Do they really understand us?: Comparing instructional librarian, administrator, and educator perspectives about instructional librarianship preparation, duties, and needs

Abstract

This study examines whether differences exist among the perspectives of academic instructional librarians, academic library administrators, and library and information science educators as to the important skills/traits, job duties, educational needs, and challenges of the instructional role in academic librarianship. A web-based questionnaire was completed by 378 participants, including 286 instructional librarians, 36 administrators, and 56 full-time or adjunct LIS educators. The results indicate that while there is general agreement about many of the needs and shortcomings in instructional librarians' preparation and job duties, there is some disagreement about the extent to which library schools help students prepare for instructional roles as well as the methods of assessment used by instructional librarians and the major challenges they face in their role.