Bibliographic Instruction Librarians Research Articles

Proficiencies for Instruction Librarians: Is There Still a Disconnect Between Professional Education and Professional Responsibilities?

In 1993, based on the proficiencies for bibliographic instruction librarians (1986), Diana Shonrock and Craig Mulder investigated if and where librarians were acquiring these proficiencies. In 2007, ACRL approved a revised set of proficiencies: Proficiencies for Instruction Librarians and Coordinators. The authors recreated the 1993 study, using the revised set of proficiencies. Librarians find the new set of proficiencies to be more relevant to their jobs than the older set of proficiencies; however, they are still most likely to acquire the proficiencies primarily outside their library school education.

If We Hold It Will They Come? Searching Sessions at SUNY New Paltz

Summary With each technological leap, Bibliographic Instruction librarians are seekinnnovative ways to reach users. Reference librarians at the State University of New York atNew Paltz implemented a series of drop-in workshops during the Fall Semester of 1997. Thesessions were designed to help students with searching skills, using the OPAC, ERIC on CD-ROM, SearchBank online database, and the Internet. A new electronic classroom was constructed to provide an interactive environment for the classes. The purpose of this study wasto study data collected at the time of the workshops and to ask whether non-mandatory sessions have a viable place in a library instruction program.Should the workshops be repeatedand how might they be more effective? The study further proposed to examine how theseand other forms of instruction might fit into a college wide program of information literacy. Librarians who worked on the project were interviewed. They answered questions concerningthe objectives of the sessions and whether those goals were met. In addition, they offered suggestions for improvement and opinions concerning mandatory instruction. Administratorsdiscussed progress towards an institutional commitment to a college wide Information Literacy effort. Workshop participants were asked to complete a survey at the end of each “Super Searching Session.” Requested information included the type of workshop attended;grade status; whether they were a transfer, adult, or international student; how theylearned about the workshops; and if they felt the classes were helpful. The numberof students attending was low, despite extensive marketing efforts. Results of these surveys indicate greater attendance by upper level undergraduates and graduate students. A high number of attendees were transfer and adult students.College committees and roundtableshave been created to explore ways of meeting the Middle States standards for Information Literacy. In addressing the desire for students to have a “meaningful encounter with technology” while at New Paltz, administrators discuss issues such as required courses; discipline-specific courses that incorporate computer and/or information literacy; the role of the library;cooperation of faculty, library, and computer services. A university-wide initiativethat would nurture the beginnings of such “meaningful encounters,” must be the first step towards an institutional program of Information Literacy.Librarians who worked on the projectwere interviewed. They answered questions concerning the objectives of the sessions and whether those goals were met. In addition, they offered suggestions for improvement and opinions concerning mandatory instruction. Administrators discussed progress towards an institutional commitment to a college wide Information Literacy effort.Workshop participantswere asked to complete a survey at the end of each “Super Searching Session.” Requested information included the type of workshop attended; grade status; whether they were a transfer, adult, or international student; how they learned about the workshops; andif they felt the classes were helpful. The number of students attending was low, despite extensivemarketing efforts. Results of these surveys indicate greater attendance by upper level undergraduates and graduate students. A high number of attendees were transfer and adult students. College committees and roundtables have been created to explore ways of meeting the Middle States standards for Information Literacy. In addressing the desire for studentsto have a “meaningful encounter with technology” while at New Paltz, administrators discuss issues such as required courses; discipline-specific courses that incorporate computerand/or information literacy; the role of the library; cooperation of faculty, library, andcomputer services. A university-wide initiative that would nurture the beginnings of such “meaningful encounters,” must be the first step towards an institutional program of Information Literacy.

Burnout among bibliographic instruction librarians

The literature of library and information science suggests that bibliographic instruction (BI) librarians are at risk for burnout, a syndrome of emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and loss of a sense of personal accomplishment. To assess the extent and nature of burnout in this group, the author administered the Maslach Burnout Inventory and a Role Questionnaire to BI librarians in comprehensive and liberal arts colleges in New England, using a mailed survey. Analysis of the survey data indicated that BI librarians experience burnout, with 52.8% reporting high burnout in one dimension of the syndrome and 8.5% showing high burnout in all three dimensions. Role conflict contributes to emotional exhaustion and depersonalization dimensions of burnout. Follow-up interviews explored the nature of the role conflict experienced by survey respondents. Christina Maslach, a pioneer in the study of burnout, defines this condition as a syndrome of emotional exhaustion, depersonalization (loss of empathy for clients), and reduced personal accomplishment that can occur among individuals who do people work of some kind. A key aspect… is increased feelings of emotional exhaustion; as emotional resources are depleted, workers feel they are no longer able to give of themselves at a psychological level. Another aspect… is the development of depersonalization—i.e., negative and cynical attitudes and feelings about one's clients … A third aspect of the burnout syndrome, reduced personal accomplishment, refers to a tendency to evaluate oneself negatively … (Maslach & Jackson, 1986, p.1).

How Index-Learning Turns No Student Pale:

The Information Superhighway is much in the news, and this news is traveling with Appleseed alacrity, bringing many new user expectations for manipulating automated bibliographic resources. Bibliographic instruction librarians must respond to people who want access to information from any number of points. This essay presents an exercise in making critical distinctions by encouraging people to read ERIC abstracts as arguments. Works touching on rhetoric and bibliographic instruction are reviewed, and abstracts are presented for sentence structure and rhetoric. Rhetoric is assessed on the basis of whether the words can be traced to a distinct active argument, or, in contrast, whether they seem to be casually assembled The essay also argues that critical reading is not based on memorized grammar rules; rather, is based on careful attention to what words do within the context of a sentence. Thus, what the abstract accomplishes within the context of the research.

Breaking Out of the Basement:

The library literature records that bibliographic instruction (BI) has taken its rightful place in the academic library repertoire. The literature also records that technical services librarians (including cataloging librarians), continue to "break out of the basement," actively participating in BI since at least the late 1880s, although few articles codify specific contributions. In 1993, 124 librarians, currently working in State University of New York (SUNY) academic librarian positions, were surveyed regarding the extent of their participation in bibliographic instruction activates. Survey results are reported in detail, indicating that slightly less than half (47.6% or 39) of the 82 respondents do provide bibliographic instruction, not only catalog and library research instruction, but also instruction for a broad range of specialized subject areas. Conclusions challenge cataloging librarians to take a continuing more active role in BI, and challenge BI librarians to more actively embrace their cataloging colleagues. Conclusions also challenge both groups to collaborate in order to effectively teach their constituencies. Includes two tables, two charts, and numerous references.

The role of freshman writing in academic bibliographic instruction

The history of freshman writing programs and bibliographic instruction (BI) is reviewed to determine the extent to which freshman writing is used as a vehicle for BI, the perceptions of BI librarians, and the instruction methods used for the delivery of BI. Survey results are analyzed and recommendations made.

User Instruction for Access to Catalogs and Databases on the Internet

Online library catalogs and other information resources accessible through network connections offer students and scholars a variety of useful data, but present special problems to remote users. Issues facing the user of Internet-accessible systems include knowing how to reach a system; finding out what a system contains; mastering commands and menu structures; using appropriate kinds of search terms; and choosing among systems to meeet information needs effectively. These issues should be addressed by bibliographic instruction librarians and others who develop instructional units for access to systems on the Internet.

Microcomputers and Bibliographic Instruction

In recent years, bibliographic instruction librarians have begun to explore appropriate applications of microcomputers in user education activities. This paper highlights three microcomputer instructional projects which provide a glimpse of the possibilities ahead for enhancing user education services through microcomputer technology. Implications of these activities for library users, librarians, and libraries are discussed.

Teaching Librarians to Teach: On-the-Job Training for Bibliographic Instruction Librarians. Alice S. Clark, Kay F. Jones

<i>Teaching Librarians to Teach: On-the-Job Training for Bibliographic Instruction Librarians</i>. Alice S. Clark, Kay F. Jones

Teaching Librarians to Teach: On-the-Job Training for Bibliographic Instruction Librarians

Teaching Librarians to Teach: On-the-Job Training for Bibliographic Instruction Librarians

Teaching Research Skills Using Video: An Undergraduate Library Approach

Technology can be both the bane and the boon of bibliographic instruction librarians. While none of us would hesitate to extol the virtues of automation and computerization, it becomes more evident that, in some ways, library instruction is driven by technology. Technological advances give us new classes to teach, but also offer new methods of instruction. Considering what we want to teach, and considering the methods available ten years ago as compared to the present, we've come a long way—but so have our students. This is not to say they are any more knowledgeable of library research methods; but rather, computer and video technology are now second nature for them. Introducing this technology into the classroom means we have the ability to provide library instruction in a way that encourages students to learn—on their own terms.

Teaching Librarians to Teach: On-the-Job Training for Bibliographic Instruction Librarians (Book Review)

Teaching Librarians to Teach: On-the-Job Training for Bibliographic Instruction Librarians (Book Review)