The purpose of this paper is to present the findings of a study that examines undergraduate students‘ experience with research, library and information use prior to coming to university and their behaviour and attitude towards library and information after they have been exposed to a variety of library awareness activities and received information literacy training during their first year at Ozyegin University in Turkey. Students take a compulsory “Introduction to University” subject during their first semester taught by both internal and external experts on a wide range of topics including ‘Journey of Information’ presented by library staff. The Library is also involved in the subsequent delivery of information literacy programs throughout students‘ university programs in an on-going effort to engage them and to get them involved in university-wide activities. The library staff work as partners with the faculty and other student support services in designing, delivering and evaluating these programs. A variety of social media tools, such as Facebook, twitter and blogs as well as competitions, games, face-to-face interactions in and outside the library have been used to engage the students. Majority of new students spend up to a year undertaking intensive English preparatory classes. The curriculum for the ESL (English as a Second Language) program includes a learning portfolio linking various levels of English competency with each other (e.g. elementary, pre-intermediate, intermediate etc.) to ensure students complete the program not only with sufficient English language competency but also with information and life skills to help them throughout their studies and further The research will examine what impact the library‘s efforts to engage students in library and information use and their learning and research has had by comparing their pre-university experience, expectations and knowledge and skills about libraries and information use.

Gulcin Cribb
Gulcin Cribb Singapore Management University

Gulcin Cribb is currently University Librarian at Singapore Management University. Prior to that, she was Director of Libraries at Ozyegin University in Istanbul from 2008 to 2011. Her previous roles include Director of Information Services at Bond University and Executive Manager of Physical Sciences & Engineering Library at the University of Queensland. Gulcin has extensive experience in the areas of technology management, strategic management, innovation, information literacy, library-faculty-industry partnerships, marketing and virtual libraries. She has been involved in a number of research projects involving use of ICT in teaching and learning and quality & assessment at various universities and produced many articles, discussions papers and reports. She won the best paper award at the 1998 Annual Conference and Exposition of ASEE (American Society for Engineering Education) in Seattle, Washington.

İlkay Holt
İlkay Holt Özyeğin University

İlkay Holt received her BA in Library and Information Science from Istanbul University in 1999. She obtained her MA in Information and Document Management from the same university in 2003. She studied for her Executive MBA at Ozyegin University. Holt started her career as a librarian at Koc University Library in 1999, serving there for 8 years. In 2008, she joined Özyeğin University as Information Access Services Manager. She was appointed as Director of Libraries in February 2012.

She is member of Steering Committee at ANKOS, Anatolian University Libraries Consortium as well as serving in the Licensing Group and Database Evaluation Group within the consortium. Holt is also the national editor for Turkey for E-Prints in Library and Information Science (E-LIS), an international open archive for library and information sciences.