Information Literacy Commons^™

Beginning And Extending The Conversation, Maria T. Accardi, Emily Drabinski, Alana Kumbier

Communications in Information Literacy

The co-editors of this special issue of Communications in Information Literacy describe the origins and context for this issue and provide an overview of the ideas and perspectives of the contributors.

Dreaming Revolutionary Futures: Critical Race’S Centrality To Ending White Supremacy, Sofia Y. Leung, Jorge R. López-Mcknight

Communications in Information Literacy

Critical Library Instruction: Theories and Methods dangerously lacked a centering, and critique, of white supremacy, as a structure of domination; we see the continuation of that active avoidance, or a progress approach through liberal or multicultural frameworks that do not precisely identify roots of racialized oppression in critical librarianship currently. In this essay, we reject progress narratives depicting the profession as having arrived, or even moved further, to a critical space, paying particular close attention to the absence of white supremacy, not only in the text Critical Library Instruction: Theories and Methods but in critical library instruction. We then explore …

Iterable Ciphers For Insurrection, Dolsy Smith

Communications in Information Literacy

This piece situates the project of critique in relation to the idea of library instruction as labor and the library as an organization. If the laborer can come to reflect on the conditions of their labor, thereby achieving a measure of autonomy even at the grindstone, it's also possible that the critical subject can be induced or coerced to labor on behalf of the organization. In the attenuation of organized forms of solidarity at the workplace, the organizations that employ us demand more and more of their workers' time, energy, and commitment. In this piece, I surface these tensions in …

Moving From Critical Assessment To Assessment As Care, Veronica Arellano Douglas

Communications in Information Literacy

In Teaching Against the Grain: Critical Assessment in the Library Classroom, Maria Accardi sought a critical, feminist approach to assessment that questioned power structures, celebrated learners, and found strength in diverse perspectives and voices. This article expands on Accardi’s work to explore a care-based assessment framework rooted in the foundations of critical assessment, relational-cultural theory, and critical generosity. This includes a critique of the current language of assessment in library and information science literature and higher education; an examination of models for more caring versions of assessment (particularly those from other feminized professions); and a reframing of the conversation around …

Rethinking The Neoliberal University: Critical Library Pedagogy In An Age Of Transition, Jason Coleman, Lis Pankl

Communications in Information Literacy

In the chapter we wrote 10 years ago for Critical Library Instruction: Theories and Methods we asked instructors to free themselves from the stifling heritage of positivism that privileged tools and instrumentality above meaning. Drawing on Henry Giroux and Oscar Wilde, we urged our peers to embrace dialogue that respects the individual and draws connections between information literacy and the students’ authentic goals and experiences. In this essay we describe numerous changes over that past decade that embrace the central themes of our chapter. We then explain that these examples coexist within a vast edifice of antithetical, neoliberal institutions. We …

Critical Library Instruction As A Pedagogical Tool, Nicole A. Cooke

Communications in Information Literacy

The opportunity to expand pedagogy is an especially good thing for library educators, particularly when library professionals do not have formal training as teachers and instructors. We have a responsibility to ourselves and our students to grow intellectually and share growth and new knowledge with others. We should be promoting and practicing critical self-reflection and thinking critically about and even critiquing the information we consume and the sources from which it originates. This is an ongoing and iterative process that requires that we consistently read and remain abreast of new and interdisciplinary ideas that can challenge and inform our practice. …

Building A Critical Culture: How Critical Librarianship Falls Short In The Workplace, Jennifer A. Ferretti

Communications in Information Literacy

Critical librarianship, or critlib, has made its way into the mainstream of library and information science through conferences, scholarly publications, social media, and other outlets. Over the past 10 years critical library instruction specifically has continued to be a much presented and published topic. Classes and other groups that come through our libraries are opportunities for us to teach, learn, and empower. The care and critical perspectives we bring into the classroom are necessary, but are we also fostering this type of environment in the workplace? Are we doing enough to turn the critical lens on ourselves? As a woman …

Teacher As Stranger: Unfinished Pathways With Critical Pedagogy, Caroline Sinkinson

Communications in Information Literacy

In 2010, Accardi, Drabinski, and Kumbier published the edited collection Critical Library Instruction, which marked a turn to more broadly integrate critical theory into the practice and literature of librarianship. This article looks back ten years to trace how critical pedagogy continues to provoke librarians' reflective measurement of the coherence between theory and practice, whether in the classroom or in advocacy for open education. With Paulo Freire’s notion of unfinishedness and Maxine Greene’s metaphor of ’teacher as stranger,' the article explores the nature of teaching as a continuously reflective and creative act.

Critical Library Instruction, Causing Trouble, And Institutionalization, Maura Seale

Communications in Information Literacy

This essay considers the institutionalization of critical library instruction in the decade since the publication of Critical Library Instruction: Theories & Methods. Drawing on the work of Sara Ahmed and Rod Ferguson, I suggest that because library instruction is marginalized within librarianship, critical library instruction can and has become institutionalized within the profession. The institutionalization of critical library instruction represents the management of the wider-ranging and more troublesome critiques of critical librarianship. The marginality of critical library instruction, however, means that it continues to function as a site of troublemaking.

That Was Then, This Is Wow: A Case For Critical Information Literacy Across The Curriculum, Margaret Rose Torrell

Communications in Information Literacy

This article applies a Writing across the Curriculum approach to Critical Library Instruction. The information landscape has drastically shifted over the past ten years, altering the ways we perform, interact with, access, and understand research. These changes call for critical library instruction programs that are more robust and sustained than the one- or two-shot critical library instruction lesson I had described in 2010. However, college classroom practices, due to a variety of challenges, have been slow to adapt to this need. In this article written from my perspective as an English teacher, I identify the central place of critical information …

Drive Traffic, Increase Links, Michele Gibney, Nicole Grady

Digital Commons Southeastern User Group Meeting (2020) (Archived)

One of the best ways to drive traffic to an institutional repository site is by adding links to it from other, established sites. This could be your institutional website – adding links from a departmental page to the department’s scholarly work. Or from your social media platforms to a relevant article corresponding with a topical news event. Another option is Wikipedia. Have you considered leveraging Wikipedia’s astronomical base of users for your own ends? With an average of 200 million+ page views a day, Wikipedia is an excellent resource to drive traffic to your IR.

But HOW can you accomplish …

Research Publications In Web Of Science Shift From Bitcoin To Blockchain, With Focus On Computer Science, Engineering, Telecommunications, And Business Economics, Megan Price, Greta Snyder

School of Information Student Research Journal

No abstract provided.

Review Of The Librarian’S Guide To Homelessness: An Empathy-Driven Approach To Solving Problems, Preventing Conflicts, And Serving Everyone, Sagan Wallace

School of Information Student Research Journal

No abstract provided.

Book Review: Fake News And Alternative Facts: Information Literacy In A Post-Truth Era By Nicole A. Cooke, Anna Morrissey

School of Information Student Research Journal

No abstract provided.

Library Application Of Deep Web And Dark Web Technologies, Mollie L. Coffey

School of Information Student Research Journal

The Deep Web and Dark Web are legitimate tools for use in the field of information science, adding to the discussion of patron privacy. The American Library Association policies on privacy and confidentiality combined with the advancement of internet technology necessitate that library professionals become fluent in Dark Web usability in libraries.

Emotional Labor, Stressors, And Librarians Who Work With The Public, Kelsey Simon

School of Information Student Research Journal

Service jobs require regular interaction with customers and have certain expectations of specific emotions that should be shown during transactions. This use of expected emotional displays during service transactions is called emotional labor and it is an important part of service work, but there are significant consequences for regular use. This paper reviews the literature on emotional labor, and the consequences of the repeated use of emotional labor within the service workforce. It also reviews the literature on stressors reported by librarians and job-related stress. Relationships can be seen between emotional labor, the work of librarian professionals, and stressors in …

Electronic Library Collections And Users With Visual Impairments: Challenges, Developments, And The State Of Collections Policies In Academic And Public Libraries, Anthony M. Digiovanni

School of Information Student Research Journal

Academic and public library collections are developed based on the needs of the communities that surround them. Technology has increased the way users access information, and the way libraries offer information to their users. However, the accessibility of electronic resources for users with print disabilities remains an issue that has yet to have an equitable remedy. This paper identifies the challenges of visually impaired users, the developments in law, the current state of accessibility in academic and public library collections policies, and the current formats and products that are leading the way.

African-American Mental Health Community: Information Needs, Barriers, And Gaps, Stephanie Jackson

School of Information Student Research Journal

This paper articulates the importance of African Americans regarding mental health: how they obtain information, lack of available resources, internal and external pressures of receiving help, and the gathering of their information from non-traditional sources in comparison to traditional. Historically, the community has faced stereotypical pressures, which they actively fight against to be viewed as equal. After segregation being abolished and many sources and organizations offering support for many different races, there is still an imbalance in what is offered and available for African Americans. A mix of current and dated studies and texts will be highlighted to discover findings, …

Online Community For Librarian Researchers: Experience Of Academic Librarians, Lili Luo

School of Information Student Research Journal

No abstract provided.

Student Research Journal, Volume 10, Issue 1, Student Reseach Journal

School of Information Student Research Journal

No abstract provided.