Perceptions of Academic Librarians in Sri Lanka about Faculty Status and Teaching Information Literacy (IL)

Academic librarians working in higher education institutions in Sri Lanka have been enjoying faculty status for the last forty years. The study explores their self-identity, and their perceptions about the teaching role. In total, there are 140 academic librarians working in universities in Sri Lanka. A survey was conducted among them. An analysis of thirty one responses revealed that a significant number of respondents consider themselves as professionals rather than faculty member. A section of the academic librarians believes that the society does not recognize teaching by librarians. Another section generally opines that librarians are reluctant to take up the task of teaching, but the survey found out that 80% of respondents voluntarily teach at their institutions. It was also found that, as reported by many other studies, the academic programs that many of them had attended in library schools did not provide enough training for teaching jobs