Library and Information Science Commons^™

Academic Librarians And Information Literacy Practice In An Age Of Mis/Disinformation, Nicole Johnston, Yerbury, Maureen Henninger

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

This paper presents findings from a study exploring Australian academic librarians' concerns about the impact of misinformation and disinformation on society, university students and access to reliable information. It also investigates strategies librarians consider effective for addressing mis/disinformation through information literacy programs. Sixty-two librarians responded to a survey comprising Likert scale and open-ended questions. Respondents expressed the greatest concern about the influence of mis/disinformation on news media and social media. There was strong agreement that mis/disinformation should be regulated on social media and that librarians play a key role in addressing it through information literacy. However, views on the importance …

Developing And Implementing A Primary Source Literacy Case Scenario For The Undergraduate Business Classroom, Annette Bochenek, Megan Troyer

Libraries Faculty and Staff Scholarship and Research

This article discusses the development and implementation of a case-based learning scenario activity intended to enhance primary source literacy among undergraduate business students. The activity was delivered in the context of a large Midwestern university’s undergraduate business course. This case is based on the ACRL RBMS-SAA Guidelines for Primary Source Literacy and gives students an opportunity to use digitized primary archival sources as part of the research process in connection with a modern business-related scenario in which they can apply primary source literacy skills. This guided activity also explores affective experiences as they occurred in student responses to this activity …

Gis Librarians' Involvement In Critical Information Literacy Instruction, Melissa Chomintra, Pete E. Pascuzzi

Libraries Faculty and Staff Scholarship and Research

Critical information literacy (CIL) is a theory and practice that considers the sociopolitical dimensions of information and knowledge production. As the field of geospatial information evolves, equipping librarians with the skills to critically engage with geospatial information becomes integral to facilitating informed research, promoting spatial literacy, and strengthening the accessibility of geospatial data for their user communities. To understand geospatial data librarians’ current involvement in CIL, librarians were surveyed to examine if they incorporate CIL into their instruction, how they incorporate CIL into their instruction, and what are the benefits and challenges of doing so. The survey gathered both quantitative …

Book Review: Dismantling Conspiracy Theories: Metaliteracy And Other Strategies For An Information-Disordered World, Katie Greer, Stephanie Beene, William Glick

School of Information Student Research Journal

No abstract provided.

Archivist, Subject Librarian, And Education Faculty Collaboration: Co-Instruction In History Of Education Classes, Laura Cameron, Kara Flynn

Collaborative Librarianship

In many academic libraries, primary source instruction happens in a vacuum, and students don’t always make connections between the skills they learn in a primary source instruction session and skills they may have already learned in information literacy-focused library instruction that they have participated in previous courses. This case study describes the design and objectives of an instructional partnership formed between an Education & Engagement Archivist, Education Librarian, and History of Education professor at a public, four-year university. The Education & Engagement Archivist and Education Librarian worked in tandem to develop interconnected lesson plans, allowing the Education & Engagement Archivist …

The Librarian Teaching Self-Efficacy Scale, Maoria J. Kirker, David X. Lemmons

Communications in Information Literacy

Teaching self-efficacy is a critical factor in instructional success. Little research has been conducted on how academic librarians perceive their own teaching abilities. This study introduces and validates the Librarian Teaching Self-Efficacy Scale, a tool designed to measure self-efficacy beliefs among academic librarians engaged in information literacy instruction. By adapting established self-efficacy scales to the library instruction context, this study examines key factors influencing librarian teaching self-efficacy, including instructional strategies, lesson planning, and collaboration with faculty. Collective self-efficacy, which is perceptions of colleagues’ teaching confidence, is also examined. Statistical analysis indicates a reliable and valid scale which may benefit …

“‘What Is One Takeaway You've Gotten From This Learning Experience?’ Analyzing Student Reflections On Introductory Information Literacy Instruction”, Amanda Nichols Hess, Emily Ruth Benoit, Rebecca M. Krystyniak, Stephanie Williams

Communications in Information Literacy

Reflection is a useful pedagogical tool for both learners in instructional settings and educators seeking to offer meaningful experiences; in this article, a group of academic librarians use the former to engage with the latter. We analyzed more than 830 first-year students’ responses to a reflection question posed at the conclusion of library instruction over the course of the 2023–2024 academic year with a specific eye to the concepts that were and were not resonant, as well as whether there were common areas of confusion. We used a grounded theory approach to make sense of the data and allow ideas …

Information Literacy In The Artificial Intelligence Era: A Proposed Framework, Radwan Ali, Matthew L. Wilson

Communications in Information Literacy

Artificial intelligence (AI) systems and applications have become ubiquitous across daily life. While AI offers numerous positive opportunities, it also presents numerous challenges. Information literacy (IL) advocates are concerned about the risks that accompany AI systems. Given the universal reach of AI with its potential pitfalls and perils, researchers and practitioners from various fields and disciplines should inform the dialogue on AI’s development and application. A critical aspect of this dialogue comes in the form of information literacy. Our paper aims to answer the question “How can information literacy guide users in navigating and shaping artificial intelligence technologies?” by establishing …

Little Did I Know, Christopher V. Hollister

Communications in Information Literacy

Christopher Hollister, co-founder and co-editor-in-chief, reflects on his time with CIL in this farewell editorial.

Lessons From Tiktok: Using Popular Social Media Platforms To Engage Gen Z, Debra Bernstein

Urban Library Journal

This study looks at how academic libraries in the New York City metropolitan area are using TikTok to engage with their communities, particularly students. It analyzes the most popular videos from five active library accounts, categorizing content types and measuring engagement through TikTok’s built-in metrics. Results indicate that humorous and lighthearted content consistently receives the highest engagement, while instructional or “how-to” videos tend to underperform. These findings suggest that while TikTok may not be the most effective platform for instructional outreach, it holds potential as a tool for visibility, community engagement, and humanizing the library’s presence. As students increasingly turn …

Critically Evaluating Artificial Intelligence Output: Adapting Source Evaluation For Ai, Samantha Duncan, Allison Faix

Library Faculty Presentations

Generative artificial intelligence poses a new challenge to the teaching of source evaluation. This presentation looks at these challenges and examines why the evaluation heuristics and methods that librarians commonly use to teach source evaluation may not be up to the challenge of evaluating artificial intelligence output. This study looked at LibGuides from a random selection of ARL libraries to examine how (and if) libraries are recommending that students evaluate the output of the generative artificial intelligence tools they are using. This presentation offers suggestions for teaching source evaluation for artificial intelligence tools.

Engaging With Ai In A Technical Writing Course: A Collaboration Between A Writing Instructor And A Librarian, Isabel Baca, Joy Urbina

HIIT 2025

After describing our collaboration (a Technical Writing Instructor and a Librarian) on teaching students how to use artificial intelligence (AI) to strengthen their writing, we will engage attendees by having them reflect and practice with AI. For our workshop presentation, attendees will:

• Learn how a librarian and a writing instructor collaborated to teach students to use AI effectively and ethically in their writing.
• Reflect on how they can incorporate AI in their classroom or workplace.
• Learn how a librarian can help them incorporate AI into their courses.
• Practice using AI and developing their prompt engineering skills.

Our workshop presentation will …

Understanding Ai Literacy: Implications For Practice​, Devon Olson, Janet Anderson, Sara Westall

Librarian Publications

Presentation from the 2025 Mountain Plains Library Association Tri-Conference, held in Grand Forks, ND. This presentation provides an overview of basic AI concepts and frameworks for AI literacy, discussing the impact of different patron and learner demographics on learner needs, competencies, and instructional strategies.

Perilaku Pencarian Informasi Kesehatan Tentang Stunting Di Kalangan Masyarakat Pedesaan Tradisional, Euis Sri Nurhayati, Lisy Tantowi, Raisa Hashina Rosalini, Hairun Nisa

Jurnal Ilmu Informasi, Perpustakaan, dan Kearsipan

Stunting remains a significant public health issue in Indonesia, particularly in traditional rural communities such as those in Village X, Leuwi Damar Subdistrict, Lebak Regency, Banten, which are widely recognized as the Outer Baduy community. This study aims to analyze information-seeking behavior related to health information on stunting by examining information needs, preferred sources, barriers encountered, and the socio-cultural context influencing such behavior. A descriptive qualitative approach was employed using Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) and semi-structured interviews involving 15 mothers with children under five as the primary participants. Data were analyzed thematically based on Wilson’s (1999) information-seeking behavior model and …

A Different Perspective: Maslow's Hierarchy & Information Literacy, Amy Odwarka, Brian Keith

All Faculty Scholarship

This poster offers an innovative conceptual framework for intellectual freedom and explores information literacy as a developmental journey for learners, aligning it with stages of student experience and growing ability drawn from Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs. The adapted system positions information literacy in a progressive journey tied to a student's academic growth, evolving from basic participation to advanced knowledge creation and intellectual independence. With this guide, libraries and instructional librarians can tailor information literacy supports based on the progression of student needs at various stages of information literacy development, some of which are foundational to success in library instruction settings. …

Postmortem: Understanding The Life And Death Of A Multi-Year Writing Program In An Academic Library, Catherine Bowers

The Southeastern Librarian

A shared interest in a month-long novel writing event inspired two reference and instruction librarians to develop a serialized program built around writing and research. Through leveraging resources and partnerships, the librarians planned to foster creativity and confidence in research writing skills within an ethos of community. This project relied on multiple forms of outreach and assessment with an intention that would be meaningful and valuable to the students. The goal from the beginning was to develop an event that incorporated the Association of College & Research Libraries (ACRL) Framework for Information Literacy in Higher Education, fit the library’s mission, …

Genai Literacy Framework For Library Instruction, Adwoa Boateng, Jennifer Freer, Greyson Pasiak, Erich Short, Ryan Tolnay, Rit Libraries

Presentations and other scholarship

A generative artificial intelligence (genai) framework for library instruction. This short framework is designed to incorporate into existing library instruction across many subject areas. The basic elements of the framework are: know & understand genai, use & evaluate genai, and library research & discovery with genai.

Teaching Information Literacy In The Emerging And Dynamic Fields Of Preparedness And Security, Abigail Adams

University Libraries Faculty Scholarship

Emergency preparedness and security are comparatively new academic fields, but they have grown tremendously in the last ten years.1 Colleges and universities all over the United States and Canada are adding and expanding programs dedicated to various facets of these subjects. While the specific subtopics and focal areas can vary by program, they all explore threat assessment, risk management, and disaster mitigation in some capacity. Emergency preparedness or emergency management programs prepare students to pursue careers dealing with crisis mitigation and response, whether that crisis is a result of natural disaster, climate change, war, civil unrest, infrastructure failure, economic instability, …

Information Literacy Within And Beyond The Academy: Connecting The Framework To Social Work’S Accreditation Standards And Professional Code Of Ethics, Stephen Maher, Yali Feng, Olivia Given Castello, Carin Graves, Sarah C. Johnson

Staff Scholarship

In 2018, the Education and Behavioral Sciences Section (EBSS) Social Work Committee (the committee) began drafting its companion document to the ACRL Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education. It responded to the ACRL Information Literacy Frameworks and Standards Committee’s charge to utilize the Framework in context with the education standards, goals, and competencies within their respective disciplines by highlighting synergies between the Framework and the accreditation standards associated with social work schools and programs in the United States. The committee would also choose to connect the Framework to social work’s professional Code of Ethics in an attempt to …

Relational Online Teaching: Connecting With Students At A Distance, Laura Sheets, Robert J. Snyder

University Libraries Faculty Publications

Relational teaching pedagogies place the connection between instructor and student at the heart of student learning. These practices can include creating community, designing interactive learning experiences, and recognizing the student as a whole person. But in an online classroom, relational pedagogies must be woven into the course design and the instructor must be intentional about their desire to connect with students. In this article, the authors will demonstrate how they applied the Five Good Things from Relational Cultural Theory to an asynchronous information literacy course in order to connect with students in an online learning environment.

Better Together: Collaborative Approaches To Teaching Primary Source & Information Literacy, Rebecca Fitzsimmons

Faculty and Staff Publications – Milner Library

Special collections librarians and their research & instruction colleagues discuss collaborative approaches to primary source and information literacy instruction in the university classroom. Through presentations and panel discussion they cover the types of classes where they collaborate, including a representative example class; how they work with teaching faculty; their favorite learning objectives; and how their partnerships have made them better teachers.

Panelists represent public universities in Arkansas, Illinois, and Maine, and a private college in Ohio.

"I Don't Think Librarians Can Save Us": The Material Conditions Of Information Literacy Instruction In The Misinformation Age, Amber Willenborg, Robert Detmering

Faculty and Staff Scholarship

This national qualitative study investigates academic librarians’ instructional experiences, views, and challenges regarding the widespread problem of misinformation. Findings from phenomenological interviews reveal a tension between librarians’ professional, moral, and civic obligation to address misinformation and the actual material conditions of information literacy instruction, which influence and often constrain librarians’ pedagogical and institutional roles. The authors call for greater professional reflection on current information literacy models that focus on achieving ambitious educational goals but which may be unsuitable for addressing the larger social and political crisis of misinformation.

Incorporating Generative Ai Into Research Consultations: Opportunities, Challenges, And Best Practices, Aleshia A. Huber

Library Scholarship

With the rapid rise of generative AI tools, academic librarians have new opportunities to enhance research consultations and support student learning. This poster shares strategies for incorporating freely available AI tools into one-on-one and small group consultations, emphasizing their use in brainstorming, refining research questions, and improving search strategies. It also addresses how to guide students in evaluating AI-generated content critically and ethically. Based on the experiences of an academic engineering librarian, this poster presents practical examples, highlights successes and limitations, and offers best practices for librarians looking to thoughtfully integrate no-cost AI tools into their own practice.

Unpacking White Language Supremacy In The Acrl Framework For Information Literacy For Higher Education, Anders Tobiason

Library Faculty Publications and Presentations

This article explores how the ACRL’s Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education codes the idealized information literate individual as White. It illuminates how White language supremacy is used in the Framework to code the idealized information literate individual as White. By articulating the use of White language supremacy in the Framework, this article suggests how to begin the process of deconstructing this White ideal and thus transforming the Framework from a tool of colonization and oppression into something that steps toward liberation.

Contributions Of California Teacher Librarians To Student Achievement, Keith Curry Lance, Caitlin Gerrity

Learning Hub

This article assesses the contributions of California Teacher Librarians (TLs) to student achievement, specifically in the area of English Language Arts and Literacy. This comparison-of-means analysis employed two major datasets: the California Department of Education (CDE) school library evaluation survey and California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress (CAASPP) data, both for the 2022-23 school year. This study found that students who met or exceeded ELA standards were more likely to be in schools with: a full-time, certified TL rather than a part-time TL or no TL; a TL–full- or part-time–rather than no TL; a TL staffing a single library …

Leveraging Reddit In Academia, Katherine A. Laflamme

Librarian Publications

This study investigates how integrating Reddit into academic environments can enhance authentic learning experiences and strengthen information literacy skills. As a crowdsourced platform with diverse communities, Reddit provides access to a wide range of perspectives, hard-to-reach populations, and both qualitative and quantitative insights. While Reddit holds potential as a research tool, this article focuses on its application in supporting information literacy and authentic learning assignments. It examines the benefits and challenges of using Reddit in academic settings, highlighting practical applications such as project-based learning (PBL) and renewable assignments that cultivate critical thinking and collaborative learning. By incorporating Reddit into the …

From Cynicism To Trust: Strategies For Teaching Students Source Evaluation Skills, Mandi Goodsett, Melanie Gagich

Michael Schwartz Library Publications

Concerns about the spread and adoption of misinformation abound, and academic librarians have played a part in trying to stem the tide through information literacy instruction. However, teaching students how to evaluate sources can be complicated—teaching fact-checking skills may be insufficient if it increases students’ overall cynicism about information ecosystems. This study explores how teaching fact-checking and lateral reading skills, along with instruction about “bias filters,” can help to reduce the cynicism of first year writing students, while also increasing their misinformation detection skills. Results are mixed, but teaching about the information creation process and “bias filters” is especially promising. …

What Language Are We Speaking?: Marketing Information Literacy On University Library Websites, Aleksandar Golijanin

Communications in Information Literacy

This study investigates how Canadian university libraries communicate information literacy (IL) to non-library faculty members on faculty-facing web pages. A content analysis was conducted of websites from institutions affiliated with the Canadian Association of Research Libraries (n = 25) to identify trends in the terminology used to describe IL. The findings reveal that the term "information literacy" appears with varying frequency across website headings, subheadings and body text, while terms like “research skills” and “critical information use” may appear in its stead. University libraries may intentionally be employing these terms to enhance faculty engagement in response to the existing …

"Some Level Of Skill For Life": Secondary Teacher Librarians Supporting Student Information Literacy Skill Transfer Beyond Secondary School, Kasey L. Garrison, Kay Oddone

Communications in Information Literacy

Students entering higher education are expected to transfer information literacy skills and knowledge developed through their primary schooling and sharpened in their secondary years. However, the constant evolution of the information landscape means the mastery of these skills presents challenges for students to develop and teachers to teach. Through interviews, this phenomenological study examines the perspectives and practices of 19 Australian secondary teacher librarians supporting student information literacy skill transfer in school and life contexts and considers important changes in the teaching of these skills. Findings suggest time and content overload are preventing integration across subjects and limiting students’ ability …

Generative Ai For College Students: A Collaboratively Developed Online Microcourse On Genai In The College Classroom, Amber Willenborg, Tessa Withorn

Communications in Information Literacy

Academic libraries have taken a variety of approaches to addressing the opportunities and challenges of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) in higher education. For universities that have no standard policy around GenAI, instructors are left with little guidance on how to teach students about GenAI in the classroom and may have varying levels of comfort with GenAI and its applications. To address the need for more instruction around GenAI, a team of librarians and university writing center and digital media suite staff took an innovative approach to teaching AI literacy by creating a six-lesson microcourse in their learning management system all …