Dr. Todd: I was originally invited to come to Rutgers as a visiting scholar in 2001. Having been involved in Library and Information science education in Australia for many years, I was very familiar with the work of many scholars from the USA. The work of Professors Nick Belkin, Tefko Saracevic, Carol Kuhlthau and Paul Kantor have for many years been very familiar to me, and to our students. Their names consistently appeared on many of the bibliographies for our courses, both graduate and undergraduate, that we taught in Australia. So there was recognition over a long time of the international reputation and scholarship that comes from the School here at Rutgers. Consequently the invitation to come here and work with them was a wonderful opportunity for me. During my first year here, I was asked to consider staying on permanently, and so I am now here for some time!!

Question: Before you began working full-time at the University of Technology in 1990, you were a secondary school teacher and teacher-librarian. What led you to pursue a university career?

Dr. Todd: It is amazing how your life is orchestrated! In the early 1980s, the principal of the secondary school I was working in simply came and told me that I was now appointed to run the school library. I had no idea how to do that, so I said to the Principal that I would do it on the condition that the school paid for me to get graduate education in school librarianship because I was not prepared to do the job without any formal knowledge and skills. I thought that would convince him not to have me do the job, but he agreed, and so I went off as a part-time student to undertake study. When I graduated, I actually felt disappointed with the study I had done - it told me how to do many things, but it really never addressed many of the complex questions as to "why". So I enrolled in a research Master's degree in Sydney Australia to learn how to investigate some of the more complex questions that interested - and troubled - me. While I was undertaking that study, I was invited to do some part time teaching at what is now the University of Technology in Sydney.

Question: One of your research concerns revolves around the professional education of library and information professionals. What do you consider to be an "effective university learning environment for the information and library profession and industry"?

Dr. Todd: The university environment, for educating library and information professionals, has to provide learners with foundation knowledge for them to undertake their professional roles. To me, this centers on understanding people's engagement with and utilization of information, and the human, organizational and system infrastructures for enabling this to take place. This is complex, and a central dimension of the education has to center on providing a range of conceptual, technical and evaluative processes that enable learners to critically and reflectively analyze their dynamically changing information environment and to be able to see how this impacts on the professional provision of information services and products. This is the lifelong learning dimension that I think is so important in the university learning environment.

Dr. Todd: Yes, there is. One of the most distinctive differences is that education for library and information professions also can be undertaken as an undergraduate degree. At UTS, we provided a Bachelor of Arts in Communication (Information). This was a formal qualification, certified by the Australian Library and Information Association, and on completion, graduates could apply for any beginning level librarian or information professional position. This has long been established in Australia. At UTS we have been providing an undergraduate program for about 25 years!!! And graduates from UTS are well sought after.

Question: You are an acknowledged expert in the field of adolescent information-seeking behavior. What key features of this behavior do you feel it would be important for a school librarian to understand?

Dr. Todd: It is important to acknowledge that the mere provision of information does not mean that students actually take it up, understand it and are able to do something with it in constructing their own understanding! As part of their learning, students do need to have the information scaffolds developed that enable them to effectively connect with, interact with, and utilize the information in meaningful ways, so that they can make use and sense of the vast amounts of information that surrounds them. The research evidence particularly in relation to information seeking on the World Wide Web suggests that students are not quite the gurus in the digital environment we think they are, and that they face quite a range of dilemmas in searching and using this information. Central to the school librarian's role is providing and cultivating the learning environment that facilitates students' active and motivated engagement with information to learn!

Dr. Todd: Focus on students and their learning! Every decision made should revolve around that. A school library exists to enable students to learn meaningfully and effectively with information, so all energies need to center on how the instructional role of the librarian can best facilitate this; and how all decisions about resources, technologies, day-to-day practices enhance effective learning.

Thank you, Dr. Todd!