Originally published at rowenamcgregor.com

What might I be/becoming?

My liaison librarian role has a learning/teaching focus, so the following exploration is a bit of a mash-up between the learning/teaching component of an Australian competency framework and an essay on transpersonal education…

Learning and Teaching: Academic librarians working in learning and teaching should have a strong understanding of and competence in the following:

Client relationships – building and managing relationships and partnerships with researchers, faculty, students and professionals, and communicating information and resources to a range of clients within a holistic, expansive, growthful, transformative process that involves a both/and rather than an either/or attitude; that is experiential and reflective, inclusive and integrated.

Information services – providing advice and instruction to enhance access to relevant and reliable information; knowledge of core finding tools, databases and resources at a level appropriate to the position to encourage an individual to find his or her unique, authentic nature, potentials, and voice, and to express and apply this knowledge and wisdom to the greatest possible extent, for the benefit of self and others.

Teaching and learning – knowledge of institutional curriculum to effectively embed information literacy as appropriate; knowledge of learning models and strategies, pedagogy, current educational technologies for the academic environment, and learning analytics to provide scaffolded training and skills development opportunities for clients; awareness of new developments in learning and teaching and potential for library services and programs to nurture an experiential learning that is fully and deeply lived, immediate, embodied, particular and concrete, with the potential to  provide service to a community.

Learning management system (LMS) – knowledge of the structure and the use of campus learning content management system to allow full expression of not only conventional forms of intellectual functioning, critical thinking, analysis, and synthesis but also the many forms of intelligence (emotional intelligence, spiritual intelligence, and the multiple forms of intelligences), oral dialog, pluralistic ways of knowing, and the informative and educational value of personal experience, the wisdom of the body, the great spiritual and wisdom traditions (which are really world psychologies), real philosophy, poetry, myth, story, the arts, contemplative inquiry, and all forms of creative expression.

Digital content creation – developing, creating and implementing online learning modules to facilitate exploration, expression and celebration of the embodied values, qualities, and practices key to transpersonal education. These qualities and values include appreciation of differences, appreciation of others and of the Universe at large, attention, authenticity, compassion, creativity, deeper levels of meaning, discernment, empathy, expansiveness, gratitude, insight, inspiration, intention, interconnectedness, intuition, mindfulness, self-observation, spirituality, spontaneity, and wisdom.

Literacies –  knowledge of current terminology, principles and practice relevant to sourcing, using, evaluating, creating and sharing of information in an academic and digital environment; nimble, flexible, and efficient selection and use of appropriate technologies to read, search, evaluate, organise, create, connect and communicate to develop transpersonal and knowledge practices from diverse wisdom approaches, to inspire direct knowing and insight specific to learners’ education and lives.

Ethical use of information – awareness of copyright law, contract obligations and plagiarism in the learning and teaching context to facilitate awareness of self in relationship to a larger whole and often awaken learners to a sense of wonder and awe and connection to the cosmos.

How I came to be interested in the idea of a transpersonal librarianship

Sources of this ‘found poem’

Leong, J., & Woods, S. (2017). CAVAL Competencies for Academic and Research Librarians.

Rowe, N., & Braud, W. (2013). Transpersonal education. In H. L. Friedman & G. Hartelius (Eds.), The Wiley Blackwell handbook of transpersonal psychology (pp. 666-686). Chichester, United Kingdom: John Wiley & Sons.