The problem of how to determine the value of a library's services and products is not a new one. Many scholars throughout the years have attempted to take an abstract concept, such as the value of information, and make it more concrete and measurable. 1,2,3,4,5,6,7 What was once often an intellectual exercise, however, now has practical urgency for librarians and for the institutions they serve. This is due both to an uncertain economic climate and to rapid advancements in information technology that call into question the traditional roles of the library, while providing opportunities for new roles. Libraries must demonstrate their value in measurable ways that are meaningful to funders and administrators. Just as importantly, measuring the value of services and products helps librarians make decisions about which best serve their users and provide the best return to both the institution and its constituents. Value in contextThe first problem in the process of determining the value of a library is a basic one: What constitutes value and how do you measure it? Various Measuring value and ROI of libraries Carol Tenopir et al Serials -23(3), November 2010182 Measuring value and return on investment of academic libraries Updated from a paper presented by Carol Tenopir at the 33rd UKSG Conference, Edinburgh, April 2010The value of an academic library to its parent institution is difficult, but important, to measure. Many different methods have been used to measure value, including return on investment (ROI), contingent valuation, and other explicit and implicit measures. In a recent study we looked at the value and ROI of the library e-journal collections in the grants process in eight universities in eight countries. The results show that library-provided access to scholarly journals supports faculty productivity and that faculty members value and use electronic resources to support their research, grant and publishing activities. CAROL TENOPIR
Within the current climate of political polarization and discussions about “post-truth” rhetoric, many academic librarians are debating how the ACRL Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education1 does or does not address “post-truth” thinking and rhetoric. Most of these discussions have centered on the Authority Is Constructed frame, which describes source authority as determined largely in communities and within specific contexts, rather than as anything absolute or universal. The concept of constructed authority can potentially be understood as an affirmation that authority is purely a matter of opinion or subjective evaluation, or that there are no consistent or objective indicators of credibility. On the other hand, the notion of authority as entirely objective misrepresents the social nature of knowledge creation and renders invisible the sociocultural structures and systems that powerfully share what is considered knowledge.
This is a preprint of a chapter accepted for publication by Facet Publishing. This extract has been taken from the author's original manuscript and has not been edited. The definitive version of this piece may be found in Informed Societies -Why information literacy matters for citizenship, participation and democracy, edited by Stéphane Goldstein, Facet, London, ISBN 978-1-78330-391-5, which can be purchased from http://www.facetpublishing.co.uk/title.php?id=304226#.XfDthej7SUk . The author agrees not to update the preprint or replace it with the published version of the chapter. Our titles have wide appeal across the UK and internationally and we are keen to see our authors content translated into foreign languages and welcome requests from publishers. World rights for translation are available for many of our titles. To date our books have been translated into over 25 languagesThis chapter explores the roles that affect, social identity and beliefs play in how people engage with information about politically-and emotionally-charged issues and the implications for information literacy education, particularly in politically polarised times. Considering research from cognitive psychology and education, I also suggest ways to move beyond traditional approaches to information literacy that tend to focus on logic and "objectivity" while neglecting the significance of personal beliefs and social identity to information behaviors. I give particular focus to philosopher Maureen Linker's concept of "intellectual empathy" -"the cognitiveaffective elements of thinking about identity and social difference" (Linker, 2014, 12). Intellectual empathy, I argue, is crucial for the kind of critically reflective information literacy that is especially needed in order to foster democratic dialogue and civic engagement in an increasingly diverse and global world.
As librarians' instructional roles continue to evolve, metaphor can be a powerful tool through which to reflect on and at times to reframe librarians' evolving educational roles and pedagogical approaches, as they consider beliefs and assumptions about teaching and learning and about their unfolding work and identities. This article explores this potential by examining professional documents on librarians' teaching, discussing empirical research on metaphor as a tool for teacher development, examining metaphors that librarians have sometimes used to describe their pedagogical work, and sharing the author's experiences facilitating a librarian workshop on metaphor and librarians' teaching roles.
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