Digital Commons Network^™

Spanning Literacy Instruction: A Wikipedia Editing Assignment In An Upper-Level Biochemistry Course, Iris Finkel, Frida E. Kleiman

Publications and Research

The authors, a chemistry professor and a librarian, used a qualitative survey to assess student perceptions of a Wikipedia editing assignment that they included in a large upper-level biochemistry course. The assignment was initially intended as a public-facing alternative to a short research paper, emphasizing information literacy and scientific literacy. The goal of the survey was to use the results to enhance the assignment. The results of the survey and research for the literature review inspired a novel approach to the assignment using the perspective of metaliteracy. This approach encourages students to think critically about their role as scholars in …

Effects Of Library Workshop Attendance And Library Website Visit Frequency On Health Professions Students’ Libguides Awareness, John Carey, Ajatshatru Pathak, Sarah C. Johnson

Publications and Research

This research article examines data from an in-person 2017 survey on LibGuides usage, perceptions, and awareness of health professions students seeking bachelor and graduate level degrees. Almost 45% (n=20, N=45) of participants who visited the library’s website at least once per week indicated awareness of library-created LibGuides. Nearly 90% (n=8, N=9) of health professions students who had not visited the library’s website were unaware of the guides. The statistical analysis shows significant associations between various variables (academic level, library workshop attendance, research guide type usage, research guide page usage) and library guide awareness. The data did not reveal any significant …

Assessing The Impact Of An Information Literacy Course On Students' Academic Achievement: A Mixed-Methods Study, Wilma L. Jones, Tara Mastrorilli

Publications and Research

Objective – The aim of this study is to demonstrate the impact of a stand-alone, credit-bearing information literacy course on retention and GPA for students at an open access urban college.

Methods – Researchers conducted a mixed-methods study with a two-part focus. The first examined the impact of a credit-bearing course using propensity score matching (PSM) techniques to compare academic outcomes for students who participated in the course versus outcomes for similar students who did not enroll in the course. Multiple regression analyses were conducted to measure impact on GPA and performance in 100-level introductory English general education courses. Logistic …

Instructional Design With The Ice Approach In Academic Libraries: A Framework That Integrates Assessing, Learning, And Teaching, Junli Diao

Publications and Research

One-shot instruction in academic libraries is a librarian-controlled bibliographic instruction that responds to the point of information need for subject-related courses. The assessment of teaching effectiveness tends to take a summative approach, which provides an answer to what students learned but does not address how they learned. This column theoretically explores the framework of Ideas-Connections-Extensions (ICE) in library instruction and the classroom setting, which demonstrates learning outcomes and explores the learning journey, and integrates assessment, learning, and teaching through collaborative efforts by academic librarians and classroom faculty.

Getting To Work: Information Literacy Instruction, Career Courses, And Digitally Proficient Students, Alexandra Hamlett

Publications and Research

This article discusses how following graduation, students often enter the job market unprepared to find, evaluate, and use information in the digital environment effectively. Essentially, there is a disparity between the skills students attain in college coursework, including information literacy (IL) skills, and those required in the workplace, which impacts graduates’ success as new members of the labour market. The article highlights how collaboration between a librarian and an instructor of a career centered course influenced instructional design for IL instruction in their courses. Librarians and instructors will benefit from practical examples from Guttman Community College’s innovative IL Program and …

Information Literacy Session Attendance And Library Website Visit Frequency: Impacts On Awareness Of Libguides Among Undergraduate And Graduate Health Professions Students At An Urban Campus, John Carey, Ajatshatru Pathak, Sarah C. Johnson

Publications and Research

Public, large, non-residential four-year and master’s college with separate Health Professions Library (HPL) serving 1,300+ health professions students. The Hunter College Libraries offer over 180 LibGuides via the “Research Guides” link on library’s home page. HPL librarians teach one-shot and other information literacy (IL) sessions for students.

How Social Work Librarians Connect Social Justice To Information Literacy., Stephen Maher, Carin Graves, Sarah C. Johnson

Publications and Research

In this paper we, as members of the ACRL EBSS Social Work Committee,1 share our experience of developing a companion document to the ACRL Framework.2 Our overarching goal of this project is to clearly demonstrate the overlap between the ACRL Framework and social work’s educational competencies professional ethics. Over the course of this two-year project, we developed a fuller understanding of how social justice—and its corresponding concepts of diversity, equity, and inclusion—exist in both professions.

Community College Librarians And The Acrl Framework: Findings From A National Study, Susan T. Wengler, Christine Wolff-Eisenberg

Publications and Research

This study explored community college librarians’ engagement with the Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education. A national online survey with 1,201 community college librarian respondents reveals limited familiarity with and integration of the Framework into community college instruction to date. Findings indicate an openness to future adoption, as well as substantial interest in targeted professional development and a version of the Framework adapted for community college campuses. These results contribute benchmark instructional data on an understudied section of academic librarianship and add to the growing body of research on how librarians have updated teaching practices in response to …

Using Fan Studies To Put Information Literacy In Context: On Teaching A Credit Course With A Theme, Nancy M. Foasberg

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

Latino Students And The Academic Library: A Primer For Action, Marta Bladek

Publications and Research

As the growth in Latino college enrollment is expected to continue for years to come, academic libraries at Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs) and beyond will be serving increasing numbers of Hispanic students. Since Latino educational attainment remains lower than than of other groups and academic libraries’ impact on retention, GPA and related educational outcomes has been well documented, it is crucial that academic libraries actively foster Latino students’ success. A review of the literature on Hispanic students and library use, the article also includes recommendations for practice and offers a local example to illustrate strategies libraries may implement to better …

Comics, Questions, Action! Engaging Students And Instruction Librarians With The Comics-Questions Curriculum, Stephanie Margolin, Mason Brown, Sarah Laleman Ward

Publications and Research

In a four-session Summer Bridge programme, we experimented with new curricular and pedagogical ideas with a group of incoming freshmen. We developed the Comics-Questions Curriculum (CQC), which melds students’ question asking with a focus on comics. The purpose of this paper is to describe the rationale for and ongoing development of the CQC as well as the ways the CQC fosters engagement of students and librarians, builds upon students’ existing skills but propels them forward toward college-level work, and positions librarians as partners in students’ college work. Although it was designed for a specific purpose initially, the CQC in its …

Academic Libraries For Commuter Students: Research-Based Strategies, Mariana Regalado, Maura A. Smale

Publications and Research

This volume brings together research from multiple perspectives on the experiences of commuter college students in academic libraries. The majority of American college students are commuters and are more likely than residential students to have responsibilities apart from their roles on campus; the commute itself may impact the student experience. Each chapter is a case study of research on serving commuter students at a particular institution, encompassing a detailed description of the research methods used, analysis of what was learned during the research, and specific interventions or changes made in library services, resources, or facilities as a result. Taking into …

Podcasting As Pedagogy, Nora Almeida

Publications and Research

The podcast has become a pervasive mode of cultural knowledge production— at turns a public radio echo chamber, an alternative to old-fashioned reading, and a trendy vehicle for commentary, comedy, and news. While podcasting is not typically a medium associated with literacy, a podcast assignment presents an opportunity for instruction librarians to harness students’ interest in media production and embed critical digital and information literacy skills in their classrooms. Through podcasting, students actively engage in public cultural dialogues, create and share unique digital artifacts, leverage their previous experiences as “content consumers and producers,” and apply knowledge and skills they’ve learned …

Stages Of Instruction: Theater, Pedagogy And Information Literacy, Julia M. Furay

Publications and Research

The author uses personal observations as inspiration to examine what has been written in scholarly literature about various theatrical practices in instruction, applying the conversation to the library instruction context. Additionally, research from business and professional literature is also incorporated into the discussion. This literature review focuses on three general areas. First, a review on how to use tools and perspectives from the theater to help librarians prepare their lessons; second, an examination of the librarian as performer; and third, a discussion on how theater might help librarians deal with repetition and burnout.

Queering The Catalog: Queer Theory And The Politics Of Correction, Emily Drabinski

Publications and Research

Critiques of hegemonic library classification structures and controlled vocabularies have a rich history in information studies. This project has pointed out the trouble with classification and cataloging decisions that are framed as objective and neutral but are always ideological and worked to correct bias in library structures. Viewing knowledge organization systems from a queer perspective, however, challenges the idea that classification and subject language can ever be finally corrected. Engaging queer theory and library classification and cataloging together requires new ways of thinking about how to be ethically and politically engaged on behalf of marginal knowledge formations and identities who …

Critical Teaching In The Library, Alycia Sellie

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.