2020
21
Oct
, and

Creating a Student-Centered Alternative to Research Guides: Developing the Infrastructure to Support Novice Learners

In Brief: Research and course guides typically feature long lists of resources without the contextual or instructional framework to direct novice researchers through the research process. An investigation of guide usage and user interactions at a large university in the southwestern U.S. revealed a need to reexamine the way research guides can be developed and...
Read More
2020
16
Sep
and

Power and Status (and Lack Thereof) in Academe: Academic Freedom and Academic Librarians

In Brief Academic librarians do not experience full academic freedom protections, despite the fact that they are expected to exercise independent judgment, be civically engaged, and practice applied scholarship. Academic freedom for academic librarians is not widely studied or well understood. To learn more, we conducted a survey which received over 600 responses from academic...
Read More
2020
2
Sep

The Library Commons: An Imagination and an Invocation

By Jennie Rose Halperin In Brief Commons theory can provide important interventions within neoliberal managerial information capitalism when applied to the library as an institution. The commons and its associated practices provide a model of abundance, sharing, and cooperation. Libraries can and should participate in alternative economic and management models to create an inclusive vision...
Read More
2020
19
Aug

“Information Has Value”: The Political Economy of Information Capitalism

In Brief Information capitalism dominates the production and flow of information across the globe. It produces massive information institutions that are as harmful to everyday people as they are powerful. To this point, Information Literacy (IL) educators do not have a theory and pedagogy of information capitalism. This article appraises the current state of political...
Read More
2020
22
Jul

Training Matters: Student Employment and Learning in Academic Libraries

In Brief Conceiving of student employment in academic libraries as an educationally purposeful experience requires adopting a learner-centered pedagogical approach to student employee job training. Adopting such an approach is triply beneficial: it makes that job training more effective; it identifies training as an opportunity to pursue learning goals that support the growth of students...
Read More
2020
24
Jun
and

Creating a Library Wide Culture and Environment to Support MLIS Students of Color: The Diversity Scholars Program at Oregon State University Libraries

In Brief The work of social justice, equity, and inclusion is not a short-term investment by a limited number of people; instead, it should be a part of every library’s and librarian’s work. At the Oregon State University Libraries (OSUL), we felt that in order to create a program dedicated to employing MLIS students of...
Read More
2020
1
Apr

Communicating with Information: Creating Inclusive Learning Environments for Students with ASD

In Brief The focus of this article is twofold: it 1) considers how digital humanities techniques and methodologies increase accessibility and scholarship opportunities for students with Autism Spectrum Disorder; and 2) outlines how libraries can collaborate with existing services to provide subsequently appropriate supports for students. Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), one of the increasingly prevalent...
Read More
2020
19
Feb

Open to What? A Critical Evaluation of OER Efficacy Studies

In Brief This selective literature review evaluates open educational resources (OER) efficacy studies through the lens of critical pedagogy. OER have radical potential as transformative tools for critical pedagogy or they can serve as a cost-free version of the status quo, inclined toward propagating austerity. This review analyzes studies published since 2008 with regard to...
Read More