Digital Commons Network^™

"I Don't Think Librarians Can Save Us": The Material Conditions Of Information Literacy Instruction In The Misinformation Age, Amber Willenborg, Robert Detmering

Faculty Scholarship

This national qualitative study investigates academic librarians’ instructional experiences, views, and challenges regarding the widespread problem of misinformation. Findings from phenomenological interviews reveal a tension between librarians’ professional, moral, and civic obligation to address misinformation and the actual material conditions of information literacy instruction, which influence and often constrain librarians’ pedagogical and institutional roles. The authors call for greater professional reflection on current information literacy models that focus on achieving ambitious educational goals but which may be unsuitable for addressing the larger social and political crisis of misinformation.

Academic Instruction Librarians’ Conceptions Of Teacher Agency And Affective Orientations Toward The Concept, Andrea Baer

Libraries Scholarship

This article reports on findings of an online survey on academic instruction librarians’ conceptions and experiences of teacher agency in the context of their instruction work and, more specifically, on their affective orientations (positive, ambivalent, or negative emotions and feelings) toward teacher agency. Two key dimensions of participants’ conceptions of teacher agency are evident throughout this analysis: 1) views of teacher agency as an individual experience of autonomy (individual agency) and/or views of it as more relational and interactive (and thus potentially collective), and 2) beliefs about the feasibility of librarians’ teacher agency, given librarians’ roles and positions as educators. …

A Journey Through The Library, Anne Hays Adkison

Open Educational Resources

This chapter describes core services in a library by imagining a narrative tour of the physical space of the library. Students are invited to download and print an accompanying zine, which takes them on a scavenger hunt through the library. By reading about core services and actively using these services, students will learn the basics of how to use their college library.

Topics covered include: the circulation desk, the reference desk, textbook reserves, the reference reading room, library computers, library archives, media services, exhibition spaces.

Meaningful Work When Work Won't Love You Back: Sociological Imagination And Reflective Teaching Practice (Reports From The Field), Andrea Baer

Libraries Scholarship

This essay explores the tension between pursuing meaningful work in instruction librarianship and the realities of working in a society in which many jobs provide little fulfillment or pleasure, or, as the journalist Sarah Jaffe puts it, “Work won’t love you back.” Drawing on a recent conference keynote by Anne Helen Petersen, C. Wright Mills’s conception of sociological imagination, and an ecological model of teacher agency, I propose that one way librarians can sustain their teaching practices and preserve their well-being is by actively investigating how social structures and relationships influence their teaching roles.

Are We Teaching Critical Information Literacy Asynchronously?: A Content Analysis Of Digital Learning Objects In Open Repositories., Tessa Withorn

Faculty Scholarship

Get ready for new ideas for how to incorporate critical information literacy into your asynchronous online instruction! It’s time to go beyond teaching simply how to find, use, evaluate, and cite information to explore the social construction and political dimensions of information. Digital learning objects (DLOs) such as videos, interactive tutorials, and online modules are a great way to expand on these information literacy concepts. This content analysis of publicly available DLOs in open repositories reports on what information literacy topics librarians are currently teaching and highlights exemplary DLOs that cover concepts related to critical information literacy.

Glow Up Your Youtube Playlist: Video Bangers, Branding And More Educational Technology, Aamir Abdullah, Havilah Joy-Steinmen Bakken, Rachel Evans, Valerie Horton, Jason Tubinis

Articles, Chapters and Online Publications

Tips for creating, growing, and maintaining your institution's YouTube channel and presence.

February 2023 Table Of Contents Newsletter - Library Instruction, Tiffany Hebb, Kayla Birt Flegal

Table of Contents Newsletter

Dean's Preface: The semester is underway! Roy O. West Library has reopened and students are finding their place(s) to study, read, and write. It's been fun to see them tucked in every nook and to help several find books on the shelves. While library services remained available, with alteration, during the pandemic and renovation, it is clear how much we all missed the main campus library. This issue highlights our library instruction program and the ways we help students learn to use the many resources and services the libraries provide. We are excited to bring classes into the library (Roy …

Culturally Responsive One-Shots Flowing From Institutional Data, Hope Y. Kelly Phd

VCU Libraries Faculty and Staff Presentations

Explore how aggregated institutional data can inform culturally responsive instructional design and delivery through a case from a public, urban, minority-serving institution.

Virginia Commonwealth University’s Office of Strategic Enrollment Management and Student Success annually shares a “Freshman Profile” that helps instructors gain insight into the student population we see in our library instruction sessions. This descriptive data paints a general picture of our first year students while maintaining individual privacy. This information is used to design and develop culturally responsive one-shot instruction that is in dialogue with race, gender, economics, family educational experience, academic preparedness and motivation, and social factors. …

The Feminist First-Year Seminar: Using Critical Pedagogy To Design A Mandatory Information Literacy Course, Heather Campbell

Western Libraries Publications

No abstract provided.

Library Curriculum As Epistemic Justice: Decolonizing Library Instruction Programs, Heather Campbell, Dan Sich

Western Libraries Publications

Information literacy scholars and leaders are calling for the decolonization of library instruction, knowing that our work helps to maintain colonial systems. While there is no checklist or road map to program decolonization, academic libraries and instruction teams must start the work anyway. This article shares the story of curriculum decolonization at Western Libraries, so far, including the decolonization ‘cycle’ we followed and our resulting six learning outcomes. Grounded in epistemic justice, our new curriculum prioritizes living beings over information, and uses a broad, inclusive definition of knowledge throughout. Librarians at Western University acknowledge that the first step in decolonization …

The 1-2-3 Of Market Research For Business Startups: A Case Study In Library Instruction, Daniel S. Lê, Marie-Louise Watson

University Library Faculty Publications

This article describes a practical way to teach student entrepreneurs to search and use market data for business startup plans. The conventional way of teaching students to find articles and business intelligence based on a class assignment can be challenging for many students without an academic business background. This library instruction approach sequentially uses three databases enriched with business data and infographics to support the development of critical thinking for student entrepreneurs. It teaches entrepreneurial personality support, analysis, visualization, and market mapping.

The Effects Of Information Literacy Instruction On Business Students’ Job Readiness, Daniel S. Le, Adrienne Graham, Jeremy Walker, Marie-Louise Watson

University Library Faculty Publications

The purpose of this study is to examine college student perceptions of information literacy instruction and to what extent library instruction influences students’ attitudes in their business research during their job-readiness training through the Panthers Advanced Career Experience (PACE). The findings suggest that library instruction intervention positively influenced and increased confidence in completing the information research for their client-based consultation projects

Meeting The Needs Of Online Students Through Creative Reimagining And Collaboration With Instructors, Jenn Monnin, Beth Nardella

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

This chapter presents a case study where a Health Sciences Librarian and an Exercise Physiology Professor at an R1 University transformed two library instruction sessions into one graded online assignment. Successful student outcomes proved the asynchronous online method worth continuing for future courses regardless of class format.

The typical instruction methods and experimental modifications made to accommodate remote learning demanded by the COVID-19 pandemic and online course sections will be presented in this chapter. Student learning outcomes will be examined followed by a discussion of best practices discovered during the project. A final recommendation will be made for librarian and …

Are Infographics Worth It?: An Assessment Of Information Retention In Relation To Information Embedded In Infographics, Z. Sylvia Yang, Jessica A. Abbazio

Library Faculty publications

Infographics are an effective means to communicate with audiences, draw attention, and make concepts digestible in a quick and straightforward way. This study explores students’ opinions on infographics used in library instruction, and provides quantitative data to help librarians determine whether these tools will help students engage with text and retain key concepts. Based on research conducted with undergraduate music students at two universities, DePauw University and the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, this paper examines how students understand and interact with content embedded in infographics, and measures retention of information presented in either plain-text or infographic form.

Evaluating Sources - Laguardia Cc Library, Ian Mcdermott

Open Educational Resources

This presentation is used with students for evaluating sources. It covers the differences between popular, scholarly, and news articles. The information cycle is used to inform students about how and why topics are covered in different publications. The presentation ends with an activity where students read a snippet from a publication and are asked to guess the source.

Health Sciences First Year Seminar Library Lesson Plan (Hsf90), Ian Mcdermott

Open Educational Resources

This lesson plan, and accompanying slides, is for the library instruction session for HSF90, LaGuardia Community College's health sciences first year seminar course. The lesson details the importance of college-level research for students who will enter various health sciences professions. The lesson also covers the importance of citation in academic research, covering what to cite and how to do it using library subscription databases.

From Common Cartridge To Canvas Commons - Integrating Library Instruction In Course Sites, Hope Y. Kelly Phd

VCU Libraries Faculty and Staff Presentations

The poster highlights unique file formats for sharing across learning management systems. A case is presented of an online module for an undergraduate research course that was first developed in 2019. Over the following two years, the module gained traction but required adjustments to be adopted more broadly. Barriers to adoption and mechanisms that have contributed to improved uptake are highlighted with an emphasis on flexibility for faculty in how they access the module and connect the instruction to their course outcomes.

Making Memes: Teaching Visual Literacy In A (Fun) Remote Environment, Jillian M. Ewalt, Bridget Retzloff

Roesch Library Faculty Presentations

How can you use humor to relieve pandemic fatigue while teaching visual literacy? At the University of Dayton, librarians developed an asynchronous session on visual literacy and internet memes. The session introduced students to fair use, public domain and Creative Commons images and tools for determining how they could be remixed or reused. The interactive tutorial included an active learning component where students created their own fun and lighthearted memes. Memes were shared with permission via the library’s social media channels and not only showcased student work but built community through humor in spite of pandemic isolation. This poster covers …

Primo's Newspapers Search: Identifying Authentic News Articles In The 21st Century, Kimberly Willson-St. Clair

Library Faculty Publications and Presentations

After assessing 60 sophomores' ability to identify news articles, I started a pedagogical journey to address how students can identify and evaluate authentic journalism and news articles rather than blog posts, web sites, vlogs, or propaganda. This presentation covers my instructional shift; especially, in regards to turning on the Newspapers Search scope in Primo. Good journalism informs good citizenship, so I am particularly keen to improve the user's experience discovering the resource type, Newspapers, in Primo.

The Perceptions Of Academic Librarians On Their Role In Lifelong Learning, Self-Directed Learning And Heutagogy, Anna Ferri

Instructional Design Capstones Collection

This paper uses a qualitative methodology to explore the perceptions of academic librarian on the definition of lifelong learning and their roles in supporting lifelong learning. Existing research on the topic was aligned to the emergent educational model of heutagogy to identify key concepts including self-directed learning, learner agency, and the impact of technology. Heutagogy is a learning model focused on self-determined learning, often in a high technology environment, for mature learners who have high degrees of agency over the entire learning process including identifying learning goals and methods, locating resources, and designing assessments. Using loosely structured interviews of academic …

Building Virtual Community, Rachel S. Evans, Geraldine R. Kalim, Anne Burnett

Presentations

At the Alexander Campbell King Law Library we had to get creative in the ways we redesigned methods for communication, instruction, outreach, and wellness for the library's staff, faculty, and students in 2020. Those efforts continue into 2021, and we've learned a ton along the way. In this short lightning talk, we hope to share a variety of examples to illustrate how we work together to build community both virtually and at a distance. Attendees will hear about the technology deployed, quick tips for getting the most out of online events, ideas that worked well for us for specific groups …

Intimacy And Interruption In Remote Library Instruction, Leila Walker

Publications and Research

Sharing our spaces in synchronous instruction sessions does more than just show the places where research occurs. It creates an opportunity for students to see our vulnerabilities

Strengthening The Connections Between Library Instruction And Student Success, Lucinda R. Wittkower, Joleen Westerdale Mcinnis

Libraries Faculty & Staff Presentations

This poster will share the results from a three-year study that investigated correlations between student participation in library instruction and student academic achievement. Using rigorous research practice and acknowledging ethical concerns by use of an in-depth student consent process, the researchers will share their findings regarding the relationships that exist between student participation in library instruction and completion of course for which instruction was attended and the relationships between student participation in library instruction and their grade in course. Additionally, the researchers will share the unexpected, but interesting finding related to student withdrawal rates. Finally, the researchers will include information …

Information Literacy Reimagined: Deep Learning Practice, Kay Coates, Beverly A. King Miller

Library Faculty Presentations

Presentation given by Georgia Southern faculty member Kay Coates at the Georgia International Conference on Information Literacy.

Promoting information literacy synchronously and asynchronously, albeit concurrently in traditional classrooms, virtual and hybrid settings is fast becoming the norm. As such, reference and instruction librarians in responding to rapid changes occasioned by the pandemic shuffle could more intentionally incorporate certain pedagogical approaches to deliver library instruction. The intent is to attract and increase traffic in the information literacy arena, so to speak. One such user-centric approach to consider is deep learning. Operationalizing a deep learning methodology could engender the ultimate desired outcome …

Supporting School Readiness Through Librarian-Child Interactions In Public Library Storytimes: An Analysis Of Assessment Scores And Influential Factors, Maria Cahill, Hayley Hoffman, Erin E. Ingram, Soohyung Joo

Information Science Faculty Publications

A recent trend in public libraries′ children’s services emphasizes the role of promoting school readiness. In order to gain a deeper understanding of the school readiness efforts present in storytime programs, this study observed and scored 68 public library preschool storytime sessions presented by 35 storytime providers across three states using the CLASS (Classroom Assessment Scoring System) measure. The CLASS evaluates adult-child interactions in learning environments within three domains related to positive outcomes in children’s school readiness: emotional support, classroom organization, and instructional support. Additionally, the study examined whether differences among CLASS scores were influenced by the population density of …

Lessons We Learned In Moving Traditional Library Services To Synchronous And Asynchronous Delivery Online And Curbside, Barbara M. Pope

Faculty Submissions

It has long been a librarian role to provide access to books, serials, and media, as well as library instruction to support learning and access to information, whether in a K-12 school, college or university, or public library. Some materials and services, such as library instruction, have traditionally been available in the library only, but the world as we know is changing. Higher education’s movement towards online and hybrid learning has caused academic librarians to move their instruction online also. In addition, the COVID-19 pandemic caused libraries nationwide to shut down temporarily, while they identified and served their patrons’ needs. …

Role Of Library Instruction In Curbing Plagiarism Among Undergraduates Of University Of Ilorin, Nigeria, Olubukola Oluyemisi Ajiboye, Baheer Abiodun Basheer, Saheed Abiola Hamzat

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

The study investigated the role of library instruction in curbing plagiarism among undergraduates in University of Ilorin. The research design was descriptive survey .The research was guided by two questions and a hypothesis. It was a questionnaire based study. Purposive sampling technique and total enumeration were used to sample the respondents. The target population constituted 382 undergraduates but 235 copies of the questionnaire were found usable which represented 61.1% of the response rate. The findings from the study showed that there was no significant relationship between the attendance of library instruction and the knowledge of plagiarism among undergraduates. This was …

Teaching Undergraduates With Primary Sources 2020 Research Study Report, Jay-Marie Bravent, Deirdre Scaggs, Matthew Strandmark, Danielle Gabbard

Library Reports and White Papers

This report presents the findings of an exploratory examination of the pedagogical practices of social sciences and humanities instructors who teach undergraduates with primary sources at the University of Kentucky (UK). Conducted in December 2019 and January 2020 by a research team from the University of Kentucky Libraries Special Collections Research Center, the study reveals areas of success within existing programs and services, the benefits and drawbacks of teaching with digitized primary sources, as well as inherent pedagogical challenges to overcome. A list of recommendations based on the findings seeks to address these challenges and concludes the report. As part …

Four Health Science Librarians’ Experiences: How They Responded To The Covid-19 Pandemic Crisis, Misa Mi, Yingting Zhang, Lin Wu, Wendy Wu

Library Scholarly Publications

In this article, four health sciences librarians from four academic libraries across the country will share their personal or library experiences in reaching out to faculty and students to meet their needs through their initiatives and continuous efforts using various technologies and tools. Three of the four academic libraries are located in two COVID-19 hard-hit states, Michigan and New Jersey. The article will describe their practice of health sciences librarianship during the unprecedented time and provide examples demonstrating how each of them strives to stay relevant, proactive, and become integral to their institutional efforts in support of students and employees …

Teaching Wikipedia: A Model For Critical Engagement With Open Information, Amanda Koziura, Jennifer M. Starkey, Einav Rabinovich-Fox

Researchers, Instructors, & Staff Scholarship

In this chapter, the authors describe the learning experience and goals of a class assignment to write content for Wikipedia about women in science and technology fields. The authors, a university professor and two librarians, collaboratively developed this assignment to allow students to engage in rigorous research and contribute to the visibility of women scientists by writing content for the web. The authors chose the Wikipedia platform as the means to make the students work openly available because of its ubiquity and the potential for student work to make an important impact. The assignment, used in two iterations of the …