Professor Sheila Corrall
Professor of Librarianship & Information Management, Graduate Research Tutor
MA (Cambridge), DipLib (CNAA), MBA (Sussex), MSc (Southampton), FCLIP, FCMI, FRSA.
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Room number: | 230 |
| Telephone (internal): | 22632 | |
| Telephone (UK): | 0114 222 2632 | |
| Telephone (International): | +44 114 222 2632 | |
| Email: | s.m.corrall@sheffield.ac.uk |
Sheila Corrall studied Classics at the University of Cambridge and then worked in public libraries for the London Borough of Harrow before obtaining a postgraduate diploma in Librarianship at the Polytechnic of North London. She returned to Harrow after library school and then joined The British Library, where she worked in reader services, research administration and policy support, before moving to the Science Reference & Information Service as Head of Information Services, responsible for revenue-earning services in science, technology, patents and business information.
Sheila then moved into the higher education sector, working successively as Director of Library & Information Services at Aston University, University Librarian at the University of Reading and Director of Academic Services at the University of Southampton. During this time she studied part-time for an MBA at Roffey Park Management Institute and an MSc in Information Systems at the University of Southampton. She joined the University of Sheffield as Professor of Librarianship & Information Management in 2004 and served as Head of School for four years (2006-2010) before taking up the role of Graduate Research Tutor.
Teaching
In line with my professional background, the focus of my teaching is on the management and delivery of library and information services. Our goal is to prepare students to manage people and resources effectively in the workplace, as confident and reflective practitioners. I introduce students to organisational issues and management theories in an information services context, drawing on my own experience as a practitioner, as well as using examples from current practice to show how management and business theory is applied in library and information settings.
My teaching is mainly conducted through lectures, but most lecture sessions include discussions in small groups and some also involve practical activities. In addition, I often bring in practitioners as guest speakers on my courses to enhance the real-world dimension. I like students to prepare for each session in advance by reading an article or researching the topic in some other way so that we can make the best use of our time in class.
I also especially enjoy working with students individually on their research projects and helping them to gain experience of both conducting research and writing it up for publication. I try to encourage students and graduates to publish their work as I believe that both academics and practitioners have a vital role to play in shaping and advancing professional thinking on all aspects of library and information services and their management.
I teach on a range of courses including:
- INF6005 Management for Library and Information Services
- INF6020 Management and Strategy for Electronic & Digital Libraries
- INF6180 Libraries, Information and Society
- INF6200 Academic and Research Libraries
- INF6350 Information Resources and Information Literacy
- INF6513 Leadership, Strategy and Change
Professional standing
- Inaugural Chair of Information Services National Training Organisation (1999-2001)
- Named as one of the Top Ten Library and Information Professionals in the UK in The Independent on Sunday (2002)
- First President of CILIP: Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals (2002-03)
- International Information Industries Lifetime Achievement Award for contribution to the development of the information profession (2003)
- Chair of CILIP Expert Group on Information Literacy (2003-04)
- Included in Who’s Who (2006-)
Research interests
Library, information and knowledge management strategies; information service structures; professional roles and competencies; strategic aspects of information literacy development.
Key publications
Taylor, K. & Corrall, S. (2007) Personalized service? Changing the role of the government librarian. Journal of Information Science, 33 (3), 298-314.
Corrall, S. (2005) `Developing models of professional competence to enhance employability in the network world´. In Genoni, P. & Walton, G. (eds.) Continuing Professional Development – Preparing For New Roles In Libraries: A Voyage of Discovery, pp.26-40. Munich: KG Saur.
Corrall, S. (2003) `Strategic planning in academic libraries´. In Drake, M. (ed.) Encyclopedia of Library and Information Science, pp.2742-2754. 2nd ed. New York: Dekker
Corrall, S. (2000) Strategic Management of Information Services: A Planning Handbook. London: Aslib/IMI.
Corrall, S. & Brewerton, A. (1999) The New Professional´s Handbook: Your Guide to Information Services Management. London: Library Association Publishing.
Corrall, S. (1998) Are we in the knowledge management business? Ariadne, (18).
http://www.ariadne.ac.uk/issue18/knowledge-mgt/
Corrall, S. & Lester, R. (1996) `Professors and professionals: on changing boundaries´, In Cuthbert, R. (ed.) Working in Higher Education, pp.84-100. Buckingham: Society for Research into Higher Education & Open University Press.