Against the clock: Speed training in library and information science education

Abstract

We may not always like the speed of today’s world, but we still need to prepare students for working in a fast-paced environment. In the library and information science (LIS) professions today, deadlines are becoming ever shorter, yet research into the effects of time pressure in LIS is scarce. This pilot project aims to develop and test a speed-training program to improve LIS students’ ability to work under time pressure. An experiment is conducted where students in the control group receive no speed training while students in the experimental group complete speed-training exercises. Students provide feedback through surveys and a focus group. The results suggest that speed training can help students learn to work more quickly and that students feel positively about speed training. Therefore, it may be worth including explicit speed-training exercises in LIS programs.