The emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 forced changes to the workplace norms of academic libraries. As the pandemic waned, it was unclear whether these would be temporary or lead to long-term changes. In Fall 2022, the authors surveyed academic library leaders about remote work at their institutions during the following time periods: pre-pandemic, at the height of the pandemic, and immediately post-pandemic. The study results show that there have been notable changes in the norms and practices around remote work in academic libraries. Those differences are seen in the decision-making processes of leaders and managers, institutional culture and language, and who is required to be on campus versus who may work remotely in academic library environments.
For many academic librarians, as previous research has shown, the process of seeking reimbursement for professional development costs is complicated and fraught. A 2023 survey of academic librarians in the United States reveals that the transparency and complexity of reimbursement practices at academic institutions varies widely. This article draws on the public policy concept of "administrative burden" to argue that reimbursement practices for academic librarians reproduce existing social inequities through their imposition of financial, learning, psychological, and compliance costs. To be more inclusive of all librarians, academic libraries should examine and revise reimbursement policies and processes.
This paper explores the experiences of 11 students who participated in Seton Hall University Libraries' DataLab, a research program led by the Research Data Services (RDS) team. The RDS, composed of librarians and a data specialist, pairs students with faculty-led research projects to conduct research and build data science skills. In semi-structured interviews, the students who participated in this study reflected on the skills they gained through RDS, such as data cleaning, analysis, visualization, and presentation, and how the program influenced their interest in data-related careers. This case study illustrates how academic libraries can foster data education and develop similar initiatives to support student engagement in data-driven research.
In 2018, the Library Learning Services (LLS) department at Penn State University stopped teaching for an entire spring semester in order to conduct a Library Instruction Reboot, an opportunity to evaluate and reimagine the department's instructional approaches. In the seven years since that initiative, much has changed within the field and for LLS, but what the author terms the Reboot mindset remains a driving force behind LLS's information literacy program. This article provides an overview of the Library Instruction Reboot, dives into current programmatic challenges, and discusses the ways that the endeavor continues to provide benefits to the program. Finally, the author shares guidance for those who might consider implementing a Reboot-type initiative at their own institutions.
This article analyzes how the methodology lesson study impacts instructional design decisions and interdisciplinary collaborations in the context of one-shot library instruction. A team of two academic librarians and two course faculty utilized lesson study over the course of a year to develop and revise a library instruction lesson plan for an undergraduate English as a second language course. Data collected via class observations and team meeting notes were analyzed using reflective thematic analysis. The results of the reflective thematic analysis and the authors' experiences reveal that lesson study promotes pedagogical strategies that increase student engagement in the classroom while simultaneously improving communication and knowledge-sharing practices between interdisciplinary lesson study team members.
Open Educational Resources (OER) have a significant impact on students' academics in the digital age. These resources have seen increased use in education, with many preferring electronic resources to print. Most students and teachers benefit from the e-resources available in online portals. e-PG Pathshala is a portal that stores electronic information primarily used for educational purposes as e-text and videos created by subject experts. The prime objective of this study was to explore the awareness and usage of e-PG Pathshala among postgraduate students at the Central University of Punjab, in addition to examining student satisfaction level and the benefit of using e-PG Pathshala over traditional print resources. The study collected data through a questionnaire taken by 200 university students who were selected using a simple random sampling method. The study found that most of the students in the university were aware of e-PG Pathshala, and they were actively using it for their academic needs. The respondents expressed a high degree of satisfaction with the contents of this portal. Moreover, the results show that e-PG Pathshala positively influenced the academic performance of respondents during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Academic libraries and colleagues within the larger educational sector commonly prioritize educational equity and affordable course content. While higher education frequently incentivizes open pedagogy and open-educational resources (OER), primary sources should also be cultivated as freely available resources that foster engagement, critical thinking, and historical inquiry. Blending both the theoretical and the practical, this article covers definitions, research, and case studies from teaching archivists representing five institutions at different stages of implementing primary source instruction programs. This article provides archivists and librarians with the language and inspiration to advance conversations with their teaching faculty collaborators in furtherance of educational equity.
As libraries are increasingly asked to demonstrate their value in a fluctuating academic landscape, new methods of evaluation and comparison must be explored to communicate the value of the library quantitatively to university stakeholders. This exploratory study seeks to measure the impact of library services on key institutional metrics by combining multiple data sources for Research 1 (R1) university libraries and analyzing the resulting data using machine learning methods. While data availability impacted the overall outcome of this study, early analysis reveals promising correlations between library services and key university success metrics.
Though library literature has much to say about so-called post-truth, there is surprisingly little agreement about the concept of truth itself. This article reviews prominent discussions of truth as it relates to information literacy in order to identify a series of common misconceptions. A modest and pluralist conception of truth is proposed as a core concept for understanding information literacy. Practical implications are discussed, including how a conception of truth can shape librarian pedagogy, ground a virtue-oriented approach to information literacy, and contextualize certain strands of populist rhetoric.
Given challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic and existing challenges for academic professional associations, the Michigan Health Sciences Library Association (MHSLA) surveyed the leadership of health science library associations in the United States to investigate how smaller state and regional associations engage and add value for members. The survey revealed many respondents are planning to or have returned to the frequency of programming delivered prior to the pandemic and are increasingly providing virtual offerings. These findings will impact the strategic planning for small library associations as they explore ways to recruit and retain membership.
This study examines the motivations, experiences, and challenges of academic librarians and archivists in the United States who pursue advanced degrees while already established in their careers. Drawing on 126 survey responses, the findings reveal a profession marked by intellectual curiosity, resilience, and a commitment to lifelong learning. Participants cited a range of motivations-from career advancement to personal fulfillment-but also noted unclear promotion pathways, inconsistent institutional support, and high personal costs. While many found the experience rewarding, others expressed uncertainty or disillusionment. The study highlights the need for clearer professional development structures, stronger mentorship, and a recognition of the expansive roles librarians and archivists play within the academic community.
This study explores participant engagement in online and in-person library workshops by examining question-asking behaviors. Workshops included in the study were part of an academic library graduate workshop series designed for a multi-disciplinary audience of graduate students and faculty. The authors gathered data from 127 participants who asked a total of 357 questions during 20 workshop sessions that were offered in both online and in-person formats. The questions were classified according to the types of questions asked. The results showed that participants are engaged in both in-person and online workshop modalities, and there was no significant difference in the overall number of questions asked or question types. The authors conclude by offering pedagogical recommendations for enhancing behavioral, cognitive, and emotional engagement in both online and in-person settings.
Research inventories are interactive tools libraries are uniquely positioned to build and use in order to participate in institutional-level conversations about research priorities and resource investment. They can help build knowledge of past achievements in specific fields, identify local thought leaders, and gauge the size and impact of current research communities. Research inventories can be customized to track additional facets of research items, beyond those found in traditional bibliographies, and often contain robust options for searching or tagging items within them. This paper tells the story of the construction of a nearly 1,000-item research inventory at the University of Dayton focused on artificial intelligence research in Spring 2024. The paper focuses on the logistics and mix of methods used in building a research inventory under conditions of limited time and personnel and discusses narratives that can be unearthed through interpretations of the data gathered.
A recent scholarly debate in Work & Stress challenges foundational assumptions about burnout, with Renzo Bianchi and Irvin Sam Schonfeld arguing for its abandonment in favor of a depression-focused framework. Their critique centers on burnout's conceptual ambiguity, overstated prevalence, and overlap with depression. Leading occupational health psychologists respond with counterarguments affirming burnout's distinctiveness and occupational roots. These debates offer critical insights for library and information science, highlighting the need for interdisciplinary engagement, improved measurement, and organizational interventions. Integrating perspectives from occupational health psychology can enrich burnout research in librarianship and support more effective strategies for improving library workplace conditions.
This qualitative research study explored current reference models in academic libraries to determine what's working well and what isn't. Researchers conducted semi-structured interviews with 15 participants overseeing reference services at large, land-grant universities. The findings suggest that there is still perceived value in point-of-need, face-to-face research assistance provided by a librarian or professional staff member at a designated location, although most participating libraries are using a combination of approaches rather than relying solely on this traditional model. The data indicate that there is no one-size-fits-all solution; rather, solutions are context-dependent and develop through incremental changes, often in response to internal and/or external pressures.
