Enabling Scholarship in the Digital Age

With the ubiquitous digital ecosystem providing information to faculty and students in real time via a myriad of channels, does an academic research library continue to provide real value to faculty's research and teaching as well as students' learning? Or, has the academic research library become irrelevant to twenty-first century scholarship? Describing a variation on information literacy and research skills development approaches, this chapter makes a case for embedding good information practice into a library's products and self-service tools rather than investing in standalone instruction. Close alignment with institutional priorities, the application of user-centric product and service design principles, and a commitment to innovation in information management practices and platforms are cornerstones of this strategy in a graduate business school library. Loosely based on Harvard Business School's case method, this chapter details two frameworks used by HBS's Baker Library, and provides examples of information products created to enable student learning.

Exploring Opportunities in Health Science Information Instructional Outreach

The scope of library service in the health sciences has changed dramatically in recent years. Beyond the typical library instruction service which has commonly been viewed as requiem for academic classroom teaching, the advent of distance education in the health sciences and cohorts at hospitals has called for academic health science librarians to explore new opportunities in health science instruction outreach and delivery of instructional service in a multitude of creative ways. This chapter will report on an actual case study of a health science librarian at an academic institution who targeted a specific group of users, designing and offering library instruction to remote students in regional hospitals and online distance education classes. The case study will present the challenges and successes of a new health sciences librarian performing outreach through various marketing and relationship building efforts in an academic library that services health science students in cohorts at six regional hospitals as well as nationally online in a distance education program.

Librarians and Instructional Design Challenges

The purpose of this chapter is to provide a conceptual and practical perspective on instructional design problems that librarians face, from the perspective of design research. Librarians see increasing need to provide instruction to their users in new ways and on new topics as the world becomes digital and global in nature. The expanding instructional role of librarians requires instructional design skills. However, many librarians have little formal training on instructional design, leading to concerns and confusion about instructional design skills, problems and processes. This chapter discusses design, instructional design issues, concerns and problems (typical and specific to librarians), and explores a conceptual framework to support flexible instructional design based upon the concept of design as a discipline. Examples, recommendations and supporting resources are included.

Leveraging Library Instruction in a Digital Age

Information management is an indispensable skill in the twenty-first century because finding credible information is now more complicated than ever before. Students continue to experience difficulty locating accurate information, especially for their academic assignments. Studies reveal that a number of factors undermine students' success in locating relevant information and that personal intervention may prove to be the most efficient means of teaching this proficiency. Librarians, however, seldom have more than a class period in which to intervene. Even an hour is enough to mentor students in appropriate techniques in order to allow them to complete their assignment, if virtual support is effective. This chapter illustrates how learning objectives can effectively serve to separate classroom activities in a face-to-face environment from virtually accessed digital instruction. An assignment from a second semester composition class serves as an example of how a teacher can leverage instruction in a face-to-face environment through providing supplemental online content.

Contemporary Media for Library Users' Instruction in Academic Libraries in South-West Nigeria

This chapter focused on contemporary media for library users' instruction in academic libraries in South-west of Nigeria. Library user instruction is a complex activity that entails educating the users how to utilize library information resources and enlightening them on the benefits of using information resources in the library. Prior to the use of contemporary media in library instruction, several other methods were predominantly used including teaching and library tour, etc. Advancement in information communication and technology (ICT) has augmented those instructional methods. Some of the contemporary methods are articulated in this chapter and its application in Federal University libraries in South-west, Nigeria is examined. Findings showed that contemporary media such as OPAC, ask a librarian, FAQ and Blog, etc. are important in library instruction and were used for instructing users in academic libraries. Some challenges facing contemporary media in academic libraries are inadequate Internet access, inadequate training of librarians, lack of skill and unreliable power supply.

Crafting a Framework for Copyright Literacy and Licensed Content

Copyright literacy as one of the tenets of user instruction in the digital domain has been passive in Indian Libraries. There have been sporadic efforts on the part of libraries amidst lack of policies or fair use and scholarly communication committees at institution level to address the issues relating to copyright. The important factor is the emergence of license agreements as contracts trumping the copyright laws and digital communication involving the copyrighted content. The chapter discusses the complex terrain of copyright literacy involving cross-jurisdictional copyright laws for drafting a user instruction guideline by analysing framework to address the issues often encountered by users of the content at IIMB. This case study assumes importance as library acquires content which is heterogeneous not only in format but also the terms of use and usage rights The objective of this effort is to encourage ethical use of copyright protected and licensed content in teaching, research, and learning and also creating awareness about the rights of content creators.

Library in Your Pocket Delivery of Instruction Service Through Library Mobile Apps

Mobile devices such as smart phones, iPads and tablet computers are swiftly flourishing in the world and changing the way information is organized, acknowledged and circulated. Accordingly, the libraries have to adopt mobile services which capitalize on and adapt to these momentous technological changes. The traditional library services are now poignant to mobile library information services. Mobile applications have made communication and information access very convenient and timely to users. Adapting instruction delivery services through mobile application perceptive the traditional relationships between libraries and their users and introduces new confronts to reader privacy. The mobile applications are becoming an essential part of everyday life and are changing the way one connects and interacts with the world. The focus of this paper is on available mobile apps concerning to reading, productivity and organization at work, giving presentation, white board teaching and demonstration. This paper highlights the delivery of instruction services through library mobile apps.

Educating Caribbean Librarians to Provide Library Education in a Dynamic Information Environment

The dynamism of the information sector driven by ICT and the resulting impact on library and information science professionals have resulted in significant changes in how teaching librarians in the Caribbean are educated. This research was conducted to: describe the education of teaching librarians; examine the changes in education; and investigate how teaching librarians develop and hone their teaching competencies. A mixed-method approach was used to garner quantitative data from 45 librarians and qualitative data from relevant documents in two library schools. The findings show there were significant changes as new courses and programs were developed, online programs were implemented and faculty qualifications upgraded. These changes were somewhat effective, however, teacher-librarians, who developed teaching skills mainly from teacher training, expressed a need for additional technology skills to make them more effective. It was recommended that LIS schools need to diversify their programs to make the content and the activities more aligned to the day to day practices of these teacher librarians.

Backward Planning, Forward Motion

The main purpose of the chapter is to present a holistic approach for effectively designing library and information literacy instruction applicable to any library setting. After reviewing the historical developments and implications of information literacy concepts, the three stages of backward design are explained and placed in the context of key learning theories and perspectives. Examples of the three-stage process demonstrate how the design calls on librarians to identify the desired results embodied by standards and objectives, to create authentic assessments that provide evidence of learning, and to align learning activities with the desired outcomes. Examples also highlight variations for different delivery formats, including face-to-face, flipped, and online environments. Implications for using backward design for overall, additional program planning are also discussed.