Boundary Objects/Boundary Staff: Supporting Digital Scholarship in Academic Libraries

In response to the increased construction of digital scholarship infrastructure in academic libraries this article articulates a new staffing model for the management of digital platforms in the academic library environment. Based on two cases, this article discusses the increased use of digital infrastructure in pedagogy by Library Special Collections at UCLA, and the workflow pressures these infrastructures created that challenge traditional staff roles. Digital infrastructures are then framed as types of boundary object, catering to multiple communities of practice. In order to tend to these boundary infrastructures, a new staffing model has been introduced—that of the boundary staff—whose primary purpose would be to support these hybrid infrastructures and more effectively integrate them into the general library environment. This approach to digital project collaboration can set the stage for more flexible and innovative digital instruction, building on the current skillsets of library staff to facilitate new modes of faculty and librarian partnerships.     

Faculty Expectations and the Adult Learner: Some Implications for Reference

Summary

In addition to the normal difficulties encountered when returning to the academic environment, adult students are expected to use a library that may be very different from the one they have used earlier. While some teaching faculty recognize that these students may need additional help to effectively use the library, others do not. This study investigated faculty expectations for adult students and the academic library. The majority of faculty surveyed believe students need instruction to develop familiarity with library resources and technology. Furthermore, the faculty are willing to work with librarians to ensure students gain these skills.     

Do Job Advertisements Reflect ACRL's Standards for Proficiencies for Instruction Librarians and Coordinators?: A Content Analysis

This study investigates the extent to which the skills and proficiencies mentioned in ACRL's Standards for Proficiencies for Instruction Librarians and Coordinators are represented in a current sample of instruction librarian job advertisements. Advertisements from U.S. academic institutions posted on the American Library Association's JobLIST site were collected over a period of six months. Results from a content analysis of these advertisements as compared to the Standards reveal trends in those skills which are in-demand. These results add support for the importance of collaboration, instructional design, leadership, and subject expertise as they relate to instruction and demonstrate that not all skills identified as crucial for instruction librarians within the Standards are typically indicated within the content of a job advertisement. This research will be of interest to library science students, job seekers, LIS faculty, and employers hoping to attract qualified candidates to fill library instruction-related positions.     

Bridging the Great Divide: Librarian-faculty Collaboration in Selected Higher Institutions in Lagos State Nigeria

This paper examines librarian-faculty collaboration in selected academic libraries in Lagos State, Nigeria. Simple random sampling method was used to select five out of a total population of nine higher institutions in Lagos State. Questionnaire was used as the major instrument for data gathering among librarians in the selected institutions. The study found that librarians are willing to collaborate with faculty in the areas of providing Current Awareness Services (CAS), working with accreditation teams, and helping to develop both the media and information literacy skills of students. The study also found that librarians believe that faculty board meetings and library committee initiatives are effective platforms for promoting librarian faculty collaboration. Further, the study identified essential skills for librarian-faculty collaboration. Overall, findings show that a weak negative correlation exists between gender and area of collaboration at N?=?38, r?=??0.136, p?<?0.05. The survey also found a significant weak negative relationship between age and area of collaboration (N?=?38, r?=??0.379, p?<?0.05). No significant relationship was found between work experience and area of collaboration (r?=??0.067, p?=?0.696?>?0.05). The study therefore suggests that stakeholders in higher education should imbibe the culture of expanding and strengthening collaboration between librarians and faculty.     

Assessing the impact of a study skills programme on the academic development of nursing diploma students at Northumbria University, UK

Background: The Government's nursing recruitment campaign has widened access for those wishing to enter the profession, resulting in some students entering university with clinical experience but little experience of academic writing or using libraries. For these students, the library and study advice staff have an important role to play in helping them acquire appropriate information literacy and study skills. Objective: To evaluate the impact of workshops supplementing online instruction in study skills on students’ study and writing skills, and level of information literacy. Methods: A small group of pre‐registration nursing students identified as needing support with information literacy and study skills participated in focus groups to identify areas of concern, and were offered four remedial workshops. A follow‐up focus group explored whether the students’ needs had been addressed. Further evaluation of the workshops’ impact was completed by diagnostic testing within the University's information literacy programme, Skills Plus. Outcomes: The results showed that all students who attended at least one workshop improved their academic grade in their next assignment. Qualitative data indicated that the students’ confidence level and information literacy, including referencing skills, had improved. Conclusion: Evaluating the impact of this intervention has provided the evidence to demonstrate the value of this additional support.     

Library Use Skills for College-Bound High School Students:

Despite national concern with general educational articulation for high school students making the transition to college, little research has been reported in the literature specifically on library use/research skills. This paper summarizes recent literature on this topic from an academic librarian's point of view. In addition, the results of a survey of academic library user education services provided to high school students in Washington State are reported and contrasted to current cooperative efforts in other states. The relevance of library use skills for lifelong learning as well as for college-bound students is empasized.     

Investigating the impact of demographic and academic variables on assessing students' perceived information literacy self-efficacy

This paper explores the demographic and academic variables influencing students' perceived information literacy self-efficacy using Kurbanoglu et al.'s Information Literacy Self-Efficacy Scale (ILSES) and its two subscales. An online survey was created to gather data from students which contained Bangla version of the 28-item ILSES together with demographic and academic questions. A printed version of the survey was also distributed to students locally. A total of 408 students participated in the study. The findings revealed that students had moderate self-efficacy, with higher confidence in basic and intermediate-level information literacy (IL) tasks compared to advanced skills. There were significant differences in IL self-efficacy based on students' demographic and academic variables. The results suggest that age and computer proficiency were significantly associated with students' self-efficacy beliefs in information literacy. Overall, the 28-item ILSES and its two smaller subscales yielded similar results, indicating that shorter versions of the ILSES can be utilized to reduce questionnaire completion time without compromising the validity of the results. This study highlights the importance of demographic and academic variables in shaping students' IL self-efficacy beliefs and emphasizes the need for providing adequate support and training to improve information skills among students.     

Executive MBA Students’ Information Skills and Knowledge: Discovering the Difference Between Work and Academics

This study explores Executive MBA (EMBA) students’ information-seeking skills and knowledge in academic and workplace environments to improve on library instruction. The authors’ research consisted of a survey and 12 qualitative interviews, sampled from two University of New Mexico EMBA cohorts. The themes that emerged included EMBA's specific skills and knowledge of their own industry's information, difficulty in finding new information, several barriers, and lack of transferability. By discussing adult learning theory and focusing on transferability, we can help students acknowledge and transfer their information skills and knowledge between academics and work.     

A Study of Nontraditional Students' Perceptions of Their Library Research Skills

Abstract

The focus of this study is nontraditional students and their perceptions of their library research skills. Governors State University (GSU) in Illinois has a majority of returning adult students. The average age of students is 36 years old. This is a unique population to survey because nontraditional college students are becoming more prevalent. Not all college students are ages 18-22. There is a growing percentage of older students attending college. The findings from the survey discuss how students perceive their library research skills and how their skills have or have not progressed since attending GSU. The issue of the academic library becoming automated since some of these students last attended school is addressed. Recommendations are given for those students who will attend GSU in the future.     

International graduate students in the United States: Research processes and challenges

International students enrolled in graduate programs in the United States struggle with conducting academic research and can benefit from specialized library support. This qualitative study uses critical incident technique to explore how these students complete research assignments and use library and other resources in the process. Many participants described similar research processes, beginning with selecting a research topic and ending with cutting and pasting text from sources deemed to be useful. Two-thirds described using specific library resources—usually online resources—for their research. Some described broader research difficulties, such as coming up with a good idea, and others struggled with more specific skills like data analysis. Half of the participants had received some sort of library instruction, but they did not have particularly positive responses to these sessions. The findings of this study may be of use to academic librarians who wish to better understand international students and improve research support for this user population.     

Workplace-integrated-learning: Preparing tomorrow's academic library workforce

In 2014, the University of Toronto Libraries (UTL) in partnership with the University's Faculty of Information (FI) launched a new internship program, the Toronto Academic Libraries Internship program (TALint). The program is designed to provide iSchool students with the opportunity to participant in a two-year paid internship at one of the University's libraries. In the course of running our TALint program, some unanticipated questions arose that challenged our assumptions about who, among a diverse student body, is drawn to academic librarianship as a potential career, what skills and competencies library supervisors are looking for in today's hire, and how students and faculty leverage (or not) student workplace experiences as a means of enhancing course-based learning?. Additionally, the university's recent emphasis on the discourse of workplace-integrated-learning (WIL) placed novel demands on the program's design and delivery warranting critical research engagement. The purpose of the following paper is threefold: (1) to introduce the concept of Workplace-Integrated-Learning (WIL) into the academic library literature, (2) present a case study of a WIL-inspired internship program, and (3) reflect on the outcomes of that case study with respect to best practices, policy implications and suggestions for future research into the changing face of the professional academic library workforce.     

Library Anxiety and Emotion Perception Among the Undergraduate Social Sciences Students: A Relationship Study

ABSTRACT

Previous research has mostly focused on the demographic and academic correlates of library anxiety. This study focused on the “library anxiety” and “emotion perception” of students, with the objective of examining the relationship between these two concepts. In total, 279 self-reporting questionnaires were used for analysis. The results confirmed the existence of the phenomenon of library anxiety, with these students being more anxious regarding the “user education” and “user knowledge” factors. They showed greater skills of emotion perception. A negatively significant relationship appeared between library anxiety and emotion perception. The results suggest that user education and emotion perception training programs should be developed to overcome students' problems.     

Off-campus adult learners' levels of library anxiety as a predictor of attitudes toward the Internet

This study assesses what factors associated with library anxiety predict off-campus adult learners' attitudes toward the educational use of the Internet. Off-campus adult learners were graduate students attending classes at a distance of 50 or more miles from their home institution's library. Two factors associated with library anxiety, knowledge of the library and affective barriers, yielded a multiple R of .30, accounting for 9 percent of the variance in respondents' attitudes toward the Internet. Findings indicate that off-campus adult learners' perceptions of their information retrieval skills impact their anxiety levels while utilizing library and Internet resources. Findings suggest the benefit of including information in library tutorials about accessing databases and hands-on computer instruction to elevate adult learners' perceptions of their competency.     

Playing with LEGO®, Learning about the Library,and “Making” Campus Connections: The Rutgers University Art Library Lego Playing Station,Part One

ABSTRACT

As libraries continue to grow and change in the 21st century, we are seeing an increased emphasis on outreach, engagement, creativity, and innovation for academic libraries. These ideas are crucial to the future of academic libraries and makerspaces are one way for academic libraries to realize these ideas. Makerspaces can be affordable, don't need to take up a lot of space, and have potential to be catalysts for creating partnerships within one's community. Engaging making events can stimulate broader conversations among library patrons and library employees as well as a way for library liaisons to connect with their faculty, students, and staff.     

Information Literacy in the Reference Environment

Summary

The academic information environment is changing greatly as we enter the millennium. These changes are affecting libraries and, specifically, reference services. In the past and even in recent times librarians have been concerned with library orientation, library instruction, and bibliographic instruction. Now they have to worry about teaching students and others viable information and computer skills to cope effectively in the information society. Reference work as practiced this century will undergo major changes in the electronic information environment, and the teaching of effective information skills will become a very important component of reference services. The challenges thus presented to academic librarians will be great but success in this area will mean effective professional survival.     

Use of print and electronic resources by agricultural science students in Nigerian universities

A two-part questionnaire was designed to elicit information on use of print and electronic resources by agricultural science students in Nigerian universities. 912 respondents from faculties of agriculture in three Nigerian universities completed the questionnaires. The results revealed that agricultural science students most prefer to use textbooks (42.1%) among print materials, while The Essential Electronic Agricultural Library (TEEAL) is the most preferred among electronic resources available in their libraries (52.2%). Major problems faced by the agricultural science students include inadequate access to full Internet connectivity and lack of skills on their part to use available electronic databases properly. The study recommends restructuring library collections by increasing the number of agricultural textbooks and databases to meet the information use and retrieval needs of agricultural science students. Other recommendations include establishing Internet-ready computer centers to complement teaching, learning, and research in the library.     

The X-factor in academic libraries: the demand for soft skills in library employees

Abstract

As the need for employees with technology skills and other expertise has increased within the contemporary academic library environment, so too has the need for employees with “soft skills.” Soft skills refer to personal, learnable attributes, such as emotional intelligence, communication aptitude, persuasion facility, storytelling ability, collegiality, and even woo. While academic libraries are ever-changing, it is critical to bear in mind the importance of the human component. This article considers the need for soft skills within the contemporary academic library environment. It will draw upon successful instances of soft skills development from outside the academic library environment to synthesize new ways of enhancing library employees’ soft skills.     

Students perceptions on the long-range value of information literacy instruction through a learning community

Whereas academic library participation in learning communities has become visible in recent years, the literature is still lacking research studies providing assessment data. This article offers the first perspective from students on the value of information literacy instruction through a learning community and the impact that instruction has on academic careers. A qualitative research method of focus group interviews was employed to solicit opinions from students who completed during a three-year period the University of Hawaii at Manoa's (UHM) Libraries, Scholarship, and Technology (LIS 100) learning community course. The findings indicate learning communities provide a valuable context for learning both affective and cognitive information literacy skills necessary in an undergraduate education.     

A Correlational Study of Foreign Language Anxiety and Library Anxiety Among Non-native Speakers of English: A Case Study in a Malaysian Public University

This study examines the correlation of the dimensions of foreign language anxiety and library anxiety among undergraduates at a public university in Malaysia. The Malay translated versions of the Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale (FLCAS) and the Library Anxiety Scale (LAS) were completed by 147 students pursuing a Foundation in Science course. Analysis revealed a significant correlation in all the dimensions of library anxiety with three of the dimensions of foreign language anxiety, namely speaking anxiety, self-evaluation anxiety, and learner anxiety. The findings in this study will enable librarians to be aware of the anxieties faced by students which can help in the planning and delivery of services and instruction.