Library instruction: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 01:16, 28 June 2021

Revision as of 20:46, 10 November 2021

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==Relationship to information literacy==

According to the Presidential Committee on Information Literacy, [[Information literacy]] is the set of skills a person needs to be "able to recognize when information is needed and the ability to locate, evaluate, and use effectively the needed information."<ref>{{cite web| title= Presidential Committee on Information Literacy: Final Report| publisher= Association of College and Research Libraries (ARCL) | url=http://www.ala.org/acrl/publications/whitepapers/presidential |accessdate=December 18, 2013| date= 2006-07-24 }}</ref> In an academic setting, instruction in information literacy can take on a variety of forms, such as a long class or a project integrated into a course on related subject matter. Literacy competency standards are outlined by the Association of Collegecollege and Research Libraries.<ref>Kasowitz-Scheer, A. & Pasqualoni, M. (2002) Information literacy instruction in higher education: Trends and issues. ''Eric Digest''. Retrieved from http://surface.syr.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1032&context=sul</ref>

Currently there are debates about whether instruction on how to use library systems is necessary, or if efforts are better spent making systems easier to use so that they require no instruction. A particular study published in the Journal of Academic Librarianship indicates that the most predominant model of teaching information literacy, the one-shot session model, is ineffective and doesn't really make a perceptible difference in the grades of the students. However the same study also indicated that students who attended a longer class with a library instruction session scored significantly higher, indicating that it may not be the idea of the instruction that is flawed, but rather the method.<ref>Rinto, E. (2015) Library instruction and themed composition courses: An investigation of factors that impact student learning. ''The Journal of Academic Librarianship, 41''(1), 14-20.</ref>

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Some university libraries offer specialized instructional sessions. At these sessions the librarian works one-on-one with a user to assist him or her with specific research goals. These sessions are sometimes referred to as a "term paper clinic" or a "research consultation."

Another option for library instruction consists of ''one-shot'' instruction sessions. This slang term refers to "formal instruction given in a single session, as opposed to instruction extended over two or more sessions".<ref>{{cite book| chapter=one-shot | page=499 | title=Dictionary for Library and Information Science |last=Reitz |first= Joan M. |publisher= Libraries Unlimited | ___location= Westport, Connecticut | year= 2004| isbn=1-59158-075-7 }}</ref> These class meetings are often held just before a term paper is assigned, and the goal of the librarian is to orient the class to the best library sources for use in a term paper.

After 2015, webinars began to be part of the library instruction programs. During the 2020-2021 CovidCOVID-19 pamdemic, this form of teaching became the norm for university libraries around the world.<ref>{{Cite journal| doi = 10.21083/partnership.v16i1.6392| issn = 1911-9593| volume = 16| issue = 1| pages = 1–11| last = Martinolli| first = Pascal| title = Library Instruction in Pandemic Times: Early Morning Webinars | journal = Partnership: The Canadian Journal of Library and Information Practice and Research| accessdate = 2021-05-21| date = 2021-05-20| url = https://journal.lib.uoguelph.ca/index.php/perj/article/view/6392| doi-access = free}}</ref>

Library instruction can also benefit from the utilization of video games and gaming designed for information literacy. When incorporating design principles from gaming into information literacy instruction, instructional librarians can teach students how to succeed through long, complex, and difficult tasks<ref>{{Cite journal|title = Gamification of Library Instruction|last = Becker|first = Bernd|date = 2013|journal = Behavioral & Social Science Librarian|doi = 10.1080/01639269.2013.821372|publisher = Taylor & Francis Group|volume = 32|issue = 3|page = 199|issn = 1544-4546}}</ref> while still keeping the learning experience engaging. Library instruction and active learning information literacy workshops can also be facilitated by theater techniques,<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Furay|first=Julia|date=2014-06-03|title=Stages of instruction: theatre, pedagogy and information literacy|journal=Reference Services Review|language=en|volume=42|issue=2|pages=209–228|doi=10.1108/RSR-09-2013-0047|issn=0090-7324}}</ref> by the rules of hospitality<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Martinolli|first=Pascal|date=2019-10-28|title=De maître-élèves à hôte-invités : revisiter le cadre relationnel des formations en bibliothèque|url=https://papyrus.bib.umontreal.ca/xmlui/handle/1866/22410|journal=Colloque des Bibliothèques d'Enseignement Supérieur (BES)|language=fr}}</ref> or by humor.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Walker|first=Billie E.|date=2006|title=Using humor in library instruction|journal=Reference Services Review|language=en|volume=34|issue=1|pages=117–128|doi=10.1108/00907320610648806|issn=0090-7324}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|title=Humor and information literacy : practical techniques for library instruction|last=Vossler, Joshua J.|date=2011|publisher=Libraries Unlimited|others=Sheidlower, Scott.|isbn=978-1-59884-533-4|___location=Santa Barbara, Calif.|oclc=751235479}}</ref>

=== Critical library instruction ===

Critical library instruction is rooted in the idea that knowledge is culturally situated, and thus, instruction must be as well.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Acardi|first1=M.|last2=Drabinski|first2=E.|last3=Kumbier|first3=A.|title=Critical library instruction: Theories and methods |date=2010}}</ref> Characterized by a praxis-based approach that is deeply connected to the context and information needs of the learner, critical library instruction always begins with an assessment of the learner’slearner's context and their information needs. Critical library instruction problematizes traditional methods of teaching information literacy skills as privileging particular ways of knowing in academic contexts,<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Elmborg|first1=James|title=Critical Information Literacy: Implications for Instructional Practice.|journal=The Journal of Academic Librarianship|date=2006|volume=32|issue=2|pages=192–199|doi=10.1016/j.acalib.2005.12.004}}</ref> and instead advocates a method of teaching that emphasizes the learner’slearner's frame of reference and information needs.

Influenced by [[critical pedagogy]], an educational philosophy that address problems and questions of particular relevance to the lives of students, critical library instruction aims to provide the same approach to students’ information needs and practices. From [[critical literacy]], critical library instruction approaches literacy as political and literacy instruction as a political act;<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Luke|first1=A|last2=Kapitzke|first2=C|title=Literacies and libraries: archives and cybraries.|journal=Pedagogy, Culture & Society|date=1999|volume=7|issue=3|pages=467–491|url=http://eprints.qut.edu.au/5904/1/5904.pdf|doi=10.1080/14681369900200066}}</ref> thus, critical library instruction requires instructors to maintain awareness of power dynamics, [[Intersectionality|identity intersections]], and to challenge their own definitions of literacy in order to provide meaningful instruction to their particular students.

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* Davis, R. C. (1886). Teaching bibliography in colleges. ''Library journal'', 11 (September), pp.&nbsp;289–94.

* Hopkins, F. L. (1982). A century of bibliographic instruction: The historic claim to professional and academic legitimacy. ''College and research libraries'', 43 (May), pp.&nbsp;192–98.

* Lorenzen, M. (2003). Encouraging community in library instruction: A jigsaw experiment in a university library skills classroom. ''Illinois Libraries'' 85(1): 5-145–14.

==External links==