Library Instruction Research Articles

Teaching Communities

While instruction librarians seek the most meaningful experiences for our students, sometimes we have to look beyond tradition to meet students where they are and where they feel a sense of belonging on campus. Through autoethnography we explore what it means to teach and learn with students in extracurricular communities, such as those in support programs for first-generation students and student-athletes. We reflect on how working with these communities has shaped us as teacher librarians, including our perceptions of belonging. While not always clear-cut, we argue that working with extracurricular communities brings benefits not addressed by traditional subject librarianship.

“The Perils of Library Instruction”

In this paper, we argue that the crisis of teaching can be understood as a crisis of labour that continues to impact academic librarians because it is a historical process grounded in larger socio-political shifts precipitated by capitalism. We demonstrate that the emergence and development of teaching—and specifically teaching information literacy (IL) as a kind of librarian curriculum—in academic libraries in North America corresponds to the emergence of neoliberalism. The shocks created by neoliberal fiscal austerity along with anxiety about de-professionalization and de-skilling provoked by cheaper and more widely available information technology created a mounting crisis of legitimacy in librarianship throughout the late 1970s and into the 1980s. Librarians ostensibly remedied this crisis through the positioning of IL as a central contribution of the profession to the academy and society. The COVID-19 pandemic and economic recessions have only intensified the proletarianization processes that have been ongoing since the 1970s. As teaching, learning, and assessment technologies proliferate in the academy, librarians cannot teach more efficiently to meet the needs of growing university populations. Instead, they must rethink the purpose and goals of librarian teaching in the context of the academy. The question of teaching will not be solved until material conditions of librarian labour in the academy are solved.

Imperfectionist

This article focuses on a form of embedded instruction, wherein library employees work weekly within a student space, in this case the Indigenous Student Centre at Simon Fraser University in what is colonially known as British Columbia, Canada. As we continued to learn together and deepen our appreciation of Sḵwx̱wú7mesh scholarship and theory -- scholarship and theory Indigenous to the lands we occupy -- we recognized deep resonance with our understandings and approaches. In particular, Denise Findlay’s (Sḵwx̱wú7mesh) sharing about eslhélha7kwhiwsm and imperfect friendship have shaped our understandings of both our friendship and our role as teachers. Writing in an epistolary form, we dialogue about the time we spend together in the Indigenous Student Centre and how that time has allowed us to develop and appreciate a friendship-grounded approach to teaching and learning. This article invites readers into a dialogue between the authors, whose relationship initially developed through work collaborations and grew into a real-life friendship. By sharing stories, questions, and connections with what we are reading and learning, the authors encourage one another, and simultaneously the reader, to consider the possibilities of imperfection, humility, friendship, and radical care in academic library instruction beyond the classroom.

Library Curriculum as Epistemic Justice

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 is making space for multiple ways of knowing and that white librarians have particular responsibilities within this work to decolonize their minds. While our curriculum is far from perfect, we invite other educators to use and adapt our learning outcomes, as well as the decolonization approach and reflection questions shared here.

University Instructors Use of, and Satisfaction with, Library Services in the Year Following the COVID-19 Outbreak

A Review of: McClure, J. (2023). The COVID-19 pandemic and the rapid shift to an exclusively online format: Tracking online instructors’ utilization of library services over a year of virtual learning at the University of Memphis. College & Research Libraries, 84(1), 100–120. https://doi.org/10.5860/crl.84.1.100 Objective – To determine online instructors' satisfaction with and level of use of library services during the year following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Design – Survey questionnaire and follow-up interview. Setting – The University of Memphis (UofM) is a medium-sized, public, urban, R2 (doctoral university with high research activity) university. At the time of publication, UofM employed 930 full-time faculty and—through UofM Global—the option to earn degrees entirely online. Subjects – Survey respondents (n = 56) were online instructors at the University of Memphis. Methods – A confidential survey was distributed to all deans and department chairs at the UofM with instructions to disseminate the survey to all instructors teaching online course(s). Respondents were invited to participate in a follow-up interview. Main Results – Three common themes identified from the data were 1) respondents would have used the enhanced library services but were not aware of them; 2) respondents were very grateful for the services offered, in particular library instruction, Kanopy, and interlibrary loan; and 3) respondents did not feel like their courses would benefit from the library or its offered services. Conclusion – Based on the research results, the author concludes that the UofM Library must focus efforts on increasing visibility and communication, embedding the library in course design and assessment, as well as improving hybrid library instruction and offering purchase-on-demand collection development. The author has begun work on a follow-up study looking at ways to enhance the embedded librarianship service and increase communication between the UofM librarians and online teaching faculty.

Truth or Consequences: Academic Instruction Librarians as Information Literacy and Critical Thinking Activists

Truth or Consequences: Academic Instruction Librarians as Information Literacy and Critical Thinking Activists

Impact of Library Instruction Tutorial Format on Student Preference and Performance in First-Year Chemistry

Impact of Library Instruction Tutorial Format on Student Preference and Performance in First-Year Chemistry

Get to Know . . . Perveen Rustomfram

Perveen Rustomfram presides over one of the newest regional federal depository collections at the Ned McWherter Library at the University of Memphis (UM), which is also a depository for Tennessee state publications. She has had a fulfilling and illustrious career at UM, where she started as a reference and instruction librarian in 1995. She previously cut her teeth on government documents at the Memphis Public Library, where she worked from 1987 to 1993. Originally from Hyderabad, India, she obtained a BSW in Social Work from Bombay University, an MA in Sociology from the University of Hyderabad, a BLS in Library Science from SNDT University, and an MLS from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville.

Primary Source Instruction in Theological Libraries Through Rare Book Collections

This paper addresses how students perceive primary sources instruction in the credit-bearing information literacy labs and explores the implications of this pedagogical practice on the development of students’ understanding of research. Through collaboration with the course instructor, library labs instructor, and Chief Librarian, the students visited the Rare Book Room and interacted with the rare and unique material as part of their course curriculum. The authors completed a thematic analysis of students’ reflections, exploring the impact of this visit on their research journey and their perceptions of how primary source instruction has impacted their understanding of other topics covered in the course. The authors share their lessons learned and recommendations for those who would like to adopt a similar practice at their institutions.

Library instruction and information literacy 2022

PurposeThis paper aims to present recently published resources on library instruction and information literacy. It provides an introductory overview and a selected annotated bibliography of publications organized thematically and detailing, study populations, results and research contexts. The selected bibliography is useful to efficiently keep up with trends in library instruction for academic library practitioners, library science students and those wishing to learn about information literacy in other contexts.Design/methodology/approachThis article annotates 340 English-language periodical articles, dissertations, theses and reports on library instruction and information literacy published in 2022. The sources were selected from the EBSCO platform for Library, Information Science and Technology s (LISTA), Education Resources Information Center (ERIC), Elsevier SCOPUS and ProQuest Dissertations and Theses. Sources selected were published in 2022 and included the terms “information literacy,” “library instruction,” or “information fluency” in the title, subject terms, or author supplied keywords. The sources were organized in Zotero. Annotations were made summarizing the source, focusing on the findings or implications. Each source was then thematically categorized and organized for academic librarians to be able to skim and use the annotated bibliography efficiently.FindingsThe paper provides a brief description of 340 sources from 144 unique publications, and highlights publications that contain unique or significant scholarly contributions. Further analysis of the sources and authorship are provided.Originality/valueThe information is primarily of use to academic librarians, researchers, and anyone interested as a quick and comprehensive reference to literature on library instruction and information literacy published within 2022.

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

This study involves student responses to open-ended questions regarding the credibility of a New York Times news article after viewing library instructional materials. The authors present the use of content analysis as a means of assessing students’ source evaluations. The analysis revealed that all students were able to correctly list three factors that contribute to a source’s credibility, and nearly all students (96.5%) were able to define bias. Interestingly, 42.6% of students evaluated the New York Times article as not credible, for a variety of categorical reasons. These findings led to actionable changes to library instruction content.

Cognitive and motivational qualities of task instruction: Cognitive appraisals and achievement emotions of Swedish primary teacher students

Given the crucial role of primary teachers in shaping pupils' development, equipping primary teacher students with the necessary skills, including information-seeking skills, is fundamentally important. The aim of this study is to gain a better understanding of the process of achieving such skills by exploring the interplay between cognitive appraisals and achievement emotions and the way in which these are affected by the quality of instructions experienced. Instruction librarians' support in relation to instructions and how these can be designed to promote achievement are also investigated.Six Swedish primary teacher students were studied through in-depth semi-structured interviews over a period of 10 weeks. The methodological tool Geneva affect label coder was used for the mapping and categorization of appraisals and emotions. The analysis of the qualitative data was theory driven and deductively interpreted through the lens of Pekrun's control–value theory of achievement emotions, Scherer's semantic space of emotions, and Kuhlthau's information search process model.The cognitive appraisals identified were uncertainty, certainty, and negative and positive intrinsic motivation. The achievement emotions found in relation to cognitive quality were anger/frustration, anxiety, and hopelessness, and those linked to motivational quality were enjoyment and boredom. Uncertainty and negative intrinsic motivation/failure elicited emotions related to cognitive quality, and negative/positive intrinsic motivation and certainty determined emotions related to motivational quality. The interplay between appraisals and emotions was complex, involving feedback loops and reciprocal causation. The support from instruction librarians experienced was related to the students' ability to master the instructions and their cognitive qualities.The study has theoretical and methodological implications for information behavior and information literacy research in its application of appraisal theories and methodological tools. It also has practical implications for academic instruction librarians supporting students in the process of achieving information-seeking skills. By understanding how students experience support and the relations to the quality of task instructions, support can be designed in ways that promote positive achievement emotions and by implication achievement.

Enhancing virtual instruction: leveraging AI applications for success

Purpose This paper aims to describe several artificial intelligence (AI)-based applications that librarians can use to serve and design virtual library instruction, so it will be more effective and efficient. Design/methodology/approach The approach involves a comprehensive review of AI-based applications that bring benefits to librarian to enhance the virtual instructional services (AI). This study explores the existing papers to reveal the potential use of AI for research consultation, designing the instructional services and conducting evaluation of the program. Findings There are some AI-based applications that are available for free that will help instructional librarian jobs. Librarians use the AI to increase effectiveness of the services. The AI-based applications that can be used to support instructional services on research inquiries include virtual assistance, knowledge mapping and note making, and to support designing virtual instruction, librarians can use design apps, image generators, voice generator, grammar checker and paraphrasing. Originality/value There are many studies on AI at the library; however, it’s still rare a paper studied AI-based application that potentially will bring benefit for virtual instructional services. This paper will give overview of AI application that will help instructional librarian on transactions with users and help librarians to create innovative instructional media.

Measuring outcomes: Information literacy instruction assessment in a cross-institutional study

Measuring the impact of information literacy instruction in higher education is essential to support teaching and learning and demonstrate the value of information literacy instruction. This article reports on the findings from a cross-institutional study using resources from the Association of College & Research Libraries' (ACRL) Project Outcome Toolkit. A survey from the toolkit was implemented to measure student perceptions across four outcomes: increased knowledge, increased confidence, application of new knowledge/skills, and increased awareness of resources. The data provides insight on what students value from library instruction sessions at both a research university and state college. Students at both institutions indicated that they value information literacy instruction, as demonstrated by the similar ratings across the four outcomes.

Dismantling Deficit Thinking in Library Instruction for International Students

Deficit thinking, or a “blame the victim” mentality for academic failure, continues to plague higher education since it often requires specific training to recognize. International students are particularly vulnerable victims of instructors exhibiting a deficit viewpoint. Instruction librarians can break out of the deficit mindset by acknowledging the actual issues that impact international students, critically examining their own teaching background and identity, demonstrating cultural humility, employing culturally responsive teaching methods, and intentionally designing classroom experiences that will equip international students with the tools they need to succeed.

Werewolf on campus: A case study in inoculation theory and gamified one-shot library instruction

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 expanded beyond the one-shot model.

Requesting Librarian-Led Information Literacy Support: Instructor Approaches, Experiences, and Attitudes

abstract: This project sought to better understand why course instructors request librarian involvement to teach information literacy skills. Librarians at two large institutions surveyed 29 instructors and then interviewed 11 about their experiences working with librarians, their motivations for involving librarians in their courses, and their goals for including information literacy instruction. The study found that instructors had many different levels of experience with the library. Motivations for inviting librarians to their classes included creating a support network and sharing librarian expertise with students. The researchers also discuss instructor participation in library instruction sessions, including commentary, where they reinforce points made by the librarian during class, and bookending, where they sandwich librarian involvement between preliminary or concluding remarks.

Critical Reading and Student Self-Selected Texts: Results of a Collaborative, Explicit Curricular Approach

ABSTRACT This research asks whether a competency-based curriculum designed to integrate information literacy, critical reading, and writing improves students’ ability to critically read sources and then use source content for their own purposes. We hypothesized that critical reading-infused library instruction, course instruction, and curriculum support via peer consultation (intervention group) would positively impact students’ critical reading facility and ability to synthesize sources into meaningful writing as opposed to students who do not receive this instruction (control group). Our research indicates a strong correlation between students’ navigating a critical reading curriculum for a research project with self-selected texts and positive research-based writing outcomes for these courses. Students in the intervention group were more likely to be able to integrate source material effectively into their self-selected research-based projects than students in the control group.

Infinite Archives, Infinite Possibilities: Learning Research and Databases with Archive of our Own

This article will discuss the importance of acknowledging the information practices of subcultural groups within library instruction and fostering an inclusive learning environment with the implementation of a workshop by comparing research databases with the popular fanfiction website, Archive of Our Own. By incorporating AO3 into library instruction, students’ interests and prior experiences were engaged by utilizing the principles of subcultural capital. The workshop utilized students’ knowledge of information searching from their personal lives and their interests to highlight similarities with academic research using examples such as filters, keywords, and author searching. This allowed students to develop skills to search precisely for materials in a familiar environment. Further, the success of the workshop demonstrates how librarians can incorporate fan’s informational behaviors, and access practices into instructional content about research and database usage, making research less intimidating and more accessible to students.

Teaching strategies for library instruction: directions from the literature

This paper proposes teaching strategies and techniques for library instruction in academic libraries to achieve the intended goals. The recommendations are based on insights from previous research in library instruction with the intention to identify possible strategies and techniques for different user groups. This study applied a systematic literature review method, using the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) protocol to examine the use of teaching strategies and techniques in library instruction programs. The Web of Science (WoS) and Scopus databases were searched for relevant literature using specific keywords. Applying the inclusion criteria, a total of 27 articles out of the 1380 documents extracted, were deemed relevant to the study. The results show that library instruction is usually conducted in the form of individual sessions. Teaching strategies used by librarians include flipped classroom, faux flip, classroom teaching, research clinic, consultation, asynchronous learning, and online synchronous learning, among others. These teaching strategies improved engagement and relationships between students and librarians, while impacting critical thinking, confidence and self-directed learning. It is concluded that librarians should consider adopting and combining teaching strategies based on individual needs and use technology to improve teaching effectiveness and increase student learning. This study shows that most studies on library instruction have only partially addressed instructional strategies. A critical review of the literature revealed that a strategic shift in the management of library instruction is necessary to achieve the intended outcomes. In this study, three teaching strategies for library education are proposed, namely Embracing for freshman, Encouraging for sophomore, and Leveraging for postgraduates.