The primary goal of this study was to identify gaps in curriculum coverage and required skills for research support services (RSS) in university libraries in the Punjab province of Pakistan. A convergent parallel mixed methods design was used to meet its objective. To collect data for the quantitative strand, across-sectional survey with a…

A previous study of creative writers' self-reports revealed important differences between research as it is carried out in the context of creative writing and the more scholarly types of research academic librarians often focus on. However, that study left many questions open. For this follow-up study, the author interviewed published creative…

This article studies how government documents librarians describe their field within scholarly publications. Treating published works as primary source texts, it examines language, themes, and self-depiction within academic publications authored by documents librarians, arguing that a qualitative analysis provides insights into the professional…

Many librarians conduct research in higher education by studying the undergraduate students with whom they work. Instead of research on students, this paper argues the need for library and information science (LIS) research with, for, and by students. It shows why librarians should explore collaborative partnerships with student-researchers to…

To document the change over time in African-American/Africana/Black Studies (AABS) librarianship in the United States, this study analyzed 71 position announcements published in physical and digital sources beginning in 1970 through 2019. Using content analysis, the author found that most AABS librarians should expect to have an MLIS and work in…

With growing emphasis on data curation practice in both science and industry, there has been a call for information professionals to take on a substantial role in data curation. Library and information science (LIS) education has been responding to this call by offering various training opportunities from Master's education to professional…

Researcher-facing librarians in New Zealand are providing guidance across more of the research lifecycle than ever before in response to an increasingly complex scholarly ecosystem. This research explored the development of research support through survey responses from all eight New Zealand University Libraries. From the responses it was possible…

Community colleges educate an estimated two-fifths of United States college students. Yet community college librarians do not disseminate enough research to enable their colleagues and their libraries to reach their potential. Little is known about what types of supportive measures might increase productivity. The authors collected quantitative…

LIS education has historically come under fire for what some perceive as a disconnect between what is taught in the classroom and what the job really entails. This study is part of a larger research study that used a sequential explanatory mixed-methods design to investigate liaison librarians' perceptions of their academic preparation to take on…

Information literacy (IL) open learning object repositories (LORs) provide a space for librarians to find and exchange instruction resources and lessons. Given many librarians enter the workforce with little or no formal training or educational opportunities to learn about pedagogy, these repositories are indispensable resources to the Library and…

Librarianship is constantly confronted with unexpected and quickly evolving sociotechnical challenges, yet the documents that define the core professional competencies for librarians are infrequently updated. Based upon survey responses collected from 383 working librarians located in the United States, we describe a set of gaps between current…

Research data services are increasingly offered by academic libraries. As a result, librarians may need to upskill to provide data services and build capacity. This study measures the current level of data services skills of academic librarians and explores preferred methods of continuing education. An online survey was circulated asking…

In spring 2020, the California State University System and its 23 campuses became the first in the United States to commit to a year of remote instruction due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Remote instruction separated the system's librarians from their users, whose needs were especially great within the system's ethnically, economically, and…

Narrative inquiry, a phenomenological qualitative research methodology, examines individual human experiences--stories. Yet, researchers in Library and Information Science (LIS)--a human-focused profession--have infrequently used it. This article introduces narrative inquiry and provides a literature review of the few LIS studies using it. Next,…

The terms Diversifying, Decentring and Decolonising characterise the ways that academic libraries are engaging with social justice issues, through multiple theoretical perspectives epitomised by the rejection of libraries as neutral spaces. The review covers numerous case studies of critically informed action, or praxis across a variety of…