Academic libraries are challenged to keep pace with major changes and trends in the fields of library and information science and higher education generally. Through a nationwide survey of information professionals and LIS faculty, this study explores the knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) currently in demand for academic librarians and…

This article reports the results of a 2015 survey that updates and extends the authors' 2010 survey of academic librarians, to learn of the current state of their attitudes, involvement, and perceived capabilities in the research process. A key change in the 2015 survey is the use of an expanded research confidence scale, designed by the authors.…

To better understand, articulate, and improve the academic library's impact on online populations, this two-phase mixed-method study examines library communication with online students and faculty. In phase I, online focus group participants responded to vignettes illustrating library communication scenarios. Results from phase I informed the…

In 1986, Constance Mellon found that 75 to 85 percent of undergraduate students experienced library anxiety as well as shame about their anxiety. Fifteen years earlier, Helen Block Lewis began her groundbreaking research in shame theory. This paper explores the affective components of library anxiety using the pioneering research of Constance…

Our research examined the degree to which behaviors and learning associated with creativity and innovation were supported in five academic library spaces and three other spaces at a mid-sized university. Based on survey data from 226 students, we apply a number of statistical techniques to measure student perceptions of the types of learning and…

The Personal Librarian for Aboriginal Students (PLAS) program at the University of Alberta (UofA) is a creative outgrowth of the growing Personal Librarian programs in academic libraries, in which a student is partnered with an individual librarian for the academic year. In the case of the UofA's PLAS program, first-year undergraduate students who…

Research on information literacy and educators has focused on preservice educators and learning information literacy skills. Little research exists on in-service educators and their information literacy skills. Purposes of this study were to identify information sources that in-service educators used; to determine relationships between information…

Peer learning dynamics have proven powerful in collegiate contexts. These dynamics should be leveraged at the undergraduate level in academic libraries for reference provision and basic information literacy instruction. Drawing on the literature of peer learning, documented examples of peer reference and instruction in academic libraries, and…

In this article, the author recollects her memories reading Constance A. Mellon's article, "Library Anxiety: A Grounded Theory and Its Development," when it appeared in the March 1986 issue of "College & Research Libraries." She was a reference librarian at at DePauw University in Indiana at the time, helping students…

The purpose of this paper was to investigate whether there are relationships between first-year college students' use of academic libraries and four academic outcomes: academic engagement, engagement in scholarly activities, academic skills development, and grade point average. The results of regression analyses suggest students' use of books…

This article discusses findings from a longitudinal research study that examined the way graduate students carry out the literature review and how they were impacted by attending a library literature review workshop. The literature review research process serves as an important gateway for graduate students into their scholarly communities'…

This study evaluated changes in college students' expectations following library instruction and how they were related to overall, long-term satisfaction with the library. Satisfaction appeared to be related to student perceptions of information accessibility, staff competence and helpfulness, computer usefulness and ease of use, and skill level…

Oregon State University faculty, student, and library staff attitudes toward credit courses, and various other instructional methods, for teaching library and research skills were assessed. A number of faculty and students did not know about courses offered. Although other methods, such as Web tutorials and written guides, are preferred,…

Since 1994, the Teaching Library at the University of California-Berkeley has conducted an ongoing Survey of Information Literacy Competencies in selected academic departments to measure the "lower-order" information literacy skills of graduating seniors. The survey reveals that students think they know more about accessing information and…

A study of undergraduates found that grades, class year, focused academic library activities, informal faculty interaction, active course learning, and conscientious writing resulted in gains in critical thinking, suggesting that academic librarians should design library-research-skills courses to increase student-focused use of the library and…