LIFE HACKS FOR NON-ENGLISH-SPEAKING LIBRARIANS: FEATURES OF COMMUNICATIVE PRACTICE IN TRANSLATION

Objective. This paper aims to provide practical recommendations to the non-English-speaking staff working at academic libraries to practice the English language in order to fully utilize the potential of global indexing services such as Scopus and Web of Science. Methods. Comparative analysis and bibliometric analysis were employed to estimate the share of the English-language journals in the aforementioned databases to emphasize the relevance of proper knowledge of English by academic librarians given its current status as the language of global scientific communication. Results. The analysis results revealed that as of August 2021, 56 % of the Scopus-indexed journals were published in the English language only while most of the rest practiced a hybrid language approach allowing their authors to submit papers in two/three languages. In contrast, only 7 journals (0.016 % in the cited database) published their materials in the Ukrainian language only. This indirectly testifies to the importance for scientists in Ukraine to report their findings in English to reach a wider target audience. This assumption may underlie the fact that all the 15 Ukrainian journals newly accepted in the Scopus database (as of Aug 2021) are all hybrid, that is, the papers are published both in English and Ukrainian. Conclusions. It is a relevant task both for researchers in Ukraine and academic librarians at Ukrainian universities to practice their knowledge of the English language given its current status as the language of global science. A practical way to do it is to engage local professional translators (preferably with certified teaching experience) who have confirmed their knowledge of academic English to conduct sessions for librarians to train their practical skills in speaking (at international conferences) and writing (when submitting papers to relevant journals). This work provides a reference framework for such attempts.

Generation 1.5 and Academic Libraries: Strategies for Supporting English Learners (ELs) in Reference and Instruction

Background – Compared to native English speakers, English Learners (ELs) often face additional barriers to academic success. Though typically competent in social English, Generation 1.5 ELs struggle with academic English at the postsecondary level and are still considered to be in the process of learning English. As colleges become increasingly linguistically diverse, academic librarians must adapt to support the growing numbers of ELs in the campus community. Objective – This paper aims to provide academic librarians with information on the scope of English Learners in K-12 through postsecondary education, academic challenges of Generation 1.5 students at the postsecondary level, and strategies that librarians can employ to support English learners in the contexts of reference and instruction. Methods – The author searched journals in the disciplines of academic libraries, higher education, Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL), and linguistics. Additional resources searched include education data and statistics, research institute publications, and English as a New Language (ENL) teaching resources. These sources were explored in regard to the topics of EL educational statistics, K-12 ENL programs, ENL pedagogy, ELs in postsecondary education, Generation 1.5 students, ELs’ academic challenges and educational needs, and academic libraries and ELs. Results – A review of the literature on ELs in academic libraries, particularly Generation 1.5 students, reveals that Generation 1.5 is a population that is in need of support at the postsecondary level. Because Generation 1.5 students often hold strong social English skills, they may enter college without an EL designation or specialized academic support. However, research shows that Generation 1.5 students struggle with college-level academic English, specifically in grammar and vocabulary. These challenges impact students’ communicative success both in college classroom and library environments. Conclusion – Academic librarians may adopt pedagogical strategies commonly employed in ENL classrooms to use in reference and instruction environments. Techniques include themes such as awareness of language use and reinforcement of content, and require low-stakes implementation into library practice. Though librarians may be unaware of the language learning needs of their students, such strategies have shown to be useful for all students. Because techniques that are helpful to ELs also typically benefit all students, these strategies are also applicable to native English speakers.

Library Staff Need More Support in Order to Alleviate Teaching Anxiety

A Review of: Lundstrom, K., Fagerheim, B. & Van Geem, S. (2021). Library teaching anxiety: Understanding and supporting a persistent issue in librarianship. College & Research Libraries, 82(3), 389-409. https://doi.org/10.5860/crl.82.3.389 Abstract Objective – To determine academic librarians’ attitudes towards their teaching, how teaching anxiety manifests itself, and how teaching anxiety affects these attitudes. Design – Online Survey. Setting – The survey was distributed through various library science listservs. Subjects – Any library staff with a teaching component in their role were invited to respond. There was a total of 1,035 initial responses. Methods – The survey questions were based on a previously published survey about teaching anxiety by Davis (2007). However, the survey for this study added questions about formal and self-diagnosis of other types of anxieties, physical and psychological anxiety symptoms, and how teaching anxiety impacts other areas of the respondents’ lives. There were also questions on potential supports to reduce teaching anxiety, as well as potential barriers to these supports. Main Results – It was found that approximately 65% of respondents experience teaching anxiety. Approximately 40% of those respondents were formally diagnosed with anxiety, and approximately 42% were self-diagnosed. There was a significant association between a formal diagnosis of anxiety, and teaching anxiety. There were also significant associations between past training, preparation, and teaching anxiety, with anxiety occurring less with increased training and preparation. Conclusion – Teaching anxiety is a significant issue among library staff. Supports in the form of workshops on teaching as well as coping with anxiety can possibly help to reduce this phenomenon.

Not a token! A discussion on racial capitalism and its impact on academic librarians and libraries

PurposeThe purpose of this article is to introduce the concept of racial capitalism in the context of academic libraries.Design/methodology/approachThis paper draws on Leong's (2013) extended theory of racial capitalism and identifies how neoliberalism and racial capitalism are tied as well as how it is manifested in academic libraries through tokenism, racialized tasks, consuming racial trauma, cultural performance demands, workload demands and pay inequity.FindingsThe article ends with some suggestions in how to address these problematic practices though dismantling meritocratic systems, critical race theory in LIS education and training, and funding EDI work.Originality/valueThe article explores a concept in the academic library context and points to practices and structures that may commodify racialized identities.

Chinese Immigrant Academic Librarians' Experiences and Perceptions of Career Advancement in New Zealand

<p>For many professionals, career advancement is an important goal and part of their professional life. Nevertheless, due to the ever-competitive nature of the workplaces, the prosperity of advancement is limited as the availability of resources and positions are always scarce in any given organization including the library field. Many international studies suggest that job advancement prosperity is generally even more limited for Chinese immigrants as a minority group that work and live in Western countries such as New Zealand, where the host country’s culture, value, and language are very different from those of their own country. This study has been set out to explore Chinese immigrant academic librarians’ experiences and perceptions of career advancement in New Zealand, which is an area that has yet to be studied in this country.</p>

Chinese Immigrant Academic Librarians' Experiences and Perceptions of Career Advancement in New Zealand

<p>For many professionals, career advancement is an important goal and part of their professional life. Nevertheless, due to the ever-competitive nature of the workplaces, the prosperity of advancement is limited as the availability of resources and positions are always scarce in any given organization including the library field. Many international studies suggest that job advancement prosperity is generally even more limited for Chinese immigrants as a minority group that work and live in Western countries such as New Zealand, where the host country’s culture, value, and language are very different from those of their own country. This study has been set out to explore Chinese immigrant academic librarians’ experiences and perceptions of career advancement in New Zealand, which is an area that has yet to be studied in this country.</p>

An Uphill Battle: Academic Librarians and the Barriers to Scholarship

Some academic librarians within Pennsylvania and across the United States have been granted faculty status by their institutions. With this status comes the expectation that librarians will contribute scholarship to their discipline. However, with many librarians holding only a master’s degree, there is the likelihood that they lack the requisite skills to engage in research. On top of this, multiple studies have shown that librarians feel they lack the time to pursue scholarship on top of their typical job duties. This commentary discusses how these barriers create stress for librarians, hurts their scholarly pursuits, and how the current culture in academia may play a role in it.