Information Literacy Commons^™

Along For The Journey: Graduate Student Perceptions Of Research, Alissa Droog, Kari D. Weaver, Frances Brady

Faculty Peer-Reviewed Publications

Graduate student identities and personal lives are heavily tied to their experiences of research, and many struggle to find, understand, and use information for research purposes. Using a drawing exercise rooted in visual research methods combined with semi-structured interviews, a research team in the United States and Canada explored graduate student perceptions of research with 19 participants. Thematic analysis identified six themes: research is abstract; research is an odyssey; social support makes or breaks the student experience; research is an emotional continuum; interplay between identity/values; information is problematic. The study has implications for how librarians support graduate student research.

Information Literacy Instruction Services At Rural Community Colleges, Fall 2019 Through Ay 2021/22, Heather Posey Vandyne

Forsyth Library Faculty Publications

This exploratory study examines the instructional practices of two-year institutions located in rural areas during the onset of the Coronavirus pandemic in 2020 and the two academic years that follow. Since the virus commonly known as COVID-19 first made its way to the United States in March 2020, three classes of community college students have had an introduction to higher education unlike any other in living memory. The mixed method approach consists of a survey aimed towards rural college librarians and subsequent in-depth interviews. This study identifies attempts to retain connections with faculty and students, as well as adjustments in …

Strategies For Reading Scholarly Articles, Hannah Krauss

All Musselman Library Staff Works

This handout reviews suggested strategies for reading scholarly articles in the sciences, social sciences, and humanities, recommending reading out of order based upon the discipline. The second page contains tips for taking notes on articles for research and classes.

A Critical Librarianship Approach For Teaching Patent Searching: Who Becomes An Inventor In America?, Dave Zwicky, Ilana Stonebraker

Libraries Faculty and Staff Scholarship and Research

The ways in which a technology is invented, owned, and approved are strongly influenced by the same oppressive and exclusionary structures that critical librarianship interrogates. Patents, limited-term grants of rights to inventions, are issued to inventors in exchange for detailed specifications of the invention. This paper examines current practices used by business librarians in teaching students how to find patents and how these practices could be critically informed given the nature of the United States patent system as it exists today. An output of this work is a suggested lesson plan with recommended resources.

Meaningful Work When Work Won't Love You Back: Sociological Imagination And Reflective Teaching Practice (Reports From The Field), Andrea Baer

Libraries Scholarship

This essay explores the tension between pursuing meaningful work in instruction librarianship and the realities of working in a society in which many jobs provide little fulfillment or pleasure, or, as the journalist Sarah Jaffe puts it, “Work won’t love you back.” Drawing on a recent conference keynote by Anne Helen Petersen, C. Wright Mills’s conception of sociological imagination, and an ecological model of teacher agency, I propose that one way librarians can sustain their teaching practices and preserve their well-being is by actively investigating how social structures and relationships influence their teaching roles.

Teaching Inclusive Citation Through A Library Workshop, Andrea Baer

Libraries Scholarship

In response to calls for greater equity and inclusion in scholarly publishing and in academia in general, many academic instruction librarians are looking to ways to promote inclusive citation practices. Inclusive citation essentially involves citing sources that reflect a greater diversity of voices and perspectives, while being aware of how power and social structures have traditionally influenced what voices are amplified and which are often overlooked. Inclusive citation requires thinking creatively about how and where we search for information, since traditional scholarly practices and common structures and features of many search tools (e.g., citation metrics, relevance rankings) are part of …

Oppressive Authority: Dismantling, Reexamining, And Reconstructing Notions Of Authority In Information Literacy Instruction, Melissa Chomintra

Libraries Faculty and Staff Scholarship and Research

The following chapter examines ways knowledge authority structures can be oppressive in relation to information literacy instruction and discusses how librarians can implement equitable and inclusive pedagogy in their library instruction by dismantling, reexamining, and reconstructing notions of authority.

Pulling It All Together: Teaching Genre, Disciplinary And Career Literacies, And The Framework For Information Literacy In An Associate Degree Capstone Course, Linda Miles, Elisabeth Tappeiner

Publications and Research

We team teach a semester-long credit-bearing information literacy course for urban community college students in New York City’s South Bronx. It is a capstone course, designed to support students at the end of their first two years of college as they consider the next stage in their own development, be that transferring to a four-year institution or entering the workforce. For this course, we have constructed an approach to critical reading that combines explicit exploration of academic and disciplinary genres with an investigation into the processes of knowledge production and communication shared by the individuals who produce them. This chapter …

Flexible Pedagogies For Inclusive Learning: Balancing Pliancy And Structure And Cultivating Cultures Of Care, Andrea Baer

Libraries Scholarship

In this essay, I reflect on flexibility as a concept and as a practice that has informed my teaching, in particular since adapting to online library instruction in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and how flexible pedagogy principles and practices can be catalysts for reflective and inclusive teaching and a culture of care in all teaching contexts.

Adoption And Use Of Plagiarism Software By Postgraduate Students In Universities In South-West, Nigeria, Olusegun Adebayo Opesanwo, Hannah Okon Anwana

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

Over the years, there has been an increase awakening on plagiarism and the need to curb it, especially among postgraduate students. Hence, the need for them to have a good knowledge of plagiarism software.

This study investigates the adoption and use of plagiarism software among postgraduate students in universities in South-west Nigeria. Employing a survey research design and random sampling, thirty-four postgraduate students from each of the universities were selected.

The findings of the study revealed a moderate level of awareness among the respondents regarding the availability of plagiarism software. The frequency of use was also found to be low, …

Teaching Information Literacy In An Undergraduate Class On The Geography Of The Middle East, Reecia Orzeck

Faculty Publications-- Geography, Geology, and the Environment

Geography instructors have a role to play in helping their students to become more information literate. This is especially important today, given the complex and dynamic nature of our informational landscape, and given the evidence that young people lack much of the knowledge that is needed to engage with information critically. This paper reports on the effectiveness of an information literacy module that was included as part of a course on the Geography of the Middle East. It describes the design and rollout of the module, and the results of a study designed to assess the effectiveness of the module …

Student Participation In A Dei Audit As High-Impact Practice, Veronica Wells, Michele Gibney, Mickel Paris, Corey Pfitzer

University Libraries Librarian and Staff Articles and Papers

During Spring 2021, eight students at the University of the Pacific participated in an internship where they performed a DEI audit of the library's book and music score collection. An internship is one documented type of High-Impact Practices and research studies show that High-Impact Practices lead to higher retention and graduation rates. Deep learning occurred as student interns participated in developing the methodology, evaluating book and music score collections, reading assigned articles pertaining to DEI in librarianship and publishing, and providing recommendations on closing identified collection gaps. To evaluate their learning, the interns were asked to complete three surveys at …

The Impact Of Information-Seeking Self-Efficacy And Online Learning Self-Efficacy On Students’ Performance Proficiency, Yingqi Tang, Hungwei Tseng, Xingyi Tang

Research, Publications & Creative Work

This study surveyed 359 online undergraduate and graduate students regarding their information-seeking self-efficacy, online learning self-efficacy, and performance proficiency. A mediation model was conducted to examine the direct effect of students' online learning self-efficacy on their performance proficiency and the mediation effect of information-seeking self-efficacy. Multivariate correlational analysis showed that all three variables significantly correlated. Of the three variables, online learning self-efficacy has the strongest correlation to performance proficiency, while the variable with the least amount of correlation is between online-learning and information-seeking efficacies. Moreover, a significant regression equation showed that students' average performance proficiency increased by 0.359 for each …

Your Discomfort Is Valid: Big Feelings And Open Pedagogy, Liz Pearce, Silvia L. Lin Hanick, Amy R. Hofer, Lori Townsend, Michaela Willi Hooper

Publications and Research

This article explores the affective reactions of 13 community college students engaged in an open pedagogy textbook creation project. The instructor and first author, a human development and family services faculty member and department chair at a community college in Oregon, received feedback from her students that the project impacted them differently than past learning experiences. Student engagement with research and the diverse personal experiences of their classmates fostered both personal challenges and growth. This article groups these experiences into themes and explores different theoretical lenses, including scaffolding (constructivism), transformative learning, threshold concepts and safe spaces/brave spaces. We discuss the …

Unpacking The Graduate Student Research Experience: Findings From A Drawing-Based Interview Study, Alissa Droog, Frances Brady, Kari D. Weaver

Faculty Peer-Reviewed Publications

What do graduate students think research is? How do they come to be scholars and how can we as information professionals better support their needs?

Using a drawing exercise rooted in visual research methods (Hartel, 2017; Doucette & Hoffman, 2019; Bryans & Mavin, 2006), a cross-institutional research team in the United States and Canada explore these questions through an interview-based study of graduate student perceptions of research.

At present, the existing body of knowledge examining student perceptions of research strongly focuses on undergraduates (Griffioen, 2019; Insua et al., 2018), leaving a critical gap in theory and pedagogy needed to support …

Exploring Wikipedia As A Tool For Community Building And Teaching And Learning, Timothy R. Dewysockie, Andrea Baer

Libraries Scholarship

Wikipedia has become a widely accepted information source. Wikipedia is also by its very nature centered on community and on building and growing knowledge collectively. However, many are still understandably skeptical of how credible Wikipedia content is, and a gap remains between how frequently we use Wikipedia and how well we understand it. Wikipedia creates an opening for exploring how information is created and circulated, how the information creation process is often negotiated collectively, and how to critically evaluate online information. This session will explore how Wikipedia can be a rich tool for both teaching information literacy and building community …

Debunking & Prebunking: Strategies For Librarians To Eradicate Misinformation, Evan Meszaros, Mandi Goodsett

Michael Schwartz Library Publications

No abstract provided.

Reimagining Information Literacy Instruction Through Faculty Development, Erin Mccoy

Critical and Creative Thinking Capstones Collection

This paper explores a unique approach to information literacy instruction by designing a curriculum map that provides consistent opportunities for faculty to engage with ideas surrounding critical thinking, metacognition, scaffolding instruction, and implementing information literacy teaching tools within their classroom. This map outlines a comprehensive approach to faculty development that addresses the dissatisfaction in information literacy instruction among academic librarians, particularly with the one-shot model and the lack of assessment opportunities of students’ information literacy skills. Using action research, the author explores the reason for this dissatisfaction and how it be addressed. Through interviews with other campus departments like online …

Democratic Belonging As Informed Citizenry - Empowering Faculty To Empower Learners Via Information Literacy, Anna Santucci, Amanda K. Izenstark, Mary C. Macdonald

Public Services Faculty Presentations

Presentation at the AAC&U 2022 Annual Meeting as a Pre-Meeting Workshop.

Responsible citizens need the agility to navigate a changing information landscape. Intentionally designing learning experiences that integrate accessible Information Literacy (IL) skills for all students is a crucial step towards educational justice, a paramount responsibility in the democratic mission of our institutions. With this goal, the University of Rhode Island’s Office for the Advancement of Teaching and Learning has partnered with instruction librarians since 2018 in developing and facilitating a High Impact Teaching Seminar for faculty. Participants will learn about the seminar’s theoretical framework, impact and structure, engage in …

"Making It Happen": Building Relational Teaching Into The Online World Of Covid-19, Carol A. Leibiger, Alan W. Aldrich

Faculty Publications

The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic required shifting information literacy instruction from face-to-face to online formats at the University Libraries of the University of South Dakota. This case study narrates how the instructional team there introduced innovations into a Freshman Writing course that enabled instrumental (that is, goal-oriented) and relational teaching in the online-only environment. The team applied social network theory and a disaster response model to plan and analyze their innovations. The affordances of the Zoom video conferencing platform and the embedded librarian model enabled them to expand their information literacy instruction to include online students for the first …

Library Services And Facilities In Higher Education Institutions In Pakistan: Satisfaction Of Patrons, Muhammad Shoaib, Rustum Ali, Arisha Akbar

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

This paper attempted to examine the academic library facilities and satisfaction of university library patrons at higher education institution in Pakistan. It is evident that library staff has also been trying their best level to facilitate the library users through different procedures in global south and global north. A quantitative study design had been opted to conduct a cross-sectional survey from two public sector university students of BS (4 years) programme. A structured questionnaire had been administered to measure the response 1275 library patrons sampled through proportionate random sampling technique. A pilot testing had been done to check the reliability …

Incorporating Student Interns & Grant-Funded Collection Development To Improve Dei In Library Collections, Veronica A. Wells, Mickel Paris, Michele Gibney

University Libraries Librarian and Staff Presentations

No abstract provided.

Aligning Metaliteracy With Self-Directed Learning To Expand Assessment Opportunities, Trudi E. Jacobson, Thomas P. Mackey, Jako Olivier

University Libraries Faculty Scholarship

Metaliteracy is a holistic model that emphasises information-related knowledge attainment whilst challenging individuals to take charge of their learning strategies and goals. It prepares learners to become informed consumers and responsible producers of information. Metacognition is a core concept in metaliteracy, just as it is in swelf-directed learning (SDL) and in methods of assessment appropriate to SDL, such as assessment as learning (AaL) and assessment for learning (AfL). This congruence provides clear avenues for using metaliteracy’s framework in ways that support SDL. The first part of the chapter explores metaliteracy and its connections with SDL and assessment. The remainder of …

Workshops Mise En Place: Working With Campus Partners To Cook Up Tech Workshops In The Library, Nancy R. Curtis, Grace Liu, Anne Marie Engelsen

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

No abstract provided.

Using Fad Diets To Teach Information Evaluation, Jonathan D. Carlson, Annie Larson, Laura Bauer

Libraries Staff Publications

In Spring 2021, the librarian presenters partnered with Laura Bauer, a Nutrition faculty member, to teach students in introductory Nutrition classes information evaluation skills. The instructor's assignment originally asked the class of non-science major students to find a recipe online that met a personal nutrition goal based on current recommendations. The assignment evolved for a class of pre-health science students into an evaluative assignment where students were asked to research a fad diet online and compare those findings with the scholarly literature, all while considering diet culture through a social justice lens. In this session we'll discuss how the librarians …

Digitalization Of Academic Libraries In Higher Education Institutions During Covid-19 Pandemic, Dr. Muhammad Shoaib, Shamraiz Iqbal, Gulshan Tahira

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

This paper aimed to examine the digitalization of academic libraries in higher education institutions during the COVID-19 pandemic. As the current pandemic named the COVID-19 outbreak affected all the educational institutions in the global south and global north and Pakistan has no exemption. For this study, a quantitative stud design was opted to conduct an online survey from the library patrons. A sample of 1052 library users had been selected from public sector universities from Pakistan. It is pertinent to mention here that the google form was shared with 6852 library users through an email and WhatsApp numbers taken from …

Critical Pedagogy In Library Collections: Conducting A Dei Library Audit With Student Interns, Veronica Wells, Michele Gibney, Mickel Paris, Corey Pfitzer

University Libraries Librarian and Staff Presentations

During Spring 2021, a team of librarians and eight student interns conducted a diversity, equity, and inclusion audit of our institution’s print and ebook collection in order to examine the voices and subjects represented and to reveal diversity shortcomings. Students assisted in determining the methodology, assessing print and ebook collections, and providing recommendations on closing identified collection gaps. Librarians and students met semi-monthly to check in on the progress of the project and to discuss an article related to DEI in libraries and publishing.

Students completed a survey at the beginning, middle, and end of the project in order to …

Teaching With Data In The Social Sciences At Washington University In St. Louis: An Ithaka S+R Local Report, Jennifer Moore, Christie Peters, Dorris Scott, Jessica Kleekamp

University Libraries Publications

No abstract provided.

Collaborative Test Bank Development: Multi-Institutional & Pandemic Style, Anita Walz, Eli Jamison, Candice Vander Weerdt, Mandi Goodsett

Michael Schwartz Library Publications

During 2020-21 two business faculty from different institutions together with OER librarians, undergraduate students, and graduate assistants conspired to create a faculty-access-only test bank aligned to senior undergraduate-level open textbook, Strategic Management (2020) and AACSB Standards. Test bank development followed instructional and ethical practices for non-disposable assignments including faculty development of assignments, student ownership of student work, student “opt in” to go public, choice of no or some student attribution, financial incentives for various project participants, project MOUs, professional copyediting, and public release to vetted requestors. This presentation describes our respective motivations, process, how we found one another, why the …

Embedding Metaliteracy In Learning Design To Advance Metacognitive Thinking: From Oer To Moocs, Thomas P. Mackey, Trudi E. Jacobson

University Libraries Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.