Library and Information Science Commons^™

From The Stacks To Student Success: Findings From A Study Of Faculty Perceptions Of Collection Development, Jessica L. Swaringen, Alyshia K. Bagley, Payton Sapp, James Mayes

Georgia International Conference on Information Literacy

Effective collection development is essential for a library’s ability to support the evolving needs of its academic community. Faculty perceptions of library resources will undoubtedly influence how students engage with and benefit from these collections. This research explores how faculty at Georgia Southern University (GS) Libraries understand collection development practices and how their views shape teaching, research, and collaboration with librarians.

Following a review of existing literature, a mixed-methods survey was distributed to faculty via email. The survey combined quantitative and qualitative questions to capture faculty attitudes toward library collections, their use in course curricula, and their role in supporting …

Empowering Research Topic Development With Generative Ai Prompts - A Pilot Study For First-Year Writing Students, Yanling Liu, Yan He

Georgia International Conference on Information Literacy

As generative AI tools like ChatGPT become increasingly embedded in academic and everyday contexts, educators have a timely opportunity to leverage these technologies to support foundational research skills. In general education writing courses, students participate in library sessions with librarians to support their research projects. A central challenge is formulating a focused and relevant research topic, as many struggle to identify and develop ideas and refine them into viable research topics that are suitable for college-level writing and align with assignment requirements. This study explores how generative AI tools - specifically ChatGPT - can be integrated into library instruction to …

Addressing The Pitfalls Of Misinformation In The Classroom Through Game Based Learning, Taylor S. Strong, Jerome Bingham

Georgia International Conference on Information Literacy

As instruction librarians we must strive to strengthen students' literacy when it comes to research. Only a 3rd of American high school students are graduating with the necessary reading and math skills needed for college-level classes. In conjunction with these low reading levels.The current and incoming students are a part of the Gen-Z or Zoomer generation.One of the largest problems Gen Z students face in their daily lives is combating misinformation. The University of Virginia in conjunction with the University of Cambridge conducted a recent study about generations and misinformation. Only 11% of 18 to 29 year olds earned a …

Leveling Up: Introducing High School Students To The College Library, Lisa Nichols, Helen E. Bischoff

Georgia International Conference on Information Literacy

For many high school students, visiting a college campus can inspire future aspirations and reduce anxiety by allowing them to visualize themselves as college students. This presentation highlights our experiences as academic librarians collaborating with local high school teachers and librarians to introduce students to the foundations of academic research and critical inquiry while also exposing them to both the college library and the campus environment. Through interactive workshops held on site in the high school library and then on a college campus in an academic library, students had the opportunity to engage with college-level research tools, explore the academic …

Fostering Agency In Future Educators: Redesigning Instruction For Children's Literature Discovery Amidst Policy Changes, Rae Mair

Georgia International Conference on Information Literacy

Recent changes in Florida policy led to the removal of several locally developed library resources. These resources had supported the discovery of children’s literature reflecting a range of cultural and social perspectives, along with the lesson plans created by students and faculty to accompany them. The shift placed greater emphasis on helping undergraduate teacher education students locate books on their own using advanced search strategies and available tools. Strengthening these skills has become increasingly important for supporting student agency in selecting materials for their classrooms. However, motivating students to engage with advanced search techniques in library catalogs and databases can …

Assessing The Information Literacy Skills Of Faculty And Students In Using Open Educational Resources In Nigerian Universities, Adeniran Adetoro

Georgia International Conference on Information Literacy

Access to Open Educational Resources (OERs) by university libraries and through online sources is trending among academics and students in Nigeria, particularly given the emphasis on it by the National Universities commission in recent times. Extant literature points to low level of use of OERs among faculty and students, and there is an urgent need to understand the extent to which their information literacy (IL)skills can explain this and how IL drives OERs practical use for academic purposes. Thus, the paper investigates the perceived information literacy of faculty and graduate students in using open educational resources in federal universities in …

Teaching Ourselves Ai Literacy, Kelly Jones, Chandler Christoffel

Georgia International Conference on Information Literacy

To prepare to teach and support AI literacy, we organized an internal mini-conference for our Academic Engagement department. During each session, librarians taught one another various AI-related modules (e.g., ethics, prompt design, tools) as though leading a real class with students. We encouraged the use of active learning strategies and asked participants to submit session proposals in advance so we could offer feedback. This approach to professional development allowed us to rapidly test and refine our instructional methods and deepen our AI expertise. This mini-conference also helped us generate valuable content—including lessons, slides, assessments, and activities — for an AI …

Recreating The Magic: Designing Serendipitous Discovery Experiences In 100% Online Libraries, Stephanie Garrett

Georgia International Conference on Information Literacy

Traditional libraries excel at serendipitous discovery—patrons browse shelves, stumble upon unexpected titles, and make chance connections between materials. But how do we recreate this magic in purely digital environments? This presentation showcases a successful transformation of a 100% online library that achieved over 90% increased asset usage in just 12 months through strategic implementation of serendipitous discovery features.

Using Springshare's LibGuides CMS as the foundation, we redesigned the digital library experience around three core discovery spaces: Visual Course Reserve Guides that mirror physical browsing through thumbnail displays and thematic clustering, a comprehensive Reference Section that encourages exploration beyond immediate research …

The Generative Ai Game Is Afoot: A Workshop Series, Denise A. Wetzel, Elliott Rose

Georgia International Conference on Information Literacy

Generative artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming how we create, learn, and solve problems, making it essential for students to engage with these tools both skillfully and ethically. This presentation introduces “The Generative AI Game is Afoot,” a themed workshop series designed to explore generative AI through the lens of detective work inspired by Sherlock Holmes. Using the metaphor of digital sleuths and their trusted partners, the series invites participants to unravel the mysteries of generative AI with curiosity, critical thinking, and practical know-how.

The series consists of four interactive workshops followed by an open forum. The first workshop, "Writing Effective …

Teaching The Future: Incorporating Generative Ai Use In An Information Studies Course, Annette Bochenek

Georgia International Conference on Information Literacy

Generative AI has impacted the creation, consumption, and dissemination of information across disciplines. Information, Culture, and Society is an online undergraduate course that is foundational to the Information Studies minor at Purdue University. In this course, students examine how information, culture, and society have shaped and affected one another in the past, present, and how they might continue to influence one another in the future. In order to enhance the lessons pertaining to the future of information, culture, and society, specifically focusing on AI, the instructor participated in a university-led AI Academy program to learn about available AI tools and …

Beyond The Buzzwords: Working With Faculty To Create Ai-Informed Personal Information Literacy Frameworks, Scott E. Shumate, Jenny Harris, Stephanie Bandel

Georgia International Conference on Information Literacy

Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools have become increasingly integrated into the classroom, requiring faculty across disciplines to reconsider how critical thinking skills are being impacted by AI. Academic libraries, long the centers of information access and literacy, are well positioned to confront the issues surrounding AI and address its influence on the wider information landscape. Three academic librarians have taken the lead at their university in encouraging faculty to be thoughtful and intentional about their own understanding of information literacy by developing a personal information literacy framework. This reflective process codifies the mental models all users create when interacting with information …

Beyond Traditional Services: University Libraries Launch An Information Studies Concentration, Vivian F. Bynoe, Katia Karadjova, Lisa Carmichael

Georgia International Conference on Information Literacy

The University Libraries launched a newly created Information Studies concentration in the Bachelor’s Degree of Interdisciplinary Studies (BIS). Developing such a program required navigating a complex administrative process, designing the concentration curriculum, and creating specific course content. This presentation details the multi-stage journey from idea to implementation.

The Information Studies concentration represents our continued commitment to empowering students. The information landscape offers abundant options. Students must know how to find and recognize credible information appropriate for different needs, navigate through data, utilize AI in ethical ways, and grow into responsible creators of information. This requires interlaced metaliteracy skills addressing the …

A Proposal For An Information Literacy Evaluation Plan For First-Year Writing (Fyw) Courses, Mohammed Z. Reza

Georgia International Conference on Information Literacy

It is very common for academic libraries to offer information literacy programs for first-year writing students. These programs have several goals and aim to equip students with information literacy skills, including evaluating and reflecting, interpreting, seeking, inquiring, and managing information. The primary goal of program evaluation is to drive improvement. (Fitzpatrick et al., 2011). Fitzpatrick et al. (2011) also noted that evaluation serves many purposes, including determining a program's merit or worth, supporting decision-making, organizing a program, and improving a program.

As an instruction librarian, I taught information literacy sessions for first-year writing students in the English department at both …

When You Can't Get A One-Shot, Try A One Off, Chereeka Garner, Katy Miller, Renee Cole Montgomery

Georgia International Conference on Information Literacy

One of the challenges facing librarians is getting exposure to students to teach information literacy skills. Faculty engagement with the library can vary greatly, with many faculty simply not having available class time to allow librarians in the classroom. As a possible alternative means of connecting with students, an Extra Credit Hub was created. This hub is an easily located, visible resource for faculty to share potential extra credit activities with students.

The Hub, which is a standalone Canvas course, includes a number of activities related to key information literacy skills, such as:

• Recognizing bias, misinformation, and disinformation
• Critical thinking …

Building An Inclusive Community: Hosting An International Graduate Student Orientation, Adelia B. Grabowsky, Liza J. Weisbrod, Timothy Dodge, Juliet T. Rumble

Georgia International Conference on Information Literacy

In 2018, library faculty at a large, public land grant university formed a working group tasked with assessing the information needs of graduate students and implementing action plans to support this user population. From the beginning, the librarians recognized that graduate students are not a homogeneous group. Desiring a more nuanced understanding of these students, they held focus groups in 2019 to explore students’ experiences with navigating graduate school and, more specifically, the University library. One sub-group of particular interest to them was international graduate students, who make up a sizable percentage of the graduate student population on campus. International …

Teaching Information Literacy In A Genai World: A 5cs Framework For Fostering Critical Engagement, Paul Cook, Adam Maksl

Georgia International Conference on Information Literacy

Teaching Information Literacy in a GenAI World:
A 5Cs Framework for Fostering Critical Engagement

This interactive workshop will equip participants with a robust framework for teaching students the knowledge and skills necessary to understand the modern, multifaceted information ecosystems upon which GenAI is built and operates. The 5Cs of news literacy (context, creation, content, circulation, and consumption), as outlined in Tully, Maksl, Ashley, Vraga, and Craft (2021), will be adapted to information literacy more broadly and we will explain how that framework presents an excellent foundation upon which broader information literacy knowledge and skills can be built. As GenAI becomes …

Engaging Students With Interdisciplinary Learning Community Project For Freshman Composition And Digital Media Students, Hsi-Ling Huang, Xin Xu

Georgia International Conference on Information Literacy

Studies have shown that Learning Communities have many benefits, including “[f]ostering workforce skills, encouraging problem-solving skills, and increasing retention and success” for both faculty and students (Dodge and Kendall, College Teaching, 2004). In this project, we created an interdisciplinary Learning Community Project that allowed a Freshman Composition (FC) course to pair with a Digital Media (DM) course (Sophomore students) for students to work on a mini magazine. Students in FC were writers whose tasks focusing on writing and researching, whereas students in DM were copy editors whose tasks focusing on graphic design and layout. The goal was for students …

Teaching The Information Has Value Frame Through The Price Is Right, Kevin J. Reagan, Dawn ("Nikki") Cannon-Rech

Georgia International Conference on Information Literacy

When navigating library resources, students often remain unaware of the cost of information, particularly scholarly academic journal articles– and rightly so, given that the mission of the library is to provide patrons with free access to information. Part of the ACRL Framework, nevertheless, entails teaching students about issues with lack of information access, which can be difficult to teach in higher education, where students might have never lacked access to quality information sources. To teach students about the cost of information and the economic factors that prevent some from accessing information, two academic librarians integrated the Information Has Value Frame …

From The Stacks To Student Success: Understanding Faculty Perceptions Of Collection Management And Its Impact On Student Use Of Library Resources, Alyshia K. Bagley, Jessica L. Swaringen

Georgia International Conference on Information Literacy

Effective collection management is vital for a library’s ability to support the evolving needs of its academic community. Faculty engagement with library resources plays a crucial role in how students access and benefit from these collections. This research seeks to identify gaps between faculty understanding of collection management practices and their influence on student use of library resources.

This study will explore how faculty perceive collection management at GS Libraries, examining factors that shape their views and their subsequent impact on teaching, research, and collaboration with library staff. Following a review of existing literature, a survey containing quantitative and qualitative …

Empowering Learners, Shaping The Future: Cultivating Metaliteracy Across The Curriculum, Vivian Bynoe, Jessica L. Swaringen, Lauren Mcmillan

Georgia International Conference on Information Literacy

The rapid evolution of the information landscape requires students to be adaptable to a complex information environment. Students are not just information users but also informants and creators who act based on their social identities and social power (Oliphant, 2021). As educators, part of our responsibility involves empowering students to take ownership of the learning process, not only in the classroom but in ways that transfer to their everyday lives. Students who enter the college classroom may or may not be equipped with important 21st century skills such as those identified by the P21 framework for 21st century learning (Soulé, …

The Disinformation Vaccine: A Case For Integrating Comprehensive Disinformation Education Into First Year Writing Classes, Benjamin F. Jackson

Georgia International Conference on Information Literacy

Students’ exposure to disinformation and misinformation is far greater than it has ever been. As the ability of generative AI to produce image, video, and audio deepfakes grows more sophisticated, disinformation will become even easier to spread and harder to detect. The rapid spread of social, political, scientific, and medical disinformation has been deadly and its potential is disastrous. Security experts now warn that dis/misinformation is the greatest threat to national security. Americans at large and students in particular have a demonstrated lack of information literacy when it comes to detecting false information, and bad actors nationally and globally are …

Measuring Outreach In Unexpected Places, Renee Cole Montgomery, Chereeka Garner, Katy A. Miller

Georgia International Conference on Information Literacy

The University of Central Florida hosts one of the largest student bodies in the nation. Just looking at the numbers, it may seem like every library event is a huge success. However, when you compare this with the number of students represented, it becomes apparent that we are only reaching a fraction of the students who attend the university. For this reason, librarians are always looking for ways to reach as many students as possible. One of the best methods to develop meaningful programming is to ask students themselves what they want to experience.

To collect as much student feedback …

Transformative Nudges: Fostering Well-Being & Digital Literacy With Generative Ai, Kay Coates, Jessica Garner

Georgia International Conference on Information Literacy

In a transformative, technological era heralded by the emergence and advancements of Generative Artificial (Gen AI), educational landscapes are gradually evolving. Evidently, opportunities go abegging, innovations and reflections become invitations to be accommodated. This presentation explores the harmonious interplay between Gen AI and Nudge Theory — a substantive framework grounded in behavioral science that encourages positive change that can be executed through gentle, strategic prompts.

Carefully crafted prompts that could read like subtle interventions can profoundly influence learners' decisions and corresponding actions. Thus, Nudge Theory can be a utility vis-a-vis an effective approach for cultivating an adaptable educational culture within …

Navigating The Hidden Curriculum: A Partnership For Student Success At Coastal Carolina University, Kimberly Foster, Loren Mixon

Georgia International Conference on Information Literacy

As librarians who do a significant amount of introductory-level library instruction, over the years we have become aware of some gaps in students’ understanding of certain “hidden curriculum” skills. First introduced in the 1960’s, “the term hidden curriculum refers to attitudes, behaviors, and knowledge that are covertly or unintentionally learned through the schooling process” (Encyclopedia of Diversity and Social Justice, 2014). We have found that many students have never encountered an academic article prior to coming to college, and lack the “hidden curriculum” skills to properly read and understand these types of articles. Our goal, in collaboration with the Student …

Enhancing Engagement With Ux/Ui Design: How The Laws Of Ux Inform Information Literacy, Laura A. Palmer, Tyler M. Eckert

Georgia International Conference on Information Literacy

This presentation will draw on a case study in which a recent graduate of a user experience design (UXD) program was able to apply UXD principles and research practices to increase the discoverability of training materials used by a library consortium. The case study presented will demonstrate to educators and students the importance of learning how UX laws can inform best practices for development, assessment, and iteration of digital spaces. Attendees will learn how laws/heuristics drawn from UXD play a critical role in ensuring that resources are accessible, intuitive, and engaging.

Our case study centers on how a library consortium …

Weeding Out Dishonesty: Rhetoric And Information Literacy For The Age Of Disinformation, Victoria M. Tischio

Georgia International Conference on Information Literacy

We live in what some call a post-fact world where what is presented as true becomes true and circulates widely. Politicians lie because they have calculated that they gain more than they lose, and media outlets repeat those lies because they profit from them (Adair 2024). Fear and suspicion make individuals vulnerable to these lies (Young 2017). Like an invasive species, it is nearly impossible to eradicate these lies once released into the media ecosystem. While fake news is not new (think P.T. Barnum and 17th-century canards), its virulence has reached epidemic proportions, infiltrating all aspects of society. This constitutes …

Teaching The Researched Family Profile Essay As Meaningful Culturally Sustaining Pedagogy And Counterstory, Amy L. Garrett Brown

Georgia International Conference on Information Literacy

My students have been asked to create a researched narrative about their family history (the definition of “family” is loose and includes families of choice) using personal interviews, artifacts, research and reflection. They will mix the voices of their family members with the voices of scholars and historians from the university library and databases. This is a conversation. In many ways, these are counterstories. In order to focus on using Culturally Sustaining Pedagogy (Alim and Paris) with this assignment, I thought about several of the tenets of CSP: “Instead of being oppressive, homogenizing forces, CSP asks us to reimagine schools …

Harnessing The Power Of Chatgpt To Streamline Reference And Research Librarian Workflows: Sample Productivity Use Case Scenarios And Their Roi, Ladislava Khailova

Georgia International Conference on Information Literacy

After the public release of ChatGPT by OpenAI in November 2022, GenAI systems have been applied and tested in a wide variety of contexts, including those aimed at increasing workplace productivity. In fact, some studies estimate the GenAI enhancements to work functions to generate a shocking additional trillions of dollars annually in the nearest future, with the knowledge work industry especially likely to be impacted. This presentation uses these predictions to look into the potential of ChatGPT to enhance reference and research librarian workflows. The specific explored productivity use case scenarios include harnessing the power of the chatbot to streamline …

Conference Program 2025, Georgia Southern University

Georgia International Conference on Information Literacy

2025 Program

That’S Using Your Brain!: Mind-Mapping And Ai Tools For Information Management And Information Literacy Instruction, Ruth L. Baker

Georgia International Conference on Information Literacy

TheBrain.com is a dynamic, mind-mapping tool you can use to manage your files, links to web sites, and other content–any kind of information you need to collect and manage. You can use your ‘digital brain’ to gather and visualize information from various sources and formats (i.e. create ‘thoughts’). The advantage is you can organize your files and information according to how you think about them, without the limitations of a typical folder-and-file organization system.

Your digital brain is an invaluable tool for collecting and managing information but it also can be used as a tool in the higher education classroom. …