Digital initiatives have become increasingly common in academic libraries, but inconsistent definitions, standards, and expectations limit and, in some cases, negatively impact the effectiveness of practitioners. This article explores the discourse surrounding professional titles and responsibilities in digital initiatives within North American…

As the OER movement expands in higher education, libraries are increasingly seeking to add OER librarians to their organizational charts. As an emerging subfield, OER librarianship takes many forms, and there are many paths to OER work. This study examines OER librarians' paths to the field, including their motivations for entering and remaining…

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…

The concept of "student engagement" is widely discussed in academic libraries, but has not been thoroughly examined from a conceptual and theoretical perspective by scholars in the Library and Information Science (LIS) field. This paper presents the findings of a qualitative research project on student engagement in academic libraries.…

This article is an update to a previous article on the online embedded librarian program at Athens State University. It examines the nature of embedded librarianship at Athens State University and how it has grown and evolved over the past fifteen years. The authors review the literature and provide definitions and best practices associated with…

Collection development is at the core of the work of children's librarians, an ongoing activity that shapes collections as well as library spaces, services, programming, and communities. The process of collection development includes the consideration of several factors that impact the evaluation, selection, and acquisition of books available for…

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…

This article introduces the Health in All Policies (HiAP) approach to the LIS community to propose a new way of thinking and teaching about how health is supported in public libraries. The topic of consumer health literacy has been a mainstay in the discourse of public librarianship, but we argue that this approach has not fully supported public…

Education curricula need constant updates in response to job market requirements, which may be influenced by the changing technological environment. In the library and information science (LIS) job market there are dynamics brought about by the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR). These dynamics call for LIS schools to reconsider their curricula in…

The American Library Association (ALA) provides accreditation for master's programs in librarianship across the United States, helping provide skilled professionals in many types of libraries and information centers. The ALA Core Competencies are established for all professional librarian roles. As such they are broad and cover much more content…

In this mixed methods and multi-phased study, through a multi-round feedback and confirmation process, we established a meaningful approach to developing, revising, and finalizing a competency framework for InterProfessional Informationists (IPI). As an emerging profession, IPI has not yet been established as a formal educational program with a…

Information literacy is a crucial topic in the library science profession. The information needs and perceptions of the information literacy of preservice and early-career school librarians were explored in this research using a survey and interviews distributed nationally over a 5-month time frame. These participants, who have been employed in…

This study evaluated authorship in academic librarianship journals by assessing factors such as occupation, institutional affiliation, national affiliation, and coauthor relationships. The findings showed increased coauthorship, reinforcing the findings of previous studies. However, academic library practitioners as authors declined. Authorship…

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…

This article explores the application of journal quality and credibility evaluation tools to library science publications. The researchers investigate quality and credibility attributes of forty-eight peer-reviewed library science journals with open access components using two evaluative tools developed and published by librarians. The results…