Information Literacy Commons^™

The At-Risk Student Population You Might Be Overlooking: Working With Developmental Education Students, Lauren Colburn, Beth Fuchs

Library Presentations

Each year a considerable number of students are placed in developmental education courses which are intended to prepare them for college-level courses. In fact, a 2016 report published by the National Center for Education Statistics showed that 68% of students at public 2-year institutions and 40% of students at 4-year public institutions enrolled in at least one math, reading, or writing, developmental course between 2003-2009 (NCES, 2016). Nationally, many states have begun to focus specifically on these courses and the various ways institutions can surround these students with the academic support structures they need to succeed. However, one support structure …

The Potential Of Industry Standards In Undergraduate Education, Heather A. Howard, Margaret Phillips, Alyson Vaaler, David Hubbard

Libraries Faculty and Staff Presentations

Industry standards have a significant impact on business as a means to eliminate waste, reduce costs, market products (e.g., for quality, safety, interoperability) and lessen liability (Thompson, 2011). Consequently, an understanding and the ability to use standards, agreed upon practices among interested or vested parties, is a critical workplace competency for those engaged in business and industry. To have a workforce competent in the use of standards, higher education curricula must be developed to integrate standards education at appropriate points within the curriculum. Despite the importance of standards, they are not universally integrated into the college and university curricula. Given …

Accessing Web Archives: Integrating An Archive-It Collection Into Ebsco Discovery Service, Christina A. Beis, Kayla Harris, Stephanie Shreffler

Roesch Library Faculty Publications

Effective collaboration between archives and technical services can increase the discoverability of special collection materials. Archivists at the University of Dayton Libraries began using Archive-It to capture websites relevant to their collecting policies in 2015. However, the collections were only made available to users from the University of Dayton page on the Archive-It website. Content was isolated in a separate platform and was not promoted to users. Working together, the team of archivists and technical services librarians incorporated the web archive collections into the Libraries’ EBSCO Discovery Service (EDS) discovery layer. A local data dictionary was created based on OCLC’s …

Investigating The Effectiveness Of A Credit-Bearing Information Literacy Course In Reducing Library Anxiety For Adult Learners, Roslyn Grandy

Communications in Information Literacy

This study examines levels of library anxiety in 30 adult learners before and after completing a two-credit information literacy course. A modified version of the Multidimensional Library Anxiety Scale was administered at the beginning and end of the course to compare levels of library anxiety. An analysis of the data revealed that the course was moderately effective in reducing library anxiety in adult learners. Awareness of library resources, comfort with the search process, and comfort level with library technology significantly increased after course completion. No significant decreases in library anxiety were reported in the areas of comfort level with staff …

A Critical Review Of Lis Literature On First-Generation Students, Darren Ilett

University Libraries Publications

This review offers a critical analysis of the library and information science (LIS) literature on first-generation students (FGS) from the last 40 years. This literature demonstrates an interest in understanding the needs of FGS to serve them better, but it is often grounded in a deficit model of education that focuses on what first-generation students lack instead of what they have. This review identifies four predominant themes in the literature: FGS as outsiders, as a problem, as reluctant library users, and as capable students. Then it suggests possible avenues of future research, such as using a “funds of knowledge” approach …

First-Generation Students’ Information Literacy In Everyday Contexts, Darren Ilett

University Libraries Publications

Historically, much of the Library and Information Science (LIS) literature on first-generation students (FGS) framed them using deficit thinking, emphasising what they lacked to be successful in higher education. In contrast, recent scholarship has turned to asset-based pedagogies, shifting the focus onto the strengths that FGS bring to college. Further, LIS research on FGS has examined how students engage with information solely in academic contexts, such as completing research papers or navigating higher education procedures. The current study contributes to the discussion of asset-based pedagogies by using a funds of knowledge approach to explore the ways in which FGS at …

Latino Students And The Academic Library: A Primer For Action, Marta Bladek

Publications and Research

As the growth in Latino college enrollment is expected to continue for years to come, academic libraries at Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs) and beyond will be serving increasing numbers of Hispanic students. Since Latino educational attainment remains lower than than of other groups and academic libraries’ impact on retention, GPA and related educational outcomes has been well documented, it is crucial that academic libraries actively foster Latino students’ success. A review of the literature on Hispanic students and library use, the article also includes recommendations for practice and offers a local example to illustrate strategies libraries may implement to better …

The Information Literacy Continuum: Mapping The Acrl Framework To The Aasl School Library Standards, Elizabeth Burns, Melissa Gross, Don Latham

STEMPS Faculty Publications

The Association for College and Research Libraries (ACRL) and the American Association for School Libraries (AASL), two major divisions of the American Library Association (ALA), both recently released new guidelines. These documents form the basis for information literacy and library skills instruction for PK-20 education. In this study, we explored the alignment between these documents to identify the continuum of knowledge and skill expectations as well as the dispositional attributes toward information literacy that learners are presented. Our findings identified where the content of the ACRL Framework and AASL Standards Framework for Learners documents is strongly aligned as well as …

Standards Collections: Considerations For The Future, Margaret Phillips

Libraries Faculty and Staff Scholarship and Research

Technical standards are a form of gray literature that describe consensus for a wide variety of applications. They promote safety, quality, and interchangeability of parts. In academic libraries, standards have largely been associated with engineering collections, despite having connections to many disciplines. Engineering and technology accreditation bodies and employers continue to expect graduates to have knowledge and experience with standards upon graduation. This article provides a brief history of standards collection development in academic libraries, discusses the challenges of standards collections, shares a case study of standards information literacy curricula integration, and offers considerations for the future of standards collections.

Upsizing And Upskilling Library Student Assistants: Experiences From Smu Libraries, Sumita Govindan, Siew Khim Lim, Vincent Ong

Research Collection Library

Introduction: Student Assistants (SAs) play an invaluable role at the Singapore Management University (SMU) Libraries. Investing in SAs is a win-win for both the library and students as peer-to-peer learning becomes more important. In this presentation, participants will learn how we improved the skills of the Student Assistants (SAs) in order to increase the service quality delivered at the desk and helped them acquire skills for their wider professional development. Often the first point of contact at the Library’s services desk, it is critical that SAs hired have the necessary skills and competencies needed to perform their tasks efficiently. Thus, …

An Exploration Of Academic Librarian Positions Dedicated To Serving First Year College Students, Katelyn Angell

Brooklyn Library Faculty Publications

Within library literature there are many articles that describe academic librarians' experiences working with first-year college students, for example, teaching information literacy skills, assessing student learning, and serving as a personal librarian. While these positions have become common, there is not much formal research that compiles and investigates the professional responsibilities, campus partnerships, challenges, and successes of librarians in a first-year experience role. Interdepartmental collaboration is the primary focus of this exploration, as there are a multitude of campus stakeholders needed to ensure the overall success of first-year students. A survey of first-year librarians describes common themes and challenges across …

Illustrating A Technical Manual: Copyright And Fair Use In A Real World Professional Context, Karyn Hinkle

Library Faculty and Staff Publications

This lesson was developed for students preparing to enter professional practice who were assigned to write and/or illustrate a technical howto manual on a topic of their choice (how to put on ski boots, draw blood, use a fitness tracking app, etc.). The teaching librarian conducts a class session on finding and creating images to illustrate the manuals and teaches differences between using copyrighted and non-copyrighted images. The students work on finding images in the public domain, creating their own images, and incorporating copyrighted images via Creative Commons licenses and the principle of fair use. Librarians can teach this lesson …

Information Into Action? Reflections On (Critical) Practice (Keynote Address, Wilu 2018), Karen Nicholson

FIMS Presentations

In this keynote address, I consider the WILU 2018 conference theme “Information into Action" as representative of normative mainstream discourses of innovation, entrepreneurialism, vocation, and practicality in contemporary academic libraries.

Pointing A Telescope Toward The Night Sky: Transparency And Intentionality As Teaching Techniques, Beth Fuchs

Library Presentations

How often do you provide your students with a telescope to better view your instructional intentions? Recent research from The Transparency in Learning and Teaching in Higher Education Project at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas has shown that students benefit when teachers articulate the thought processes behind their instructional decisions and goals. How can transparent teaching practices enhance the professional practice of instruction librarians, even when leading a one-shot session? This workshop will explore the research behind transparent teaching, consider the assumptions that underlie it, and provide practical ways to implement it.

Participants will:

• define transparent teaching in order …

Analysis Of Factors That Influence Users’ Willingness To Pay For The Services Of Iranian Academic Libraries By Using The Contingent Valuation Method, Vida Seifouri, Fahimeh Babalhavaeji, Fatemeh Nooshin Fard, Dariush Matlabi

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

Background: The demand for evaluation methods of Academic libraries has resulted from the fact that universities are being recognized as an important economic asset of national competitiveness. This realization has led to an attempt to verify the effectiveness of investment in higher education, and Academic libraries also have had a chance to reconsider and promote the importance of their existence to their universities.

Objectives: The aim of the study was to estimate the economic value of a variety of academic library services and identify demographic, individual, sociological and technology factors affecting users’ willingness to pay by using the contingent valuation …

Perceptions Of Leadership And Skills Development In Academic Libraries, Mohammad Aslam

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

The purpose of this research is to investigate the perceptions of leadership in academic libraries and how leaders and administrators build their understanding of dynamic and successful leadership. The study examines of nine private and public institutions library director, manager and head librarian were included in order to find dynamic leadership skills, responsibilities at workplace, their satisfaction and institutional support to leadership. The study also focuses on how can leaders update their skills and competencies for the future leadership of academic libraries and what are the challenges and methods to increase leadership abilities. Face-to-face and telephone interviews were conducted to …

Stepping Up The Ladder To Meet User Needs: Innovative Library Services And Practices In A Nigerian University Of Technology., Nkeiru Emezie

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

Innovative services and practices are the buzzwords in today’s libraries. Changes brought about by the electronic environment has impacted on libraries and caused a transformation in services and practices. Consequently, the library of the Federal University of Technology Owerri (FUTO) has keyed into this paradigm by changing its conventional approach. This article explored various innovative services and practices in FUTO library. It also identified the benefits and extent of innovative services and practices in the library. A descriptive survey was adopted for the study while questionnaire was used as data collection instrument. Findings revealed a remarkable increase in library patronage, …

Provision Of Library Services For Users In Wheelchairs At Ardhi University And University Of Dar Es Salaam Libraries, George Firmin Kavishe, Irene Shubi Isibika

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

This paper investigated the provision of library services for people in wheelchairs in two university libraries in Tanzania. The paper studied access to the information materials collected in the libraries and the building structure of the two university libraries. At a wider aspect the paper looked at significance of access to library information as the basic right, specifically in higher learning institutions. The study used pragmatism paradigm which is a mixed method approach. Statistical package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 23 was used to analyze quantitative data while thematic analysis was used to analyze qualitative data. The results revealed …

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 …

Expectations On Library Services, Library Quality (Libqual) Dimension And Library Customer Satisfaction: Relationship To Customer Loyalty, Arlyn Selga Cristobal

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

This study examined the library users’ minimum acceptable, desired, and actual observed service performance level of the University of Saint Louis (USL) College Library along the four service quality dimensions: access to information (AI), affect of service (AS), library as place (LP) and information control (IC). It also sought to determine the interrelationships of library service quality, satisfaction with library services, and loyalty to library and its services. This study utilized a questionnaire ased on (a) the LIbQUAL™ 2003 by the Academic and Research Libraries (ARL) and Texas A&M University Libraries; (b) satisfaction on library services; and (c) loyalty measures. …

Adding Addie To The Library Orientation Program At Singapore Management University Libraries, Rajendra Munoo, Redzuan Abdullah

Research Collection Library

Planning library orientations in academic libraries is evolving and requires a rethink, as the pervasive blend of EdTech or educational technology is being used to impart 21st century skills such as critical thinking, creative problem-solving and collaboration to students in an increasingly digital world. Singapore Management University Libraries too, have been responsive in reviewing and revamping its library orientation program entitled LibQuest, which was once a traditional library tour to one that integrates technology and games to engage first-year students where students experience both the physical and digital library. A team of First-Year Experience (FYE) librarians curate and deliver the …

Student Responses To An Animated Character In Information Literacy Instruction, Jennifer Poggiali

Publications and Research

Purpose: This paper reports on a grant-funded project to create a hand-drawn, custom-made animated character named Jasmyn. Drawing on animation theory, the paper uses qualitative research to investigate student responses to the medium of animation, the character’s design, and three presentation strategies.

Design/methodology/approach: The researchers held three student focus groups to investigate the following research questions: 1. Will students endorse animation as a medium for library instructional videos on the grounds of its entertaining, subversive, or playful qualities? 2. Is Jasmyn designed and8 written in a way that engages students and compels them to respond to her as a character? …

Use Of Open Source Technology For Effective Academic Library Services In Nigeria, Ifeoma Stella Njoku Phd, R. Ravichandran Phd

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

This study focuses on the need for academic libraries to adopt open source software technology for effective library services in Imo State, Nigeria. Descriptive survey research method was used to elicit responses. About 82 respondents consisting of librarians from the six academic institutions in the state were used for the study. Consequently, 82 copies of the questionnaire were administered and 63 representing 78% were returned. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the data gathered. The results indicated that out of the 6 academic libraries involved in the study 1 is presently using D space and word press while others are …

Information Literacy And The Future Of Digital Information Services At The University Of Jos Library, Vicki Lawal

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

This paper highlights current developments in digital information resources at the University of Jos Library. It examines some of the new opportunities and challenges in digital information services presented by the changing context with respect to Information Literacy and the need for digital information literacy skills training. A case study method was employed for the study; data was collected through the administration of structured questionnaires to the study population. Findings from the study provide relevant policy considerations in digital Information Literacy practices for academic libraries in Nigeria who are going digital in their services.

Library Services Platform Path To Cloud Computing Adoption In Nigerian Academic Libraries: A Review, Idowu Adegbilero-Iwari, Saheed Abiola Hamzat

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

The library and Information science (LIS) profession have evolved over time taking advantage of prevailing technology. The arrival of computers and other communication technologies led to major changes in the ways library services are rendered and the profession practiced. Library Management Systems (LMS) is one of such earlier areas where ICT have been applied to the operations of the library during the library computerization era. The arrival of the renascent Cloud Computing is generating new areas of research in relation to librarians’ uptake of this new technology. Cloud computing is being leveraged by developers of library systems to facilitate the …

The Impact Of Information Literacy Instruction On Student Success: A Multi-Institutional Investigation And Analysis, Joni Blake, Melissa Bowles-Terry, N. Shirlene Pearson, Zoltan Szentkiralyi

Central University Libraries Research

The GWLA Student Learning Outcomes task force analyzed the data from over 42,000 first-time, first-year freshmen and over 1700 distinct courses from 12 research institutions to determine the impact(s) of information literacy instruction integrated into course curriculum on several student success measures.

Key findings include:

• Student retention rates are higher for those students whose courses include an information literacy instruction component.
• On average, First-Year GPA for students whose courses included information literacy instruction was higher than the GPA of students whose courses did not.
• Students exposed to library instruction interactions successfully completed 1.8 more credit hours per year than their …

Emerging Roles: Academic Libraries Crossing The Digital Divide, Kenneth Angell

SLIS Connecting

For every advance of information and communication technology in the 20thand 21st centuries, there has been gap between those who can readily adopt and benefit from it and those who cannot. As higher education becomes increasingly enmeshed in Internet-based learning, academic libraries will need to maintain and even increase digital literacy and fluency instruction in spite of presumed reduced need. Furthermore, academic libraries themselves will need to examine their own status in the divide.

You Have One Hour: Developing A Standardized Library Orientation And Evaluating Student Learning, Elizabeth Brown

Library Scholarship

Library orientations continue to excite, or plague, instruction librarians everywhere. Reaching first year students early can preempt academic heartache and research woes, yet the question of “what students really need” continues to evolve. This article presents a case study of a large-scale implementation of library orientations. The main issue addressed in this article involves a systematic review of students’ post-instruction responses and assessment of their learning. Related elements mentioned in this article include: interdepartmental participation; curriculum design; and instructional technology. While this implementation may not be appropriate for all academic libraries, its components may offer ideas for augmenting existing programs …

Classification Methods In Context At Theological Libraries: A Case Study, Chloe G. Noland

School of Information Student Research Journal

This case study explores issues of interoperability and shared collection management between two libraries – one community and one academic – located within the American Jewish University (AJU). AJU’s choice to use two separate classification systems, Library of Congress and Elazar, respectively, provides a necessary separation of academic and religious context, but limits record access between the two collections. Specifically, this study aims to answer the following core research question: is consolidation into one classification scheme both a realistic and helpful solution for increased interoperability? Examining the history, patron needs, and principles of arrangement in both systems provided further insights …

Transforming Information Literacy Through Librarian/Course Instructor Collaboration: A Case Study, Lauren R. Matacio, Bruce Closser

Journal of Adventist Libraries and Archives

This paper looks at librarian/course instructor collaboration in higher education and draws specific lessons from the two-year experience of a librarian embedded into an advanced college writing class. The case study pays particular attention to how collaboration influences students' development of research and writing skills and attitudes, and the instructional design of the course.