About the authors

Paul Jewell

Paul’s driving passions are education and the power of information to deliver equitable opportunities for all our citizens. He graduated from University of North London (BSc) Honours in Information Studies and became a Chartered member of CILIP (UK). He has worked for the last 25+ years in a variety of Library Services – public, schools’ library service and secondary school library in the UK – and since returning to live in Australia in 2007 in an academic library at Western Sydney University.

Paul is currently employed as the Business Librarian supporting the teaching and learning and research needs for the School of Business. He is passionate about all aspects of Information Literacy (IL) and how we can improve our students transitioning to the workplace and their lifelong learning with strong information and academic literacy skills.

Paul led a research project on Information Literacy and Employability, interviewing employers and graduates on workplace IL and the findings were published in Journal of Business Education in 2020.

Paul achieved Fellowship with the UK Higher Education Academy and became Fellow of the Badugulang Centre of Teaching and Learning Excellence at Western Sydney University. Paul enjoys learning and sharing knowledge on critical librarianship, critical pedagogies, information literacies, library advocacy and occasionally watching or even playing the beautiful game.

Paul worked with academic authors to help create the first two open textbooks at Western Sydney University. He is passionate about the use of open educational practice and benefits of open textbooks to improve educational opportunities. Paul is grateful for being part of the team bringing the Business Literacy Skills Pocketbook to life; which has helped show the impact Librarians can have as joint educators supporting the learning outcomes of our WSU students and beyond.

Karen Sheehy

Karen Sheehy transitioned to librarianship in 2016 and has worked with Paul Jewell to support the School of Business as the Academic Services Librarian until 2023. She is focussed on enhancing educational resources through effective learning design and innovative information practices.

Currently, Karen is the Research Data Consultant, supporting Western Sydney University’s researchers to achieve maximum impact from their research data.

This Business Literacy Skills Pocketbook resource reflects the evolving nature of Library services and highlights the important role of librarians in facilitating access to information and supporting knowledge creation in academic settings.

Todd Hillsley

Todd has worked in the library and information sector for the last 12 years at Western Sydney University Library. Todd has held a number of positions within the academic library sector, becoming a librarian after graduating from Charles Sturt University in 2018. Todd is currently the Academic Services Librarian for the School of Business. Information Literacy, equitable access to information and the rise of Generative AI are all current passions of Todd’s.

If not helping WSU Business students in library literacy he can be found bushwalking trails through Kuring-Gai National Park or watching the Sydney Kings or the Lakers playing basketball. Todd is excited to be part of the Business Literacy Skills Pocketbook project and the outcomes it will bring for WSU students.