Presented at LILAC 2024.

1. Developing a Teaching Librarian certificate
• 2016: Creation of a new qualification profile for teaching librarians.
• Based on the technical and personal skills set out in this profile, and on
similar courses in Germany, the Teaching Librarian certificate was developed.
• Goal: To train librarians to adapt to the challenges of this professional field
and to design and teach courses that strengthen information literacy at their
own institutions.
• An updated version of the Teaching Librarian certificate course has been
implemented at the Postgraduate Center of the University of Vienna as a
joint certificate between three Austrian universities in 2023.
Module Location ECTS Days of teaching
(№ of hours)
Module 1 Standards and concepts of information
literacy; target group analysis
Vienna 1 2
(11)
Module 2 Didactics and methodology Graz 2 4
(22)
Module 3 Communication tools and event
formats
Innsbruck 3 4
(22)
Module 4 Achievement tests and quality
assurance
Vienna 1 2
(11)
Module 5 Project 3 0
The new Teaching Librarian certificate
at the University of Vienna
University of Vienna, Vienna University Library
Ariella Sobel: ariella.sobel@univie.ac.at
+43-664-817 56 06
References:
• Gemeinsame Kommission Informationskompetenz von dbv und VDB, Schoenbeck, O., Schröter, M., & Werr, N. (2021). Framework Informationskompetenz
in der Hochschulbildung. O-Bib. Das Offene Bibliotheksjournal / Herausgeber VDB, 8(2), 1–29. https://doi.org/10.5282/o-bib/5674
• VDB (Verein Deutscher Bibliothekarinnen und Bibliothekare or the Association of German librarians https://www.vdb-online.org/verein/info-en.php and
dbv (Der Deutsche Bibliotheksverband e.V. or the German Library Association https://www.bibliotheksverband.de/english)
• Website of the Teaching Librarian Certificate course: https://www.postgraduatecenter.at/weiterbildungsprogramme/kommunikation-medien/teaching-
librarian/
Ariella Sobel
University of Vienna
The situation in the German-speaking world
• Teaching information literacy is a central task of academic libraries.
• Around the turn of the century, libraries in the German-speaking world
became professionalized, with ‘imparting information literacy’ or ‘library
pedagogy’ as the focal points of librarian training.
• Translation of American standards into German in 2002.
• Implementation of the Framework for Information Literacy for Higher
Education by the Joint Commission on Information Literacy in 2021.
• Surveys have shown: A discrepancy exists between the requirements for
teaching librarians and the actual skills that librarians need in the field.
Acknowledgements
Dr Heike Holtgrewe (Germany’s State Distance-Learning University)
Ulrike Scholle (Duisburg-Essen University Library)
Further facts
 Diploma: Certificate from the University of Vienna
 Duration: 2 semesters (part-time)
 Credits: 10 ECTS
 Language: German
 Total costs: € 1,990
 Start: March 2024
Target group
• The Teaching Librarian certificate is
aimed at all librarians at academic
and public libraries and information
institutions who are entrusted with
the planning and implementation of
information literacy courses.
Qualification profile
• The certificate programme develops
the pedagogical skills needed to
design and teach practical courses
on information literacy that
incorporate the latest standards,
taking internal and external teaching
and learning factors into account.
Graduates will be able to…
• Formulate educational objectives
and select suitable content and
designs for their courses while
tailoring the requirements to their
specific target groups.
• Draw on a variety of media,
including classic and modern,
analogue and digital formats.
• Implement strategies for teaching
in an engaging, participant-
oriented manner, evaluating their
courses and reflecting on the
results.
Participation requirements
 Completed relevant training (e.g. the ‘Library and Information Studies’
further training program or a comparable course of study); or
 High school diploma or university entrance qualification test and at
least three years of relevant professional experience (career changers
without completing formal training); or
 Completed apprenticeship as an archivist or library and information
assistant and three years of relevant professional experience
Project
 As part of their final project, participants will plan a course, carry it
out independently and present and analyse the results in a plenary
session.