Soft skills, or intra- and interpersonal skills such as writing, customer service, and flexibility, are highly sought by library and information science employers. A perceived gap in soft skills has led to suggestions that LIS programs are not adequately addressing these skills in their curricula, and to calls for them to do more. However, no…

In a political climate in which intellectual freedom and Critical Race Theory (CRT), among other concepts, are under attack, courses with diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) content are especially relevant. Examining Library and Information Studies (LIS) curriculum within the United States, scholars have repeatedly found DEI content, despite…

Training in research methodology is an essential component of educating twenty-first century information professionals and library practitioners. Traditionally, competencies in library and information science (LIS) education emphasized the fundamental knowledge of research methods and critical skills in evaluating the findings. However, librarians…

Master of Library and Information Studies (MLIS) students represent a population for whom literature searching is a core practice and a learning outcome for an entry-level course on information searching. How LIS students learn to find information, though, is not completely clear. Many studies have explored undergraduate searching behavior, but…

This study investigates the benefits of a community blogging platform for students in an online LIS program. Using a web survey and descriptive content analysis methods, this paper empirically addresses how student blogging communities can be effectively foster connections amongst instructors and students, and enhance perceptions of learning…

Although mentoring is widely valued and encouraged within librarianship, it has been conceived mostly as a professional relationship that occurs after one has obtained a position. Thus, mentoring among LIS students is not customary--largely because internships and field experiences are not universally required. To address this problem, the…

Discussion of reference service in a changing information environment focuses on a survey of basic reference courses in American Library Association (ALA) accredited programs that was conducted to investigate how library school students are being educated for reference service. Highlights include course content; teaching methods; learning…