Digital Commons Network^™

Growing New Librarians Through Meaningful Internships, Nicole Lewis

Faculty Publications

Internships have the potential to be incredible learning experiences for students, but without thoughtful preparation, they may be nothing more than short-term jobs. Using a metadata internship as a case study, this presentation will discuss how using effective teaching and course design principles could create more thoughtful and meaningful internship experiences, specifically how crafting an internship objective and learning outcomes can help with creating content and learning activities that prepare interns for their hands-on projects. The result is an internship that combines theory and practice into a meaningful experience for the student and delivers needed work for the library.

The Imposter Among Us: How Imposter Syndrome Is Fueled By Diversity Discourses, Tina Liu

Urban Library Journal

In this paper, first presented at the 2023 LACUNY Institute, the author discusses definitions of imposter syndrome and how imposter syndrome fits within the diversity model. The diversity model, as used in this paper, emerges from an oversimplified framing of racial inequity as a problem that is solved by simply hiring diverse bodies to appear inclusive. In conjunction with the proliferation of imposter syndrome in post-secondary institutions, the ongoing phenomenon of imposter syndrome among librarians and academics reveals an underlying systemic problem rather than individual shortcomings. Workplace discomfort in post-secondary institutions is too easily brushed off as imposter syndrome, without …

The Fast And The Curious: Accelerating Literature Reviews With Ai, Jennifer Freer, Natalia Tingle Dolan, Gabrielle Wiersma

Presentations and other scholarship

As the world of academic research shifts gears into the digital age, AI-powered tools are beginning to shape the scholarly landscape. Just as high-performance vehicles transformed the world of car racing, AI-powered tools like scite, Elicit, and Research Rabbit have the potential to revolutionize the traditional literature review process. This presentation will accelerate your understanding of AI literature review tools and how these technologies can turbocharge the research process. Navigating between traditional library tools and AI-powered systems can be like choosing the right vehicle for the race. AI tools can enhance the speed, depth, and breadth of literature reviews, allowing …

Librarian Residency Programs: A Vital Solution For Increasing Representation In Academic Libraries, Aisha Johnson Phd, Alexandra Brinson, Kayleah Brown, Karen Manning, Estella Richardson

Georgia Library Quarterly

According to ALA’s 2017 demographic study, the profession is nearly completely White while society consists of a variety of cultures and communities. The lack of representation is a matter of exposure, strategic and diverse recruitment, and retention of professionals of color as well as those belonging to marginalized communities. Recruitment and retention are key, but we must recognize that retention is successful when focused on a person's development through mentoring, coaching, and other targeted measures like residency programs. This paper discusses the benefits of residency and fellowship programs as a retention tool when implemented with intention and authenticity.

Infopreneurship Skills As A Panacea For Sustainability Of Librarianship In The 21st Century, Fatima O. Momohjimoh Mrs

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

This paper discussed infopreneurship skills as a means toward achieving sustainability in librarianship. The excruciating economic reality prevalent in Nigeria today and globally has compelled librarians and other professional practitioners to consider other means of income to support salary paid job to survive in this era of economic quagmire and also sustain professional relevance in the 21^st century. Infopreneurship skills has been identify as skills required to boast economic of a nation and maintaining sustainability in Librarianship, with the advent of information communication technology (ICT) where information is gotten at the fingertip. This paper started with the introduction of …

Hidden Barriers: The Experience Of Academic Librarians And Archivists With Invisible Illnesses And/Or Disabilities, Katelyn Quirin Manwiller, Amelia Anderson, Heather Crozier, Samantha Peter

University Libraries Faculty Publications

This study documents the experience of, and identifies professional barriers for, academic librarians and archivists with invisible illnesses and/or disabilities. Results from a survey of MLIS-holding individuals in academic positions indicate that invisible illness or disability often impacts the ability to succeed at work, but many are reluctant to disclose or request accommodations to alleviate those disparities. Respondents reported barriers including professional repercussions for disclosure, difficulty during the hiring process, stigma from supervisors and colleagues after requesting accommodations, and an overall lack of understanding about invisible illness and disability in the profession.

W&L Law Library Annual Report 2022-2023, The Law Library At Washington And Lee University School Of Law

Law Library Annual Reports

No abstract provided.

Law Librarians, Let’S Talk About Book Banning, Olivia R. Smith Schlinck

Library Staff Online Publications

As seems to be the new normal, there is a lot happening in the news (*gestures vaguely around*). It’s easy to focus on a few issues at the expense of others or to get overwhelmed and check out entirely. But there is one issue that keeping tabs on feels like a professional obligation: book banning.

[Phi Delta Lambda Sponsored Session] "Scholar Adventures": Bibliographic Detective Work As An Academic Librarian, Emily Spunaugle, Karen Knudson

Scholar Week 2016 - present

Academic librarians support the research of their college or university community, but also conduct their own research. This presentation focuses on the intersection of the two, featuring the presenter's experience solving bibliographic mysteries of unique 18th century pamphlets and tracking down books heisted from her library 30 years ago.

Emily D. Spunaugle is Assistant Professor, Humanities and Rare Books Librarian at Oakland University in Rochester, MI. Her research is at the intersection of book history and women's writings of the long eighteenth century and appears in Papers of the Bibliographical Society of America, Romantic Circles, Libraries: Culture, History, and …

Let Your Library Shine: Creating A Student Newsletter To Raise The Profile Of An Academic Library, Jonathan R. Wilson, Lydia C. Gwyn

ETSU Faculty Works

Developed to raise the profile of the library among ETSU's student community, which is comprised of nearly 15,000 undergraduate and graduate students, The Sherrod Library Student Newsletter is released twice per semester and highlights library events, resources, and services that students may not otherwise know about. It is our library's hope that creating such a newsletter will increase student attendance at library events as well as increase the use of featured library resources and services. Join us as we discuss the steps and logistics of planning, creating, funding, and releasing a student newsletter.

Make An Institutional Repository With Zero Budget And Easy Steps On Google Scholar: An Innovative Approach For Library Professionals., Zameer Hussain Baladi

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

An institutional repository (IR) is a digital collection that archives and provides access to an institution's scholarly and creative output, such as a university, research organization, or museum. The purpose of an IR is to collect, preserve, and share the intellectual work of an institution, making it accessible to a wider audience. An IR typically includes research articles, conference papers, theses and dissertations, preprints, reports, datasets, multimedia, and other scholarly and creative works produced by faculty, staff, and students. An institutional profile in Google Scholar can function as an institutional repository. While it may not have all the features and …

A Body Without A Soul: Why Print Still Matters In Legal Research, Mari Cheney, Heather Simmons

Articles, Chapters and Online Publications

This article argues that print still has a place in legal research pedagogy and that some materials should still be collected in print in addition to online should the budget allow for it due to five primary reasons: (1) stability of legal information; (2) context; (3) information literacy; (4) algorithm bias; and (5) the discovery of information. Since many law library budgets are shrinking, there are creative ways for online legal publishers to make online material more print-like should libraries be unable to purchase both print and online material.

Imposter Syndrome In Academic Libraries: Indigenous Women Edition, Emilee Bews, Kaia Macleod, Bethany Paul

Urban Library Journal

This is a written proceeding of the LACUNY 2022 panel presentation “Imposter Syndrome in Academic Libraries: Indigenous Women Edition”. The authors discuss personal instances and feelings of the imposter phenomenon (also known as imposter syndrome) as it may relate to their Indigenous identities. Additionally, the authors describe how imposter syndrome may affect their ability to be successful in their careers, and the internal pressure they feel to present a more Indigenous identity (whatever that may entail) for scholarship and positions. The authors also share their experiences with external pressures to exhibit a more “stereotypical Indigenous” appearance for the sake of …

Taking Advantage Of Opportunities For Informal Leadership, Linda Miles, Susanne Markgren

Publications and Research

We contend that informal leadership (IL)—the type that does not come from an official title or decree—not only helps our organizations function, it can be vital in helping mid-career academic librarians grow and succeed, and such pursuits should be encouraged and supported no matter where they emerge within an organizational structure. We aim to define and explore IL and provide strategies for mid-career librarians who may want to identify, seek out, and step into IL opportunities. We begin our discussion by considering concepts emerging from the literature on leaders and leadership in general and what it means to lead when …

An Asynchronous, Virtual Lab Course Model Using The Framework To Reshape Student Responses To Media Narratives, Jonathan H. Harwell, Deborah Prosser

Library Faculty Scholarship

This chapter describes a lab course redesigned by two librarians in a small liberal arts college. The course is tied to an undergraduate methods course, "Research, Media, Culture," in a Critical Media & Cultural Studies program. The lab had previously been taught as a synchronous course over three weeks. As a response to lower enrollments in the major, as well as the virtual teaching mode for the main course, we adapted the lab component into a six-week asynchronous course pilot with a goal of delving more deeply into information literacy pedagogy than the previous course format allowed. We also embedded …

Coping With Constant Obsolescence: A Lifelong Task, Di Su

Publications and Research

Knowledge and skill obsolescence is a common obstacle in individual, organization, and society development. Thanks to the modern technologies, the rate of obsolescence accelerates rapidly in the information age. In the library workplace, obsolescence occurs constantly. We may be used to routines, but changes are inevitable as we have witnessed the evolution in library services and librarian workplace since the advent of the internet. To cope with obsolescence, it is crucial to have a lifelong learning mindset, make it a habit, and find ways to update our knowledge and skills to stay competent and serve the clientele effectively.

“You Can't Self-Care Your Way Out Of A Broken System”: The 2022 Urban Libraries Trauma Forum, Leah T. Dudak, Lauren Comito, Christian Zabriskie

School of Information Studies - Post-doc and Student Scholarship

The Urban Libraries Trauma Study (ULTS) conducted by Urban Librarians Unite (ULU) examines trauma that urban public library workers experience in the workforce through their work with the public and interlibrary relationships. Drawing on interviews, focus groups, and a trauma forum, this paper discusses the problem of trauma in the library. It demonstrates a grounded way to engage library staff in research and change. Finally, this paper concludes with ideas proposed by the forum participants to begin addressing trauma in the library workplace and provide areas to look to going forward.

The Order Of Success: A Slow Path To Copyright Librarianship, Leetta M. Schmidt

Tampa Library Faculty and Staff Publications

No faculty lines were open when I graduated with my MLS at the library where I was employed as a staff member, but I was able to take advantage of organizational restructuring to obtain a management position over interlibrary loan. My department head at the time was assigned with providing copyright assistance. I seized the opportunity to learn more while I searched for a position that required my degree. I was supported while pursuing continuing education in copyright. I was also given increasing responsibilities that I suspected were beyond my rank. My eagerness to develop a professional skill set had …

Proactive Librarians, An Annoying Chat Widget, & A Global Pandemic: Analysis Of How An Existing Pop-Up Chat Widget Delivered Point Of Need Reference Services During A Global Pandemic At A Major Academic Institution, Christopher M. Jimenez

Works of the FIU Libraries

In 2019, the librarians at Florida International University in Miami, Fl. implemented a pop-up chat widget using Springshare’s LibChat software to help drive more traffic toward virtual reference services. This led to an instant increase in traffic through our chat platform. Affectionately called the Annoying Chat Widget, the ACW also had the unintended success of increasing the percentage of quality research queries, improving the use of librarian time and effort. This established service proved vital when transitioning to fully remote services in March 2020, when librarians were forced to provide all services via virtual modalities. The poster presents a statistical …

2021 Scholarship For Diversity In Librarianship Recipients, Cathi Mack, Megan Palmer

South Carolina Libraries

At the annual South Carolina Library Association conference, students are honored that received a Scholarship for Diversity in Librarianship. There were six library school students that received the 2021 scholarship.

Peer Reference & Beyond: Cultivating Community In An Information Literacy Program, Lydia C. Gwyn

ETSU Faculty Works

In 2017 the Sherrod Library at East Tennessee State University created the Library Ambassador Program as a peer-reference model of service for research help. Since that time, our program has grown into a large close-knit community of undergraduate students invested in forwarding information literacy across campus. Learn about how this unique program fosters a sense of community among the student workers it employs and throughout the larger college campus community.

Double The Vocation, Double The Awe: An Examination Of Vocational Awe In Music Librarianship, Z. Sylvia Yang, Emily Vickers

Library Faculty publications

Building upon Ettarh’s call to dismantle vocational awe in librarianship, this article outlines the shared components of Western libraries and Western music that lay the groundwork for vocational awe in each of these institutions and explores the ways in which vocational awe uniquely manifests for workers in the interdisciplinary field of music librarianship. The article explores the narrative of music’s goodness, disciplinary training, and manifestations of vocational awe as they appear in the institutional cultures of practice of music and librarianship: inability to develop work-life balance, job creep, low morale, and inequitable compensation. In naming this phenomenon as it is …

Informed By Joy: A Christian Librarian's Reflection On C.S. Lewis, David H. Michels

Articles, Book Chapters, & Popular Press

In Surprised by Joy C. S. Lewis offers us his account of his conversion to Christianity. Using his experiences of joy as “signposts,” he leads us through his early life up to his conversion at age thirty-one. I reflect on Lewis’s account as a librarian, researcher, and fellow Christian, considering his information world and the people who aided and hindered him on his faith journey. I conclude with some thoughts on his and my own conversion, as both unique yet shared experiences within the Christian tradition.

"Real joy seems to me almost as unlike security or prosperity as it is …

From Host To Home: Reflections On Institutional Readiness, Denisse Solis, Carrie L. Forbes, Jack M. Maness

University Libraries: Faculty Scholarship

The creation of library residency programs, intended to diversify the library profession, has increased significantly over the last two years; for example, institutional membership in the ACRL Diversity Alliance grew from 36 to 53 from 20171 to 2019.2 As Dr. Alston notes in his research, “Diversity residency programs have become a popular way for academic libraries to demonstrate a commitment to diversity initiatives and to recruit and retain practitioners of color.”3 However, many host institutions and librarians rarely make significant efforts to deconstruct whiteness within themselves and at the organizational level.

This chapter is a reflective case study of the …

Indigenisation Of Nigerian Librarianship Through Indigenous Knowledge: Exploring Its Possibilities, Abdulakeem Sodeeq Sulyman,, Basirat Omolara Amzat, Muritadho Abiodun Taiwo

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

Knowledge cannot be separated from the people holding it and the best way to make it appreciated is to present it in a way that represents the beliefs, customs and norms of its origin. This submission makes this paper attempts to find the perfect word between indigenisation and decolonisation as a way of developing Indigenous Librarianship in Nigeria. It settles for indigenisation because indigenisation focuses on the exploitation of the native, local resources to create, share, transform and retain knowledge. It ponders on the historical antecedents of Librarianship in Nigeria to proof that the Nigerian library practices were purely nurtured …

Justification Of Manual Classification Of Information Resource In Ict Age In Nigeria, Marcus Oladotun Aragabye

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

The purpose of this study is to emphasize the reasons why manual classification of information materials should not be abandoned in current ICT era, particularly in Nigeria. Libraries are no exception to ICT applications, and we can observe how they have already altered library services and activities. Also, Information Technology (IT) has made it presence in almost every sphere of human activity including the library practice but to have fully automated classification scheme is yet to be implemented. Library operation, such as cataloging, reference service, and the rest has a feel of this. For example, ICT has incorporated copy cataloguing …

Gender Differences In Information Literacy Self-Efficacy Among Academic Librarians In Federal University Libraries In South-East Nigeria, Osita Victor Ossai Dr

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

The study investigated gender differences in information literacy self-efficacy among academic librarians working in federal university libraries in South-east Nigeria. The descriptive survey research design was used in this study. Using purposive sampling, twenty academic librarians were selected for the study. The Information Literacy Self-Efficacy Scale (ILSES) was used to obtain the data. In total, there are 28 items on the scale, which has a high Cronbach Alpha reliability score of 0.91. In this scale, seven sub-dimensions are measured extensively. To analyze the data, percentages, means, standard deviations, t-tests, and Lavene's tests were used. In terms of mean ratings, male …

Do I Belong? Imposter Syndrome In Times Of Crisis, April K. Anderson-Zorn

Faculty and Staff Publications – Milner Library

While not a new phenomenon, impostor syndrome is still a relatively new topic among library professionals. Though prior studies for other professions exist, impostor syndrome in the library profession was not extensively researched until 2014. As the world fights the current global pandemic, new questions about impostor syndrome and work-from-home strategies arise. This article reviews the early history of impostor syndrome research, explores impostor syndrome research related to library professionals and work during an ongoing public health emergency, considers ways to combat the phenomenon, and suggests next steps.

The ‘Workflow Librarian’ Reaching Library Users Where They Are, Matthew Hayes, Rebecca Blakiston, Aaron Tay, Roger Schonfeld

Research Collection Library

How do libraries add value for patrons increasingly working outside library-preferred workflows (e.g. searching via Google Scholar), and accessing the library’s collection off-campus? This is a question of profound relevance to all library stakeholders – librarians, publishers, and patrons alike – and one that must be addressed to maintain mission relevance. It will mean finding new ways of service delivery and service provision that support learning and research not just remotely, but outside library-preferred workflows. It will mean putting the library ‘in the life of the user’ by designing library services that ‘surface content in the places where users actually …

Understanding The Competencies Of Library And Information Science Professionals: An Analytical Review, Tumpa Saha, Tapan Barui Dr.

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

Knowledge plays a strategically important role to success and continuous growth of our life. In information exposition coupled with the electronic or virtual era has brought a great change to libraries and its working environment. In today’s working environment the role of libraries and librarians changed from storehouse of information caretaker to information manager and at the same time the forms and distribution of information also took a new shape in a new way. This is due to the advancement of ICT as well as contemporary societal need. Due to this change, library and information science professionals also need a …