Education Commons^™

Interactive Whiteboards In Library Instruction: Facilitating Student Engagement And Active Learning, Maureen Richards, Marta Bladek, Karen Okamoto

Publications and Research

Determined to keep up with the ever-changing instructional trends, academic libraries have been quick to adopt emerging teaching and learning technologies. Recent literature features many examples of technologies that have found a place in libraries’ instructional programs: learning management systems, clickers, online tutorials, reference chats, and mobile devices, to mention the most popular ones. Curiously enough, despite their popularity in business and K-12 contexts, interactive whiteboards (IWBs) are rarely discussed in the context of academic libraries’ efforts to embrace innovative teaching methods. This article addresses this omission. Present-day IWBs have evolved to include features that accommodate a variety of teaching …

“There Is Nothing Inherently Mysterious About Assistive Technology”: A Qualitative Study About Blind User Experiences In Us Academic Libraries, Adina Mulliken

Publications and Research

Eighteen academic library users who are blind were interviewed about their experiences with academic libraries and the libraries’ websites using an open-ended questionnaire and recorded telephone interviews. The study approaches these topics from a user-centered perspective, with the idea that blind users themselves can provide particularly reliable insights into the issues and potential solutions that are most critical to them. Most participants used reference librarians’ assistance, and most had positive experiences. High-level screen reader users requested help with specific needs. A larger number of participants reported contacting a librarian because of feeling overwhelmed by the library website. In some cases, …

Situating Information Literacy In The Disciplines: A Practical And Systematic Approach For Academic Librarians, Robert Farrell, William Badke

Publications and Research

Purpose – The purpose of this article is to consider the current barriers to situating in the disciplines and to offer a possible strategy for so doing.

Design/methodology/approach – The paper reviews current challenges facing librarians who seek to situate information literacy in the disciplines and offers and practical model for those wishing to do so. Phenomenographic evidence from disciplinary faculty focus groups is presented in the context of the model put forward.

Findings – Disciplinary faculty do not have generic conceptions of information literacy but rather understand information-related behaviors as part of embodied disciplinary practice.

Practical implications – Librarians …

Academic Library Services For Users With Developmental Disabilities: Partnership Of Access And Syracuse University Libraries, Adina Mulliken, Ann Atkins

Publications and Research

Syracuse University Library and Access partnered to provide library orientations to six Syracuse University students who have developmental disabilities. Access is a service that supports college course attendance for students who have developmental or cognitive disabilities. Students with developmental disabilities are being included in college life more and more. As this occurs, academic libraries will be providing more services to this population. We hope Syracuse University’s experience will be useful for other libraries to build on as they develop services. Additionally, we discuss opportunities to improve services for all students by focusing on students with developmental disabilities.