The relationship between library anxiety and learning styles among graduate students: Implications for library instruction

Because library anxiety can be an impediment to academic achievement among graduate students, this study determines the characteristics of this anxiety. Specifically, the relationship between learning style and library anxiety was investigated. A setwise multiple regression analysis revealed that students with the highest levels of library anxiety tend be those who like structure, who are self-motivated, who lack persistence, and who are peer-oriented learners. In addition, they tend to prefer to receive information via the visual mode, but not via either tactile or kinesthetic modes. Finally, these students tend to require mobility in learning environments and do not prefer to undertake difficult tasks in the afternoon. The implications of these findings are discussed.     

A two-phased model for library instruction.

This article describes two methods of library orientation and instruction: self-paced audiotapes and computer-assisted instruction (CAI). The tapes are used to orient the user to the libraries' physical facilities, policies, services, and tools, while CAI is used to provide detailed library information in an interactive mode.     

Bridging the distance: bibliographic instruction for remote library users

Electronic information resources are proliferating, library collections are increasingly accessible via the Internet, and the number of end users who access library resources remotely is on the rise. Changes in user behavior drives a corresponding change in the way instructional programs must be delivered to meet the needs of remote library users. This paper discusses some technologies currently available for remote instruction, assesses their use, and offers views on future trends.     

Contemplating library instruction: Integrating contemplative practices in a mid-sized academic library

In recent years there has been growing interest in the integration of contemplative practices into higher education, but little has been published regarding contemplative practices or contemplative pedagogies in academic libraries. Nor have explicit links been made to critical librarianship (critlib), particularly regarding the stress associated with the profession and the “resilience narrative” of “doing more with less”. In this paper, we review the literature and describe our experiences introducing a variety of contemplative elements into our library instruction program, most recently in the virtual environment. Building on the three levels of “intervention” modeled by Barbezat and Bush (2014) to include librarians, and incorporating critlib theory, we describe the contemplative practices we have used with a view to alleviating librarian, student, and faculty stress and burnout, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. Anecdotal reports suggest a broad interest in such practices and their potential effectiveness in reducing distraction and stress. However, future study is needed to systematically evaluate the outcomes of CP during library instruction.     

Research agenda for library instruction and information literacy

Editor's note: The Association for College and Research Libraries (ACRL) made the following research agenda available in the February 2003 issue of College & Research Libraries News (Vol. 64, No. 2, pp. 108–113; reprinted with permission). Although this agenda has already been published, we believe it still merits reprinting, especially within the pages of an internationally focused research journal. The questions raised in ACRL's agenda indeed do deserve investigation, and the results of those investigations should appear in the scholarly literature. We encourage anyone who addresses those questions to first examine Developing Research & Communication Skills: Guidelines for Information Literacy in the Curriculum (Philadelphia, PA: Middle States Commission on Higher Education, 2003). This important report links information literacy with assessment and demonstrates the importance of that topic to an educational accreditation body. Furthermore, that linkage adds to (and rounds out) the research agenda. Clearly, information literacy as defined in that report is a topic of interest to anyone in education—higher education or other.     

Library orientation and library instruction for medical students

Library instruction and library orientation goals, techniques, and programs are reviewed. These programs are a responsibility of the information specialist. Existing programs use varied means to accomplish these educational goals.     

Culture shock in the library: Implications for information literacy instruction

A tremendous amount has been written on culture shock experienced by people who leave their own cultures for another. This essay defines and describes culture shock and clash in general, discusses the literature related to different aspects of culture shock as it relates to international students, describes other related library literature, describes the research of several experts in other fields, and discusses some implications, applications, and solutions.     

Computer-assisted instruction: a library service for the community teaching hospital

This paper reports on five years of experience with computer-assisted instruction (CAI) at Winthrop-University Hospital, a major affiliate of the SUNY at Stony Brook School of Medicine. It compares CAI programs available from Ohio State University and Massachusetts General Hospital (accessed by telephone and modem), and software packages purchased from the Health Sciences Consortium (MED-CAPS) and Scientific American (DISCOTEST). The comparison documents one library's experience of the cost of these programs and the use made of them by medical students, house staff, and attending physicians. It describes the space allocated for necessary equipment, as well as the marketing of CAI. Finally, in view of the decision of the National Board of Medical Examiners to administer the Part III examination on computer (the so-called CBX) starting in 1988, the paper speculates on the future importance of CAI in the community teaching hospital.     

Innovative use of the home page for library instruction

The World Wide Web is providing the technological basis for many libraries to offer automated instruction for the first time. An increasing number of libraries are designing innovative instruction on their home pages. Reviewing these contributions, looking at the process of innovation, and observing the basic principles of instructional design, which include (1) setting goals; (2) determining organizational design; (3) evaluating; and (4) revising the program, will support librarians in their effort to create effective and innovative instruction on their home pages.     

Flipping one-shot library instruction: using Canvas and Pecha Kucha for peer teaching

Objective

This study sought to determine whether a flipped classroom that facilitated peer learning would improve undergraduate health sciences students'' abilities to find, evaluate, and use appropriate evidence for research assignments.

Methods

Students completed online modules in a learning management system, with librarians facilitating subsequent student-directed, in-person sessions. Mixed methods assessment was used to evaluate program outcomes.

Results

Students learned information literacy concepts but did not consistently apply them in research assignments. Faculty interviews revealed strengthened partnerships between librarians and teaching faculty.

Conclusion

This pedagogy shows promise for implementing and evaluating a successful flipped information literacy program.Keywords (Medical Subject Headings) Information Literacy, Educational Technology, Education, Distance/Methods, Teaching/Methods, Evidence-Based Practice/Education, Learning, Group Processes, Program Development, Humans, Libraries, Medical/EducationIn the short term, health sciences students utilize the information resources that librarians highlight during instruction. In the years after graduation, students demonstrate low levels of information literacy skills [1–3]. These low levels of retention likely result from the limited amount of time dedicated to guided practice during library sessions, which has been shown to be critical to learning [4]. In addition, few undergraduate curricula feature scaffolded instruction on evidence-based practice, where guidance of student learning is deployed progressively to promote stronger understanding of concepts. This raises the concern that many students may be unprepared for the rigors and expectations of graduate-level research. Consequently, health sciences librarians and educators have tested numerous methods for improving the effectiveness of information literacy and evidence-based practice instruction [5–7].Higher education has also seen a rise in the use of instructional technologies, such as increased use of video tutorials, web-conferencing tools, and learning management systems (LMSs). Such tools can enhance the effectiveness of face-to-face teaching by delivering time-of-need instruction that is available for future reference during the entire semester [8–11]. LMSs, such as Canvas or Blackboard, provide a virtual space where students take ownership of the learning process and create meaningful learning experiences for themselves and their peer learners [12]. Educators increasingly use these technologies to enable a flipped classroom model of instruction, in which the lecture and homework are reversed [13–15]. In older teaching models, a lecture occurs in the classroom, followed by exercises and applications of the information by students as homework. In the flipped model, students get the lecture-type information at home, then do exercises and applications in the classroom. This model allows instructors to move away from the traditional one-time lecture-based instruction and to incorporate active learning, which leads to better student performance for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) undergraduate students [16–18]. The flipped classroom model also accommodates the needs of diverse populations of learners by integrating peer learning and assessment [19, 20]. In contrast, traditional lecture-based approaches to information literacy have been shown to have limited effectiveness for promoting skill development and retention, and often rely on shallow, quantitative assessments to measure student learning [21]. Integrating library instruction strategically into the curriculum and using the flipped classroom model creates opportunities to use a greater variety of assessment tools at various points throughout the semester in order to conduct more meaningful assessment of student learning.Flipped classroom models have not been widely studied for health sciences students. This study aimed to determine whether a flipped classroom approach for upper-level undergraduate students in the health sciences would improve their abilities to find, evaluate, and utilize appropriate evidence for research assignments.     

图书馆发现服务平台的评估工作与研究

对Summon、Primo、Find+这三大外文发现系统进行调研、测试,从元数据、架构与功能、检索与界面以及其他因素等方面评估三大发现服务平台,以期对图书馆发现系统的选型提供参考。     

Class act: Designing a portable approach to multimedia library instruction for the remote classroom

Bibliographic instruction programs in many academic libraries have become increasingly reliant upon computer technology. Limited network access and space constraints have often restricted instruction librarians to centralized teaching sites located within individual library facilities. Recent innovations in presentation technology now enable librarians to explore affordable solutions for decentralized instruction. This article describes a practical method used by librarians at Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania for bringing computer-based library instruction into non-networked classrooms and other settings beyond the library's walls.     

MeSH and text-word search strategies: precision,recall, and their implications for library instruction

Objective:This study compared the recall and precision of MeSH-term versus text-word searching to better understand psychosocial MeSH terms and to provide guidance on whether to include both strategies in an information literacy session or how much time should be spent on teaching each search strategy.Methods:Using the relevant recall method, a total of 3,162 resources were considered and evaluated to form a gold standard set of 1,521 relevant resources. We compared resources discussing psychosocial aspects of children and adolescents living with type 1 diabetes using two search strategies: text-word strategy versus MeSH-term strategy. The frequency of MeSH terms, the MeSH hierarchy, and elements of each search strategy were also examined.Results:Using the 1,521 relevant articles, we found that the text-word search strategy had 54% recall, while the MeSH-term strategy had 75% recall. Also, the precision of the text-word strategy was 34.4%, while the precision of the MeSH-term strategy was 47.7%. Therefore, the MeSH-term search strategy yielded both greater recall and greater precision. The MeSH strategy was also more complicated in design and usage than the text-word strategy.Conclusions:This study demonstrates the effectiveness of text-word and MeSH search strategies on precision and recall. The combination of text-word and MeSH strategies is recommended to achieve the most comprehensive results. These results support the idea that MeSH or a similar controlled vocabulary should be taught to experienced and knowledgeable students and practitioners who require a myriad of resources for their literature searches.     

Looking for the library: Using an undergraduate business syllabi analysis to inform an instruction program

This study analyzed 260 syllabi representing a year of the undergraduate curriculum from a business school. The syllabi were examined based on the mentions of the library from across three categories: spaces, resources, and services, as well as possible opportunities for engagement that librarians could target for collaboration. In this study, the library was mentioned 79 times, mostly in relation to library resources. There were also 479 opportunities for engagement coded. This study found that the majority of undergraduate syllabi do not mention the library, but that there are considerable opportunities that librarians can target for future engagement.     

Graduate student research instruction: Testing an interactive Web-based library tutorial for a health sciences database

Interactive electronic tutorials offer flexibility in delivering library instruction; however, questions linger regarding their effectiveness compared to traditional librarian-led classroom lectures. This study examines a tutorial introducing health science students to the Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature database. Half the student sample completed the tutorial and half attended a parallel lecture. A pre/post-test instrument measured mastery of the material. While results varied by subject focus tested, students completing the tutorial demonstrated greater improvement in post-test scores than those attending the lecture.     

Taking library instruction into the online environment: one health sciences library's experience

In 2012, an academic health sciences library serving a large research university and medical center introduced synchronous online training for a diverse group of users, including clinicians, researchers, faculty, and distance students. Participants in these “Express Training” classes completed two surveys to assess their experiences. Survey results indicated classes were well received but revealed some areas for improvement. Included are issues that should be considered when implementing online library instruction to meet the diverse needs of academic health sciences library users. Given the popularity of online training among on-campus and distance users, it will be continued and expanded.