In academic libraries there has been growing interest in developing better ways to diversify collections, but STEM collections are sometimes overlooked. To better understand current practices and challenges, a survey was distributed to librarians with STEM collection responsibilities in the summer of 2021. Results from the survey indicated that…

Academic librarians do not engage with all disciplinary departments equally. Despite equal or even greater efforts, some departments are less responsive to librarian outreach. One such department is mathematics. To understand mathematics departments' relationships with their academic librarians, three mathematics librarians created a 20-question…

Student access to desktop computers is still important in today's age of portable electronic and mobile devices. This paper will examine a sample of student usage of desktop computers in a small university library. Survey results indicated that students do find having access to desktop computers is still relevant for their research and personal…

Through content analysis, this study identifies the information resources frequently included in Engineering Education Research (EER) library research guides from universities with very high research activity. Conducted in September 2024, the analysis includes 15 research guides containing a total of 494 distinct information resources appearing…

Historical and modern scientific thought is dominated by the English language, colonized science, patriarchal norms, and Westernized "ways of knowing." By making materials that lie outside that narrative discoverable (e.g., non-Western science, Indigenous/Aboriginal knowledge, women in science, etc.) we can assert that science is a…

Research support demonstrates the value of academic libraries and librarians. Recent studies have revealed that research support has been evolving from traditional citation analysis to advanced library services such as research field trend/frontiers analysis and talent evaluation. Using a powerful bibliometric tool CiteSpace and "active…

In contrast to the traditional library instruction aim of finding and evaluating information, critical library pedagogies aim to teach students to analyze and challenge the power structures that determine what kind of information is deemed valuable. STEM librarians have been slower to take up these approaches than our colleagues with other…

Technical standards are important documents that academic libraries collect to support education and research, particularly for engineering and technology programs. However, standards documents present many unique discovery and access challenges that are confusing and cumbersome for users. To help alleviate these issues, Elsevier started indexing…

This study reports on the publishing preferences of engineering faculty at a research institution. Faculty publications indexed in Scopus database over a ten-year period (2012-2021) were analyzed to identify publication types, publisher preference, and changes in publisher preferences observed over the period of this study. The findings expand the…

Technical standards are resources that are important for engineering and engineering technology students due to ABET accreditation requirements and future professional use of the documents. Previous studies have surveyed librarians at Association of Research Libraries (ARL) institutions with engineering programs and librarians at universities with…

To meet the research, teaching, and learning needs of their users, academic librarians, particularly those functioning as subject liaisons, are expected to know the institution's curriculum and research areas so that they can help shape library strategies to meet those needs and to connect users to the library's resources and services. The present…

This paper explores the connection between critical theory, information evaluation, and the instructional practice of critique for STEM students and librarian instructors. Using an emerging theory and instructional method, the authors examine how to more deeply include voices that have historically been excluded from STEM information critique. The…

This pilot study explores how agricultural sciences faculty utilize Digital Learning Objects (DLOs) in their courses and collaborate with librarians to improve students' information literacy skills. The researchers conducted in-depth interviews with 14 agricultural sciences faculty members at two land-grant institutions in the United States. The…

This exploratory study examines trends in librarian teaching support for open science (OS) practices in higher education. The study was conducted through semi-structured interviews with academic librarians and a survey that was distributed through academic librarian interest groups. The results indicate that academic librarians have varied…

This research explores the perspectives and practices of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) in Canadian Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) academic librarianship. Research data were collected from Canadian STEM librarians through an online survey and one-on-one interviews. Findings indicate that the majority of…