS to see where we can all work together.

Personally, I want to continue to engage with others in the profession and start to share our journey and successes, in the hope it will help others in a similar position to where started out.

It really is an exciting time to be working in the information profession, with so many opportunities out there.  

 

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