Academic librarians face multiple barriers in conducting the research that is expected in their work, yet they still manage to successfully complete it. This study aimed to identify the factors that contribute to their success. Through an online survey sent via email to a random sample of academic librarians in the United States, we gathered and…

This essay proposes a novel approach to developing shared educational resources for higher education. Building on characteristics of successful moves to open access in scholarly publishing, it scopes a network of discipline-based cross-institutional hubs for finding, sharing and reusing educational outputs. As well as creating repositories of…

The purpose of the study was to address gaps in the use of library information resources and services among distance learners. The study followed a pragmatic paradigm and employed a mixed-method research approach with a sequential explanatory design. A questionnaire was used to elicit information from 1,170 s-year distance learning students in…

This paper provides a snapshot of United States academic libraries in 2020 and explores longitudinal trends in staffing and expenditures for 1996 to 2020. The authors merged and analyzed academic library data from the National Center for Education Statistics from over 4,000 postsecondary institutions. Characteristics are explored by region and…

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…

This article reports on findings of an online survey about academic instruction librarians' conceptions and experiences of teacher agency in relation to their instructional work, and, more specifically, on the role of librarian-faculty relationships in these conceptions and experiences. The research study is informed by an ecological model of…

This paper shares the results of semi-structured interviews with 30 community college librarians who have instruction duties. The interviews explored these librarians' perceptions of students' information literacy (IL) strengths and weaknesses as well as their views of students' self-perceptions. Participants believe that students are confident in…

According to a 2021 Pew Research report, over 80 percent of 18- to 29-year-olds use social media. Studies also show that higher education students use social media in both academic and everyday life. However, there is minimal research about how, or whether, librarians utilize social media in their library instruction as a source of information for…

Navigating the landscape of higher education takes more than just attending classes, passing, and graduating. It requires a set of skills known as "college fluency." Libraries play a pivotal role in helping fluency flourish, training their employees and other faculty and staff members across their institution to adapt to the needs of…

Navigating higher education requires more than attending classes and completing assignments; it requires "college fluency," a set of skills that enables students, faculty, and staff to effectively locate and utilize institutional resources. College fluency can empower students, faculty, and staff to navigate the complex culture and…

"Improving Open Access Discovery for Academic Library Users" examines strategies for making scholarly, peer-reviewed open access (OA) publications more discoverable for your library community. OCLC Research partnered with two Dutch library consortia--Universiteitsbibliotheken en Nationale Bibliotheek (UKB) and Samenwerkingsverband…

Undergraduate research is considered to be a high-impact practice; however, research into the data literacy of students conducting undergraduate research is lacking. In addition, institutionwide assessments of data practices are challenging because of varied disciplinary approaches to data. This study investigates the data practices of…

Following the publication of an updated definition of "information literacy" in 2018 by CILIP, the United Kingdom's library and information association, librarians at Royal Holloway, University of London, began to use the definition with both students and staff. Their aim was to foster a better understanding of information literacy and…

Leaders come from all areas of an academic library; however, certain factors contribute to leadership development. A 24-question survey was conducted with 459 respondents reporting personal characteristics, perceived level of job engagement, and quality of their library's vision statement. The results reveal that self-identified leaders tend to be…

As the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) spread, a team from the Sheridan Libraries and Museums at Johns Hopkins University (JHU) provided technical support to the JHU Global COVID-19 Dashboard. This paper reflects on the lessons learned from working on a highly publicized, heavily trafficked resource and explores the role of academic libraries in…