An Ethnographic Study of Attitudes Influencing Faculty Collaboration in Library Instruction

Manuel, Kate; Beck, Susan; Molloy, Molly

doi:10.1300/j120v43n89_10

Cited by 33 publications

(39 citation statements)

References 17 publications

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“…We used a combination of multiple choice and open-ended questions. Several questions (8,12,13,14,15, and 16) were based on the questionnaire developed by Cannon at York University. 17 A distinctive feature of our survey, however, was the incorporation of questions designed to explore the use of technology in instruction by the faculty, and their attitudes toward the applications of new technologies and formats in library instruction.…”

Section: Background and Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The top reasons why faculty appreciated library instruction included the need to develop student research skills, Framing a Strategy a need to combat the overreliance on the free Internet, and the value of library instruction for fostering college success. 8 Another study based on Cannon' s work was conducted by at Louisiana State University. 9 Like Gonzales, they targeted the entire faculty at their institution.…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Framing a Strategy

Meer¹,

Perez-Stable²,

Sachs³

2012

Reference &Amp; User Services Quarterly

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Section: Background and Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Framing a Strategy

Meer¹,

Perez-Stable²,

Sachs³

2012

Reference &Amp; User Services Quarterly

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“…The standards themselves use both the language of universality and discipline specificity. 3 While the best way to achieve IL competency for students is through collaboration between disciplinary faculty and librarians, collaboration is not always seen in all situations. 4 …”

Section: Information Literacy In the Sciences: Faculty Perception Of mentioning

confidence: 99%

Information Literacy in the Sciences: Faculty Perception of Undergraduate Student Skill

Perry

2017

CRL

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Academic librarians need reliable information on the needs of faculty teaching undergraduates about seeking and using information. This study describes information gathered from semistructured interviews of teaching faculty in the sciences from several Boston-area colleges. The interview results provided insight into science faculty attitudes toward student research skill and ability. Faculty articulated what they wanted from students seeking research articles, including finding where the gaps were. They described their concerns about threats to research integrity including conflicts of interest and Open Access publishing. Study results will prove useful for librarians trying to better serve the needs of their science faculty.In a recent lecture, Paul Sturges recounted a story about the gap between perception and user needs, which inspired this study. A development organization in Zimbabwe created toilets for a village; returning to the village some time later, they discovered they had been converted to grain stores.1 The development experts perceived a need for toilets, but the villagers needed grain stores, an error easily avoided by asking users about their needs. Instruction librarians sometimes make the same type of error. Librarians can approach information literacy instruction with their own perception of the type of instruction the students need without fully understanding the needs of faculty or students in the discipline. Additional information about what faculty expect from instruction will assist librarians in providing students with disciplineappropriate instruction.Information literacy (IL) is viewed as an essential skill for college students; it is defined as "a set of abilities requiring individuals to recognize when information is needed and have the ability to locate, evaluate and use effectively the needed information."2 The IL competencies can be seen as generic skills, consistent across disciples or specific skills within a disciplinary lens. The standards themselves use both the language of universality and discipline specificity.3 While the best way to achieve IL competency for students is through collaboration between disciplinary faculty and librarians, collaboration is not always seen in all situations. 4 The Association of College and Research Libraries has recently developed the Frameworks for Information Literacy

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“…Subject-specific information literacy and its integration into curricula, especially in the sciences, benefit students (Manuel 2004;Manuel, Beck, and Molloy 2005). Discipline-specific library instruction is part of biology education in many colleges and universities.…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Lasting Value of an Embedded, First-Year, Biology Library Instruction Program

Ferrer‐Vinent

Carello

2011

Science & Technology Libraries

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Discipline-specific library instruction has been embedded in our first-year general biology laboratory course since 2006. In 2009 students in advanced biology courses completed a survey that assessed their proficiency at using the library resources. We found that those who took the discipline-specific library instruction were more confident in their library skills, had a more scholarly approach toward biology library research, made better library database choices, and were better able to meet the expectations of their professors. The results also indicate that the first-year skills need to be reviewed and scaffolded in upper-level courses. INTRODUCTIONThe National Association of Biology Teachers (NABT) (2008) recently issued guidelines for evaluating undergraduate programs in biology. As part of those evaluation criteria requirements for biology curriculums, NABT states the need for students to learn how to do library research. The importance of information literacy for science and engineering students is also recognized by 255 the National Research Council (2003) report of proposals to improve undergraduate training of future researchers in biology underscores the value of learning library research skills. Logically, an ideal time to initiate good research skills is early in a career. First-year biology students need to begin learning how to find and evaluate information so they can adequately utilize it when researching topics of interest in their biology courses. They should expand their initial skills throughout later courses. These lifelong library research skills help students through undergraduate and graduate programs and in their professional careers. LITERATURE REVIEWSubject-specific information literacy and its integration into curricula, especially in the sciences, benefit students (Manuel 2004;Manuel, Beck, and Molloy 2005). Discipline-specific library instruction is part of biology education in many colleges and universities. Among the trends reported by Sinn (1998) in her literature review of library instruction for biology were that most classes were one-shot sessions, mainly covering the library online catalog and Biological Abstracts, with collaboration between biologists and librarians, and without student testing or assessment of the instruction. With the onset of the new millennium, assessment for improving information literacy became paramount. In addition, many different approaches to delivering library instruction are in use now. Collaboration between biology faculty and librarians continues to be viewed as essential for information literacy to be successful.Researchers reported different methods and findings for assessment of library instruction in biology. Spackman (2007) used focus groups to assess biology library instruction at her institution. She found that students have poor library research skills; teaching assistants do not have the time or proficiency to teach these skills; and collaboration is vital. Dinkelman (2010) analyzed biology syllabi at her institution and found that mos...

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An Ethnographic Study of Attitudes Influencing Faculty Collaboration in Library Instruction

Cited by 33 publications

References 17 publications

Framing a Strategy

Framing a Strategy

Information Literacy in the Sciences: Faculty Perception of Undergraduate Student Skill

The Lasting Value of an Embedded, First-Year, Biology Library Instruction Program

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