One Workshop, Many Locations: Meeting the Needs of Both On-Campus and Distance Students

The diverse needs of graduate students can be difficult to gauge, and even when their needs are known, it can be difficult to develop programming that meets the needs of graduate students across disciplines and program levels. In spring 2018, a needs assessment survey was conducted by the graduate librarian at a large, comprehensive public university with graduate students at multiple campus locations. Based on respondents’ articulated needs for additional help in data management, research skills, scholarly publishing, and citation management, a workshop series, Research Tools for Graduate Students, was launched in fall 2019. The series sought to provide graduate students with a foundation in disciplinary research skills, data management, citation management, scholarly publishing, open educational resources, and copyright and fair use. In addition to teaching workshops based upon her areas of expertise, the graduate librarian recruited others from across her library to teach sessions. The workshops were offered both in-person and simultaneously online via web conferencing software during the first two months of the semester. While attendance at the workshops was relatively low compared to the number of graduate students at the institution, virtual attendance often surpassed in-person attendance and student feedback was generally positive. This presentation will explore the development of the workshop series, including how it built on and integrated with other outreach and instruction efforts for graduate students and sought to reach both on-campus and distance students at the same time. The presenter will share lessons learned, logistical considerations, and unexpected benefits of the series’ development

Instruction Librarians’ Perceptions of the Faculty–Librarian Relationship

This study investigates instruction librarians’ perceptions of their relationships with teaching faculty. Respondents to a survey of U.S. instruction librarians indicated that they tended to agree that their teaching was valued and they had autonomy in what they taught. However, the often one-time nature of library instruction limited their effectiveness as teachers, and respondents felt that faculty did not view librarians’ teaching as equivalent to their own. Respondents also reported a disconnect between their professional identities and others’ viewpoints, describing having their teaching role minimized or misunderstood by others, especially faculty. Additionally, a relationship was found between some aspects of librarians’ perceptions of the faculty–librarian relationship and three separate factors: formal, non-library teaching experience; length of time as an instruction librarian; and librarians’ amount of teaching. This research sheds light on the complexities of this important relationship and helps instruction librarians understand how others’ views impact their professional identities

What Do Composition Faculty Want Their Students to Learn? Examining Source Evaluation

Over the last 25 years, library instruction has come to include not only teaching students how to find sources, but also how to critically evaluate information. A common place for such instruction is the composition classroom, but little research has been done to learn about the attitudes of composition faculty in regards to teaching students these skills. Through interviews with composition instructors in North Carolina State University's first-year writing program (FYWP), this study sought to learn about the attitudes of composition instructors towards teaching students to evaluate sources, including what students should learn and who should teach them. Participants' responses indicate that composition instructors want their students to be able to distinguish between reliable and unreliable sources and develop a basic understanding of the context of scholarly communication. In addition, most participants believed that some form of collaboration with the library was the best way to teach source evaluation.Master of Science in Library Scienc

Liaising in the 21st Century: The Shifting Role of the Education Librarian

This paper will examine the findings of a survey on the job roles and responsibilities of Education librarians (academic librarians with liaison responsibilities for the field of Education). Existing literature on Education librarianship has focused on particular facets of the job role, including the unique instructional needs of Education students and specific instruction and outreach initiatives. However, the literature lacks a comprehensive picture of the full spectrum of contemporary Education librarianship. This article provides a snapshot of the diverse educational backgrounds and varied responsibilities of Education librarians related to instruction and instructional design, reference, embedded librarianship, outreach, collaboration, and collection development

Inventing the future: Applying design thinking to NextGen program development

Virginia Tech’s motto is “Invent the Future.” Building on this culture, the University has undergone a massive transformation in the way that it imagines its role on campus. Until recently, the Libraries’ approach to online learning was more ad hoc than strategic, with no dedicated online learning staff and no clear strategy for program development. Recognizing the increasing need for a strategic approach to online learning, the Teaching & Learning Engagement unit recognized the need for new tools for thinking outside of traditional methods for online program development. The team took a start-up approach to program development using a Design Thinking framework to create a new online learning team, with a mix of traditional and non-traditional library faculty, including a web developer and an instructional designer. As part of this process, the team engaged in a university-wide needs assessment for identifying themes for program development and developing a clear mission and niche for the online learning team. Through rapid prototyping and brainstorming sessions, the team developed a learning design studio; a technology training program for librarians, staff, and teaching faculty; and a new learning objects repository for creating, remixing, and sharing online tutorials and modules

Creation of a Library Tour Application for Mobile Equipment using iBeacon Technology

We describe the design, development, and deployment of a library tour application utilizing Bluetooth Low Energy devices know as iBeacons. The tour application will serve as library orientation for incoming students. The students visit stations in the library with mobile equipment running a special tour app. When the app detects a beacon nearby, it automatically plays a video that describes the current location. After the tour, students are assessed according to the defined learning objectives. Special attention is given to issues encountered during development, deployment, content creation, and testing of this application that depend on functioning hardware, and the necessity of appointing a project manager to limit scope, define priorities, and create an actionable plan for the experiment