Teaching self-efficacy is a critical factor in instructional success. Little research has been conducted on how academic librarians perceive their own teaching abilities. This study introduces and validates the Librarian Teaching Self-Efficacy Scale, a tool designed to measure self-efficacy beliefs among academic librarians engaged in information literacy instruction. By adapting established self-efficacy scales to the library instruction context, this study examines key factors influencing librarian teaching self-efficacy, including instructional strategies, lesson planning, and collaboration with faculty. Collective self-efficacy, which is perceptions of colleagues' teaching confidence, is also examined. Statistical analysis indicates a reliable and valid scale which may benefit from further testing. The study highlights implications for librarian professional development, emphasizing the need for continued research on how teaching self-efficacy develops and its potential role in preventing burnout. Ultimately, the Librarian Teaching Self-Efficacy Scale provides a reflective tool for academic librarians to assess and enhance their instructional confidence.
Reflection is a useful pedagogical tool for both learners in instructional settings and educators seeking to offer meaningful experiences; in this article, a group of academic librarians use the former to engage with the latter. We analyzed more than 830 first-year students' responses to a reflection question posed at the conclusion of library instruction over the course of the 2023-2024 academic year with a specific eye to the concepts that were and were not resonant, as well as whether there were common areas of confusion. We used a grounded theory approach to make sense of the data and allow ideas to emerge. Based on our analysis, students seemed to find concrete applications of the information literacy frame "Searching as Strategic Exploration" to be their most immediate takeaways, while other frames-such as "Authority Is Constructed and Contextual" and "Information Has Value"- seemed to be less important. We were able to use this large-scale qualitative data set to more comprehensively understand students' engagement with and meaning derived from these interactions. Better understanding what did-and did not-matter to our students can help us to be more effective instructors and to create more authentic learning experiences.
Artificial intelligence (AI) systems and applications have become ubiquitous across daily life. While AI offers numerous positive opportunities, it also presents numerous challenges. Information literacy (IL) advocates are concerned about the risks that accompany AI systems. Given the universal reach of AI with its potential pitfalls and perils, researchers and practitioners from various fields and disciplines should inform the dialogue on AI's development and application. A critical aspect of this dialogue comes in the form of information literacy. Our paper aims to answer the question "How can information literacy guide users in navigating and shaping artificial intelligence technologies?" by establishing a foundation for AI literacy (AIL). To do so, we contend that IL must serve as a foundation for AIL. We used the Association of College and Research Libraries Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education as a basis for a new AIL conceptual framework. The paper proceeds on the premise that the proposed framework can support more informed and responsible adaptation to AI and its technologies and applications.
The customs and practices of research in academia are often mischaracterized as individualistic pursuits, ignoring the reality that research requires a great deal of collaboration. As teaching librarians, our research instruction often reinforces individualism as a scholarly virtue, even as we simultaneously engage with themes of connection between researchers and their ideas. We propose an approach to teaching research and information literacy grounded in the concept, intention, and practice of interdependence rather than individualism. In doing so, we will call in models of interdependence from critical disability studies, relational-cultural theory, Indigenous Ways of Knowing, and the Cite Black Women movement. These models both describe and exemplify interconnected and inclusive approaches to research, which we can apply to our practice of teaching in academic libraries.
During a first-year engagement program, a librarian and a cohort of students worked towards a shared understanding of dominant narratives, historical silences, and creating counterstories through research to center marginalized stories and complicate existing narratives. As information literacy professionals, we should design interactive lessons that demonstrate critical search and evaluation skills through topics that are relevant to students and encourage them to work with issues that impact their communities. Incorporating critical information literacy, feminist pedagogy, and critical race theory, this two-day micro seminar introduced first-year students to the legacy of youth community activism in the neighborhoods around their university. They practiced centering marginalized voices and experiences in their scholarly output and used a critical lens to reanalyze dominant interpretations. Seeing individuals of their own age group lead community change and create lasting historical objects encouraged their own ability to advocate through their scholarship and community involvement.
Reflective practice provides library workers with a critical opportunity to examine professional experiences, question assumptions and approaches, explore new perspectives, and develop innovative solutions to existing problems. When applied to instruction as reflective teaching, this practice better situates library instructors to meet the evolving needs of twenty-first-century library users. This research study explores how library workers engage with reflective teaching in academic libraries across the United States. A survey was distributed to academic library communities, and a total of 153 responses were collected. While 92% of respondents reported participating in reflective teaching practice in a variety of instructional contexts, results indicated that respondents have utilized a broad range of methods for reflection and experienced numerous benefits and barriers. These diverse experiences suggest that library instructors see value in reflective work and would benefit from greater training and opportunities to participate in this practice.
While learning modules are not new to academic librarianship, student-centered, asynchronous learning modules are an innovative approach not commonly considered within the academic librarianship literature. This article discusses the development and implementation of visual literacy asynchronous learning modules created by two librarians for a cohort of first-year studio art students. In creating these modules, the goal was to offer studio art students visual literacy instruction specific to their personal interests and future careers. Specifically, this article discusses the module design process and how student-centered learning can be incorporated into modules in order to offer deep learning opportunities.
Students entering higher education are expected to transfer information literacy skills and knowledge developed through their primary schooling and sharpened in their secondary years. However, the constant evolution of the information landscape means the mastery of these skills presents challenges for students to develop and teachers to teach. Through interviews, this phenomenological study examines the perspectives and practices of 19 Australian secondary teacher librarians supporting student information literacy skill transfer in school and life contexts and considers important changes in the teaching of these skills. Findings suggest time and content overload are preventing integration across subjects and limiting students’ ability to apply skills in real world situations. Further, participants identified changes in important ethical issues around information like copyright and intellectual property, especially for students entering university. Potential solutions to these challenges include the adoption of whole-school or state-wide approaches to information literacy and partnerships with secondary schools and universities.
