The outbreak of the corona pandemic has led to various restrictions within society and thus also within higher education. In March of 2020, all teaching at colleges and universities in Sweden became remote. This included library instruction. The aim of this study was to describe the teaching academic librarian’s role due to the corona pandemic and the transition to distance education it has entailed. The study applied Huvila’s terms work role and work task together with Kuhlthau’s levels of instruction as well as a model of emerging roles for academic librarians identified by Vassilakaki and Moniarou-Papaconstantinou as its theoretical framework. A mainly qualitative study was carried out. A questionnaire was sent to teaching academic librarians nationally. This resulted in 61 responses. Data gathered were analysed using conventional content analysis. The study’s results indicate that the role has changed due to changes in how tasks are carried out, for example how the library instruction is carried out, cooperation with faculty, requirements regarding technological competence, the use of digital learning resources and how the students’ needs are highlighted. The study’s results also indicate that this transformation will remain to some extent, and that blended learning will become more common.

This thesis aims to explore how academic librarians and faculty describe their collaboration regarding development of students’ information literacy, especially focusing on what they consider necessary for a successful collaboration. Taking collaboration theory as a point of departure, and by conducting two focus groups with 6 and 4 academic librarians respectively, as well as individual interviews with 8 teachers, the results of the analysis reveal that successful collaborations are characterised by joint planning and joint evaluation of integrated teaching that reflects both teachers and librarians’ expertise. Such endeavours, however, require both time and mutual commitment on behalf of the two professions. The authors argue that university management need to facilitate networking opportunities, as well as work actively to enable integration and encourage collaboration. Furthermore, the thesis contributes to the theoretical understanding of librarian and faculty collaboration by proposing changes to existing collaboration theory.