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…

This article builds on a 2018 study and reports on a survey conducted in 2022 to examine the value of advanced subject degrees in addition to the Master of Library Science for academic librarians. This study explores the impact of advanced subject degrees on scholarly contributions, compensation, teaching roles, and tenure status in academic…

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…

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…

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…

This article discusses the work of the American Library Association (ALA) Special Task Force on Sustainability, which identified 52 recommendations, including the adoption of sustainability as a core value of librarianship. The group aims to promote libraries as catalysts, connectors, and conveners to promote sustainability, resilience, and…

This article encourages thoughtful discussion on cross-disciplinary partnerships among those researchers, practitioners, and librarians engaged in the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning. Through personal experiences, examples from the literature, and the goal of meaningful collaboration, the authors describe four models of engagement with…

Teaching is a primary responsibility of many academic librarians. However, despite the job duties, many academic librarians do not see themselves as teachers. To determine how participation in the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) impacted academic instruction librarians' teacher identity the authors conducted an explanatory sequential…

There are existing studies on data curation programs in library science education and studies on data services in libraries. However, there is not much insight into how educational programs have prepared data professionals for practice. This study asked 105 practicing professionals how well they thought their education prepared them for…

This article draws on the author's previous experiences of developing library strategies at three case study libraries between 2011 and 2016 across a range of different academic institution types: research-intensive, teaching-intensive, and scientific research. Adopting a reflection on practice methodology based on Gibbs' reflective cycle, the…

As long as empirical research has existed, researchers have been doing "data management" in one form or another. However, funding agency mandates for doing formal data management are relatively recent, and academic libraries' involvement has been concentrated mainly in the last few years. The National Science Foundation implemented a new…

This article discusses potential consequences of implementing bibliometrics as an institutionalized practice in academic libraries. Results are reported from a survey among libraries in Sweden with organized bibliometric activities. Incorporating bibliometric activities is one way of redefining and widening the role of the library. Implementation…

How translational researchers use data is becoming an important support function for libraries to understand. Libraries' roles in this increasingly complex area of Web librarianship are often unclearly defined. The authors conducted two focus groups with physicians and researchers at an academic medical center, the UCLA David Geffen School of…

Embedded librarians are attempting assimilation into a new pedagogical collective outside the library, often with a mission to improve the quality of service to that collective. But like the Borg, embedded librarians may not be achieving the results they envision. This article documents the varied experiences of five reference librarians at Murray…

The job of the contemporary reference librarian has a virtual component unimaginable a generation ago. Today's library professional can obtain an MLS (or equivalent) online with a minimal residency requirement. Not only the degree, but also library sources, and indeed patrons, have become virtual. Both books and periodicals can be consulted by…