Information Literacy Commons^™

A Close Look At The Concept Of Authority In Information Literacy, Stefanie Bluemle

Library and Information Science: Faculty Scholarship & Creative Works

The concept of authority—its definition and the consequences thereof—receives intense scrutiny in library scholarship. This article intervenes in that debate with attention to the larger political context in which the debate is taking place. The article’s purpose is threefold. First, it analyzes the most significant work on authority from philosophy and information studies in order to explicate the concept. Second, it draws on that explication to identify three components of authority that are under-addressed in library literature: a) the distinction between cognitive authority and political authority, b) the means by which authority is recognized or granted to a source, …

Werewolf On Campus: A Case Study In Inoculation Theory And Gamified One-Shot Library Instruction, Abigail Adams

University Libraries Faculty Scholarship

This case study details the development and results of an information literacy game in which undergraduate students evaluated fictional sources to learn how to recognize a werewolf on campus. The game relied on inoculation theory and fiction to teach students to identify indicators of mis and disinformation outside of any real-world examples that might affect their learning experience. The game showed promise as students were far more engaged and demonstrated better retention later in the semester than students who received a more traditional lecture about disinformation and source evaluation. However, the game would likely be more effective if it were …

From Consumers To Creators: Scaffolding Digital Information Literacy Throughout The Undergraduate Curriculum, Emily Metcalf, Lisa Louis, Catherine Rudowsky, Tara Carlisle

Books and Contributions to Books

For decades, the Mary and Jeff Bell Library at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi (TAMU-CC) has promoted library services across campus and provided information literacy instruction upon request. Despite these efforts, the library’s reach was not evenly distributed across subject disciplines or course levels, with over half of the instruction occurring at the first-year level. The TAMU-CC librarians knew that to help students become truly information literate, equitable instruction was needed across more disciplines and throughout all course levels.

In the spring of 2018, we encountered an opportunity to create a robust digital information literacy program in the shape of a …

Library Curriculum As Epistemic Justice: Decolonizing Library Instruction Programs, Heather Campbell, Dan Sich

Western Libraries Publications

Information literacy scholars and leaders are calling for the decolonization of library instruction, knowing that our work helps to maintain colonial systems. While there is no checklist or road map to program decolonization, academic libraries and instruction teams must start the work anyway. This article shares the story of curriculum decolonization at Western Libraries, so far, including the decolonization ‘cycle’ we followed and our resulting six learning outcomes. Grounded in epistemic justice, our new curriculum prioritizes living beings over information, and uses a broad, inclusive definition of knowledge throughout. Librarians at Western University acknowledge that the first step in decolonization …

Acting "As If": Critical Pedagogy, Empowerment, And Labor, Rafia Mirza, Karen P. Nicholson, Maura Seale

FIMS Publications

In this chapter, we explore the labor of information literacy and its devaluation in professional discourse, which lends appeal to critical library pedagogy as means to reclaim agency in the classroom. We consider how discourses of agency and empowerment in critical library pedagogy fail to account for positionality, power, and context, with the result that critical pedagogy tends to center individual (heroic) efforts rather than collective action. Critical pedagogy thus becomes a decontextualized and disempowering fiction, a practice of “acting as if” the classroom were a safe space. Reframing critical library pedagogy as labor undertaken in solidarity with other workers …

Dominant Covid Narratives And Implications For Information And Media Literacy Education In The “Post-Pandemic” United States, Andrea Baer

Libraries Scholarship

Over the past three+ years that COVID-19 has changed everyday life across the globe, the entire world has been tasked with making sense of new, evolving, and often conflicting information, including public message that is often confusing and shaped by political agendas and interests. Dominant narratives about the COVID-19 pandemic illustrate of the complexities and importance of information literacy, and more specifically of critical information literacy, which asks us to interrogate the ways that power and social structure influence what information is created and circulated and how we interact with and respond to it as individuals and collectives. In this …

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.

Diving Below The Surface: A Layered Approach To Teaching Online Source Evaluation Through Lateral And Critical Reading, Andrea Baer, Daniel G. Kipnis

Libraries Scholarship

As online environments have in many ways changed how information (including misinformation) is created and distributed, many educators have recognized a need for teaching new strategies for evaluating online sources for credibility and potential bias. Educators like Mike Caulfield and research groups like the Stanford History Education Group (SHEG) have stressed the need for “lateral reading,” a habit of fact-checking when initially evaluating a source. When reading laterally, a person doesn’t spend extensive time initially examining what a source says about itself; instead, they quickly move off of the site in question to look at what others have said about …

Understanding Scholarly Articles: Teaching A Strategic Reading Method To Academically At-Risk Students, Kimberly Foster, Amy F. Fyn

Library Faculty Publications

In 2018, the library began partnering with the Academic Coaching Experience Department (ACED) to support students. Academic Coaches had been developing a new course for academically at-risk first and second year students and wanted to collaborate with the library on a unit. Typically, library instruction sessions would be oriented toward providing instruction centered on a research assignment, but the new course had none. A fresh approach was needed to provide useful and engaging content for this student population. To avoid redundancy with the research skills addressed in other courses ACED students may be taking, two librarians decided to complement a …

Discovering Crime And Justice Data On Government Websites, Ariana Baker, Allison Faix

Library Faculty Publications

This chapter will outline different federal agencies that collect and distribute data related to crime and justice. It will offer some strategies for finding, navigating, and getting the most out of that data.

Evaluating New York Times Data Set: Coded For Credibility Reasoning, Natalie Haber

Research and Data

Dataset affiliated with article : Evaluating the New York Times: Content Analysis of Student Responses to Open-Ended Tutorial Questions

Bibliography, Rosemary L. Meszaros

Faculty/Staff Personal Papers

Bibliography of publications by Rosemary Meszaros.

From Rookie To Researcher: Integrating Information Literacy Into Undergraduate Research, Larissa K. Garcia, Dee Anna Phares, Kimberly Shotick

Faculty Books & Book Chapters

Undergraduate research is a specific pedagogical practice with an impact on teaching and learning, and the definition of what counts as research continues to expand to include different types of projects, mentors, and institutions. Diversity, equity, and inclusion in librarians’ work with students and faculty are present and growing. Collaborations between faculty, librarians, and students are furthering student knowledge in new ways. This community and an awareness of students’ non-academic challenges demonstrate the library’s contribution to students’ overall sense of belonging within their institutions. This chapter describes the involvement of an academic library with an undergraduate research program.

Beyond Session Counting: A Program Development Model For Information Literacy In A Liberal Arts College, Christine Bombaro, Theresa S. Arndt

Harrisburg University Faculty Works

Academic librarians have long struggled to evaluate, report, promote and grow library services in order to effect positive changes in curricula. Metrics reported to faculty and administration generally include how many information literacy sessions are taught, how many students were present, and what subject areas were taught. However, merely counting information literacy sessions does not convey goals, opportunity, or progress. The Information Literacy Program Development Model (ILPDM) described in this article demonstrates how academic librarians at a small, liberal arts college moved beyond counting the number of information literacy sessions as a measure of value by clearly defining what a …

Keep Calm And Read Laterally! A Bite-Sized Information Literacy Programme At Singapore Management University Libraries, Zhenyan Li

Research Collection Library

Librarians at Singapore Management University (SMU) Libraries developed an information literacy programme, titled Keep Calm and Read Laterally! as part of the Libraries’ flagship BiteSized Workshop Series. The initiative aimed to further the digital competence of students through advocating critical and effective engagement with digital information. The workshop was highly interactive, incorporating problem-based learning and hands-on group activities, and was split into two parts. The first part helped learners to understand what they read and what types of resources they could use to address various information needs, while the second part guided learners to assess digital information leveraging lateral reading …

The Need For International Ai Activities Monitoring, Parviz Partow-Navid, Ludwig Slusky

Journal of International Technology and Information Management

This paper focuses primarily on the need to monitor the risks arising from the dual-use of Artificial Intelligence (AI). Dual-use AI technology capability makes it applicable for defense systems and consequently may pose significant security risks, both intentional and unintentional, with the national and international scope of effects. While domestic use of AI remains the prerogative of individual countries, the unregulated and nonmonitored use of AI with international implications presents a specific concern. An international organization tasked with monitoring potential threats of AI activities could help defuse AI-associated risks and promote global cooperation in developing and deploying AI technology. The …

Determinants Of Continuance Intention To Use Mobile Wallets Technology In The Post Pandemic Era: Moderating Role Of Perceived Trust, Shailja Tripathi

Journal of International Technology and Information Management

The Covid-19 pandemic amplified the volume and importance of mobile payments using digital wallets and placed a basis for their continued adoption. The objective of the study is to formulate and test a comprehensive model by integration of the technology acceptance model (TAM) and expectation confirmation model (ECM) with the addition of three constructs, namely perceived trust, perceived risk, and subjective norm, to identify the determinants of continuance intention to use mobile wallets. Questionnaire-based survey method was used to gather the data from 550 users having experience using mobile wallets for more than six months. The data were analyzed using …

Highlighting Engineers Diverse Information Sources Through Customized Libguides For Engineering Design Courses, Aleshia A. Huber

Library Scholarship

This case study examines the development and implementation of a customized LibGuide for a freshman engineering design course, aimed at enhancing students’ awareness and utilization of the diverse information resources employed by professional engineers. The redesigned guide featured dedicated pages for each design project, each curated with targeted resources to promote deeper engagement with a broad spectrum of engineering information. User interaction data was examined to assess its effectiveness, and practical recommendations are provided for librarians seeking to implement similar course-integrated guides

Disciplines Different Of Fine-Grained Acknowledged Entity：A Case Of Doctoral Dissertations In Chinese Humanities And Social Sciences, Jiaxin He, Shijin Zhang, Jiayu Zheng, Xinlong Chu, Chengzhi Zhang

Journal of Scientific Information Research

[Purpose/significance]Thesis acknowledgment is a public text in which the authors express their gratitude to individuals and institutions those support their research. It is helpful to understand the individuals and institutions that play a role in the cultivation of doctoral candidate in different disciplines by extracting the entities of acknowledgment and comparing the distribution of the objects of acknowledgment in the dissertations of different disciplines.[Method/process]In this paper, we gained more than 60 000 Chinese doctoral dissertations acknowledgment of 21 humanities and social sciences disciplines, extracted acknowledged entities from acknowledgment, and constructed a fine-grained classification system of acknowledgment entities. The classification system …

Student-Led Collection Development For Diversifying Collections And Making Connections, Kate Blinn, Jennifer Coval, Camilla Mackay

Library Staff Presentations and Conference Papers

Poster presented at the Association of College & Research Libraries conference, Pittsburgh, PA, 16 March, 2023.

Librarians at Bryn Mawr College established an annual paid spring break internship for undergraduate students focused on collection development. The goal was to promote diversity in library collections by providing the students with the knowledge and budget to purchase popular reading material from Philadelphia independent bookstores who collections reflect diverse voices.