Collaborators in Course Design: A Librarian and Publisher at the Intersection of Information Literacy and Scholarly Communication

This paper describes a university press director and academic librarian’s collaborative effort to co-design and co-teach an honors course on publishing and scholarly communication. The project-based course, offered in Spring 2014, wove students through practical application of the publication process (the publisher’s perspective) while engaging in conversation, debate, and other activities related to the complex ethical, legal, and social aspects of scholarly communication (the author’s perspective), and culminated in the publication of a student-created print and Open Access e-book

Undergraduate researchers report only moderate knowledge of scholarly communication: they must be offered more support

Undergraduate students are increasingly participating in the scholarly communication process, mostly through formal research experiences. However, Catherine Fraser Riehle and Merinda Kaye Hensley, having surveyed and interviewed university students, reveal that undergraduate researchers have only moderate levels of confidence in their knowledge of scholarly communications, especially publication and access models, author and publisher rights, determining the impact of research, and research data management. Moreover, students revealed that to receive specific guidance in these areas was rare. There is much opportunity for faculty members, graduate students, librarians, and research programme coordinators to collaborate and develop learning interventions in these areas

Creating Online Tutorials at Your Libraries: Software Choices and Practical Implications

The use of online tutorials for information literacy instruction is on the rise. Active library-related discussion lists such as ILI-L, the Association of College and Research Libraries’ discussion on information literacy and instruction, and LIBREF-L typically feature several questions and surveys related to online tutorials every week. Discussion groups and forums at library conferences consistently offer discussions, programs, and resources about creating online tutorials, and share examples. What is causing the surge of interest in online tutorials? Reasons vary: staff shortages, a desire to provide more point-of-need assistance, and increased distance learning and a growing awareness—particularly in public and academic libraries—of the learning styles of the so-called Millennial Learner, who is said to prefer interactive, technology-based learning experiences. However, one of the main reasons for the trend is that the screen capture software available for tutorial construction has also grown increasingly capable and user-friendly. In this article we will review the software programs that are available, discuss the time and resources needed, and use a set of tutorials developed at Purdue for biology students as an example throughout

What Do Undergraduate Students Know about Scholarly Communication? A Mixed Methods Study

Amid movements that recognize undergraduate students as knowledge creators, transformative work is being done at the intersection of information literacy and scholarly communication. Absent from the literature so far is research related to students’ perception and understanding of scholarly communication. This paper reports a mixed methods study at two major research universities in the United States, where undergraduate student researchers were surveyed and interviewed about their scholarly communication practices and perceptions. This work informs development of programming at the intersection of scholarly communication and information literacy in general, and for those involved with undergraduate research experiences in particular

Common conversations about teaching and learning: Making an IMPACT

This panel discussed the Instruction Matters: Purdue Academic Course Transformation (IMPACT) program from three perspectives: 1) IMPACT Management team member gauging campus-wide involvement, developer of lessons for the weekly faculty learning community meetings, and a leader of an IMPACT team comprised of three Purdue instructors and members from Purdue Libraries, Center for Instructional Excellence, and Information Technology at Purdue. The panel presentation was given on April 21, 2016 as part of the Visiting Scholar Lecture Series hosted by the University of Nebraska, Lincoln

Guidelines for the use and interpretation of assays for monitoring autophagy (3rd edition)

In 2008 we published the first set of guidelines for standardizing research in autophagy. Since then, research on this topic has continued to accelerate, and many new scientists have entered the field. Our knowledge base and relevant new technologies have also been expanding. Accordingly, it is important to update these guidelines for monitoring autophagy in different organisms. Various reviews have described the range of assays that have been used for this purpose. Nevertheless, there continues to be confusion regarding acceptable methods to measure autophagy, especially in multicellular eukaryotes. For example, a key point that needs to be emphasized is that there is a difference between measurements that monitor the numbers or volume of autophagic elements (e.g., autophagosomes or autolysosomes) at any stage of the autophagic process versus those that measure fl ux through the autophagy pathway (i.e., the complete process including the amount and rate of cargo sequestered and degraded). In particular, a block in macroautophagy that results in autophagosome accumulation must be differentiated from stimuli that increase autophagic activity, defi ned as increased autophagy induction coupled with increased delivery to, and degradation within, lysosomes (inmost higher eukaryotes and some protists such as Dictyostelium ) or the vacuole (in plants and fungi). In other words, it is especially important that investigators new to the fi eld understand that the appearance of more autophagosomes does not necessarily equate with more autophagy. In fact, in many cases, autophagosomes accumulate because of a block in trafficking to lysosomes without a concomitant change in autophagosome biogenesis, whereas an increase in autolysosomes may reflect a reduction in degradative activity. It is worth emphasizing here that lysosomal digestion is a stage of autophagy and evaluating its competence is a crucial part of the evaluation of autophagic flux, or complete autophagy. Here, we present a set of guidelines for the selection and interpretation of methods for use by investigators who aim to examine macroautophagy and related processes, as well as for reviewers who need to provide realistic and reasonable critiques of papers that are focused on these processes. These guidelines are not meant to be a formulaic set of rules, because the appropriate assays depend in part on the question being asked and the system being used. In addition, we emphasize that no individual assay is guaranteed to be the most appropriate one in every situation, and we strongly recommend the use of multiple assays to monitor autophagy. Along these lines, because of the potential for pleiotropic effects due to blocking autophagy through genetic manipulation it is imperative to delete or knock down more than one autophagy-related gene. In addition, some individual Atg proteins, or groups of proteins, are involved in other cellular pathways so not all Atg proteins can be used as a specific marker for an autophagic process. In these guidelines, we consider these various methods of assessing autophagy and what information can, or cannot, be obtained from them. Finally, by discussing the merits and limits of particular autophagy assays, we hope to encourage technical innovation in the field

Inciting Curiosity and Creating Meaning: Teaching Information Evaluation through the Lens of ‘Bad Science’

Ability to evaluate information is a critical component of information literacy. This article provides strategies for engaging students in learning about information evaluation in the contexts of the scientific publication cycle and communication in the digital age. Also included are recent findings regarding undergraduate student research behavior and ideas for integrating constructivist learning theory in order to develop effective learning activities that encourage curiosity and critical thinking

Librarians in the Hall

There is an old proverb, If the mountain will not come to Mohammed, then Mohammed must go to the mountain. Without a university mandate for information literacy instruction, it is a challenge to engage our incoming undergraduate freshmen who are often overwhelmed by the higher expectations of scholarship at the college level and the complexities of the information environment. Unique and creative approaches are needed to reach millennial learners where they are, both physically in terms of where they reside on campus and pedagogically by employing new teaching methods that they can appreciate and understand. This poster presents a highly collaborative project that was developed by librarians, faculty, and students at Purdue University: Research Project Survival brought information literacy instruction into the lounges of five residence halls in a fun and interactive format that included food, games, and prizes. Attendance was voluntary and exceeded expectations by averaging 22 residents per session. Students completed written evaluations, and a final report assessed the success of the program. The poster draws from over thirty photos that were taken at the events; screen-shots of Facebook events used for student interaction; and ephemera such as the lively and humorous posters made by the students. Poster presented at the American Libraries Association 2008 Annual Conference, June 30, 2008, in Anaheim, California

Librarians in the Hall: Instructional Outreach in Campus Residences

There is an old proverb, “If the mountain will not come to Mohammed, then Mohammed must go to the mountain.” It can be a challenge to reach out to incoming undergraduate students who are often overwhelmed by the high expectations of scholarship at the college level and the complexities of the modern information environment. Unconventional and creative approaches are needed to reach millennial learners where they are, both physically, in terms of where they reside on campus, and pedagogically, by employing innovative and engaging teaching methods that they can appreciate and understand. In the fall of 2007, two librarians with rather unique positions at Purdue University coordinated, developed, and implemented an instructional pilot program to reach out to and engage undergraduate students. Strategic partnerships among librarians, residence hall staff, faculty fellows, and the students themselves led to effective and well-attended educational sessions that were conducted in the study lounges of campus residence halls and addressed major concepts pertaining to research, information literacy, and critical thinking. This peer-reviewed article is based on the poster and report archived at http://docs.lib.purdue.edu/lib_research/88/