Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Beyond “No”: Best Practices For Responding To Resource Requests, Kerry Wu

Library Faculty Publications and Presentations

At a recent BRASS Virtual Discussion, business librarians commiserated over the shared frustration of having to say “no” regularly to resource requests (RUSA_BRASS, n.d.). As a midcareer business librarian, I still feel the discomfort after having said “no” numerous times. In this article, I will share some of the practices I have found helpful in responding to requests from business faculty for new databases or journals, especially when I have to say “no” without burning bridges.

Hot Neoliberal Commodities Or Tools For Empowerment? A Badges Case Study And Conversation, Emily Ford, Jost Lottes, Betty Izumi, Dawn Richardson

Library Faculty Publications and Presentations

In Fall term of 2014, three instructors of Portland State University’s School of Community Health, in collaboration with the school’s subject librarian, deployed digital badges to certify information literacy and critical thinking outcomes in their classes. The badge curriculum, which was developed by mapping library learning outcomes to course learning outcomes, was designed to teach and assess students’ understanding of and skills acquisition in website evaluation, information formats, database searching, citing and plagiarism, and contributing knowledge to the information landscape. Badges were issued using Credly, and before and after the term, students were asked to provide feedback about their learning …

To Badge Or Not To Badge? From “Yes” To “Never Again”, Emily Ford

Library Faculty Publications and Presentations

This opinion essay does not present badging best practices or a discussion of badging procedures. Rather, it presents my personal, theoretical views as to why I will not use badges again. Reflecting over the past three years, I have realized that our use of badges re-created and reinforced traditional powers structures in the classroom. I now view badges as a symptom of a systemic and insidious problem in higher education: neoliberalism.

Leveraging Adult Learning Theory With Online Tutorials, Rebecca Halpern, Chimene Tucker

Library Instruction West 2014

Adult learners are a quickly growing population on university campuses. While there is a fair amount of research on the differences in adult learning pedagogies, most information literacy literature focuses on undergraduate skills and competencies. At the same time, more and more adult learners are harnessing the flexibility of online programs to get their degrees. How can we best leverage what we know about adult learning theories with sustainable, scalable, and engaging online learning modules?
Rebecca Halpern is the librarian for the online Master of Social Work program at the University of Southern California. One of her biggest projects is …

Badge It! Using Digital Badges To Certify Information Literacy Skills Within Disciplinary Curriculum, Emily Ford, Betty T. Izumi, Jost Lottes, Dawn Richardson

Library Instruction West 2014

Purpose – The purpose of this article is to discuss the collaborative learning outcomes-based approach taken by a librarian and disciplinary faculty members to improve information literacy (IL) curriculum within disciplinary courses. To this end, the team aimed to award badges to certify IL skills.

Design/methodology/approach – This article considers relevant literature on competency-based curriculum, technological innovation in higher education, collaboration between library and disciplinary faculty and badges. This literature is used to frame the approach to plan a successful and sustainable project to embed IL in disciplinary curriculum using digital badges. The approach includes mapping learning outcomes and engaging …

Badge It! Using Digital Badges To Certify Information Literacy Skills Within Disciplinary Curriculum, Emily Ford, Jost Lottes, Betty T. Izumi, Dawn Richardson

Library Instruction West 2014

As technology in higher education rapidly changes, new pedagogical tools are being tested, developed, and implemented. Digital badges systems are one such tool that can be used to certify student skills and competencies, including information literacy skills. Despite new teaching technologies and pedagogical approaches, it remains difficult for instruction librarians to lead experimentation. As a result, librarians depend on collaborative relationships with disciplinary faculty to experiment with pedagogies and tools like badging. At Portland State University, however, librarians are leading a collaborative digital badges project with Community Health Faculty to develop, deliver, assess, and track student achievements in information literacy. …

Teaching “Format As A Process” In An Era Of Web-Scale Discovery, Kevin Seeber

Library Instruction West 2014

Purpose- Advancements in online discovery require academic librarians to develop new means of teaching and assessing information literacy, with an emphasis on having students employ critical thinking to evaluate sources.

Design/methodology/approach- This conceptual paper analyzes how the threshold concept “format as a process” could be incorporated into information literacy instruction sessions which address web-scale discovery services and other online search tools. General guidelines for applying this concept are included, along with potential classroom activities and assessments.

Findings- Format as a process provides a valuable framework for evaluating information, though librarians need to be mindful of how they present the concept …

Let Wikipedia Through The Gates!: A Trojan Horse Approach To Information Literacy, John Thomas Oliver

Library Instruction West 2014

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate which learning targets can be achieved by using Wikipedia as a tool for teaching information literacy within the context of brief one-shot library instruction sessions.

Design/methodology/approach – In this case study, a Wikipedia-editing activity was incorporated into 2-hour one-shot instruction sessions. A variety of qualitative data were collected during these sessions: Student reflections during a facilitated discussion, student responses to exit-survey questions and instructor observations about the extent to which students completed Wikipedia-editing tasks.

Findings – Students found Wikipedia-editing activities and Wikipedia-related discussions engaging, and as a result they seemed …

Piloting A Blended Model For Sustainable Il Programming, Jody Nelson, Joan Morrison, Lindsey Whitson

Library Instruction West 2014

Purpose – This paper aims to describe the MacEwan University Library’s successful pilot of a fully blended information literacy (IL) instruction program for first-year English courses. Development, implementation and assessment of the pilot prior to full implementation are discussed.

Design/methodology/approach – The new sustainable blended model for the English Library Instruction Program reduced duplication of content and effort, incorporated online and in-person instruction and promoted self-directed learning opportunities through a new Learning Commons. This model places essential instruction online while maintaining personal relationships for students with the English Librarian and the Library through multiple points of interaction. Face-to-face instruction efforts …

Learning Information Literacy Through Drawing, David Brier, Vicky Lebbin

Library Instruction West 2014

Drawing is an excellent lo-fi teaching method for students to interact with and demonstrate their competence (or ignorance) of information literacy concepts beyond traditional text dominated methods. This program explores the use of drawing as a tool to teach library instruction and information literacy. This includes examples of drawing exercises and an examination of student illustrations made in library instruction workshops. Attendees will work together on a hands-on drawing exercise. Participants will:

• Be able to describe the opportunities and challenges of drawing activities in library instruction workshops

• Be able to design drawing activities for their own workshops

The …

Sustainable Decision Making For Emerging Educational Technologies In Libraries, Richard Hayman, Erika E. Smith

Library Instruction West 2014

Purpose – The purpose of this article is to discuss approaches to sustainable decision-making for integrating emerging educational technologies in library instruction while supporting evidence-based practice (EBP).

Design/methodology/approach – This article highlights recent trends in emerging educational technologies and EBP and details a model for supporting evidence informed decision-making. This viewpoint article draws on an analysis of recent literature, as well as experience from professional practice.

Findings – Authors discuss the need for sustainable decision-making that addresses a perceived lack of evidence surrounding emerging technologies, a dilemma that many library educators and practitioner-researchers will have faced in their own library …

Flashlight: Using Bizup’S Beam To Illuminate The Rhetoric Of Research, Kate Rubick

Library Instruction West 2014

Purpose: This paper demonstrates how a librarian at a liberal arts college partnered with a professor of rhetoric and media studies to teach methods students to classify sources using Bizup’s BEAM.

Design/ Methodology Approach: Students in rhetorical criticism, read the Bizup article on BEAM. The library instruction included a discussion of the article and an application exercise where students classified cited references in a peer reviewed journal article using BEAM.

Findings: BEAM was a valuable addition to the rhetorical criticism course. The application exercise used in the library instruction session introduced BEAM as a tool to use in reading and …

Still Relevant After All These Years, Eleanor Mitchell, Sarah Barbara Watstein

Library Instruction West 2014

A brief editorial that provides background and introductions to the collection of papers that comprise this special issue of Reference Services Review.

Library Instruction West 2014: Open, Sustainable Instruction, Joan Petit, Sara Thompson

Library Instruction West 2014

Editorial by Joan Petit and Sara Thompson that reflects on the history of the Library Instruction West conference, the current group of presenters and their research interests, and plans for future conferences.

Giving Games The Old College Try, Amy R. Hofer

Library Faculty Publications and Presentations

Based on evidence that games might help students get more engaged in my online class, I decided to overcome my skepticism and road-test two information literacy games. First I tried BiblioBouts, which uses the online citation management tool Zotero to integrate gaming into a research paper assignment that is already part of the course syllabus. Students have to set up Zotero accounts and log into the game’s online platform to play and see their scoreboard; the technology requirements were too much for my class and the experiment didn’t feel successful. The following year I tried a comparatively low-tech game that …

Interinstitutional Library Collaboration: Support For A Joint Master Of Public Health Program, Emily Ford, Laura Zeigen

Library Faculty Publications and Presentations

Library-related and resource access issues confronting students enrolled in an inter-institutional joint master’s degree program in public health are addressed in this chapter. It details a cross-institutional collaborative effort to identify and provide research resources to inter-institutional joint degree students and faculty and analyzes the program through the lens of literature on collaboration in higher education and in library instruction. Reports on findings from qualitative feedback and quantitative card sort analysis data were gathered to inform development of content for, and organization of, a library research guide. Bureaucratic structures and policies often affect library services to students and faculty in …

The Balanced Scorecard: A Systemic Model For Evaluation And Assessment Of Learning Outcomes?, Thomas Bielavitz

Library Faculty Publications and Presentations

The goal of this paper is to explore using Kaplan and Norton's balanced scorecard methodology as a systemic model for outcomes assessment. The expectations of academic accrediting agencies have shifted from measurement of inputs and outputs to that of the library's impact on learning and demonstrating accountability. Recent literature has presented methods for performing specific aspects of outcomes assessment. However, the scorecard methodology may provide a systemic advantage beneficial to library administrators and managers. Methods -- This paper provides a selective review of outcomes assessment in academic libraries and a description of the balanced scorecard methodology, focusing on its relevance …