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Comics and cartoons are valued in twenty-first century popular culture and are increasingly used as 'Applied Comics' to help communicate key messages and information in society. However, there is less evidence of cartoons and comics being used to communicate with and engage library users in learning, information literacy (IL) and research support. This paper explores case studies of how several different projects have utilised comics as a medium to deliver key messages about library services to support teaching and research at Cambridge University Libraries. The paper examines the use of comics and cartoons in a library context framed in a theory of comics and visual learning. The reception and output of the comics and cartoons with different audiences at Cambridge University Libraries is explored and the paper proposes that further research could be done to examine the potential of comics in communication and IL.

Creating information literate students and future employees is an expected outcome of a tertiary education. This paper shares insights from a successful collaboration between an academic and three university librarians to create an online learning module designed to develop students' professional information literacy capability: identifying business information types, searching online databases, and evaluating quality using a new indigenous-informed evaluation approach. Student learning was measured using reflective tasks and assessments. The paper challenges teachers and librarians to consider ways they can collaborate to explicitly embed information literacy (IL) skills development into large disciplinary courses, particularly during the transition into tertiary learning, to enhance lifelong learning capability and meet future workplace IL demands.

Drawing on recent teaching experiences in two intermediate-level classes, this paper showcases the ways through which librarians can help students interrogate structural issues in knowledge creation. Through class discussions and projects, students engaged with information at both individual sources and system levels. They confronted hidden assumptions and investigated how and why underprivileged communities were and remain marginalized in the dominant discourse. They were also challenged to think creatively about knowledge production as well as to seek out and center the experiences, stories, and voices of these communities. As a result, students understood that the voices of those who are disadvantaged or oppressed are often silenced and that their erasure from the dominant culture is inextricably linked to existing power structures. They came to appreciate different forms of knowledge and recognized their own agency in centering the voices of marginalized groups.

This paper describes a project undertaken at Grand Valley State University in which a co-creative model was used to develop a rubric for assessing student learning in library instruction. It outlines the design process as well as the training and support provided throughout implementation. It concludes with the authors' reflections on the successes and challenges of the process and provides recommendations for future projects.

The right of persons with disabilities for equal access to education and educational resources is enshrined by international and country-specific anti-discrimination laws. Taking the Ethiopian context as an example, this paper sought to identify barriers of access to educational resources and explored ways for removing them. Seventeen students with visual impairments studying at Hawassa University were selected for semi-structured interviews. Moreover, five individuals working at the disability centre and the university library were interviewed. The results of the interviews were analysed thematically using the International Classification of Functioning, Disabilities and Health (ICF) as a framework. Access and accessibility problems that emanate from the learners' diverse background, lack of educational resources in alternative formats, lack of institutional tools (policy, procedure, guidelines, etc.) to bridge the gap between law and practice, and the digital divide were among the problems identified and discussed. At the end, the paper showed how libraries, revitalised as learning and information commons, could help to ensure the accessibility of educational resources and help learners with disabilities to acquire skills that may help them in their studies and their future undertakings.

In the present study, the researcher has reviewed the existing literature from the previous research on Infrastructure and Application of ICT in Higher Education. The researcher carried out an intensive search on various publications and databases websites and finalized fifteen papers for carrying out the literature review. The literature review reveals that in higher education institutions, ICT Infrastructure is efficient in encouraging the use of web technologies, but inadequate ICT Infrastructure is being seen as the main challenge that hinders the implementation of E-learning. Some libraries don't have adequate hardware and software equipment's and don't have sufficient internet nodes and speed. The ICT Infrastructure in libraries of the colleges has a significant relation with the ICT library services. The usage of ICT in libraries has significantly improved the management of libraries. The financial limitations and unavailability of staff who are proficient in using ICT are considered as the main obstacle in delaying the process of ICT implementation in libraries of the colleges. As far as the ICT usage is concerned, there exists a difference in usage of ICT between the students and university teachers in classrooms. The teachers are also facing challenges and obstacles for the availability of facilities for using ICT in the classrooms. The ICT usage by students found to be low but they are having a positive attitude towards its usage. It was further seen that ICT literacy, financial, and organizational culture were the main obstacles for the use of ICT. The majority of the academic staff members use instructor led approach as compared to student led approach.

This paper defines the value and best practices of immersive learning and how a Midwest University initiative implements immersive learning practices to enhance students' educational experience. Literature reveals that immersive, or experiential, learning experiences are critical because "experiential learning provides the necessary link between formal education and adult life; it is a mechanism for integrating education and work, for recognizing the validity of all learning that is relevant to a college degree and for actively fostering recurrent education" (Kolb, 2014, pg. 3). Immersive learning is an essential component to ensure that students are fully equipped with the skills and knowledge needed in their future careers. Using a design case, the concept of an immersive learning is explored. Findings reveal that this immersive program is well-implemented and well-executed, allowing community partners to support the University, students to obtain real-world design experience, and allows educators to stay connected to design while teaching; it is a winning partnership for all three stakeholders.

In today's digital and distributed information environment, engaging with users is imperative for the success of liaison librarianship in the academy's learning and research environment. Such associations require the liaison's personal approach for connecting and building relationships with clients. This paper addresses the main factors for sustaining or improving ties with users as well as the prospects for individualized working relationships by liaison librarians. It examines the validity of and rationale for adopting a more personal type of engagement to improve and extend client connections in the long term. This article also looks at how such an approach by liaisons is reflected in best practices, guidelines, and articles in the library literature. In addition, it traces literature that helps establish grounds for personal or individualized engagement in the workplace. The paper concludes with some important practical considerations and calls for more in-depth research into the liaison librarian's personal approach as an essential step for understanding and assessing the quality of liaison librarianship.

The rapid evolution of the Internet, technological innovation and increased flow of information (information overload) has modernized academic libraries and it is difficult to keep up with the virtual delivery of scholarly information. It is to be relevant within this digital economy ecosystem, improvement as change is vital. The purpose of this paper is to show case two case studies carried out in a private open distance learning (ODL) University's library in Malaysia. The first case study refers to how the integration of EBSCO Discovery Service (EDS) federated search engine widget into the Moodle virtual learning environment (VLE) has significantly provided wider access to library learning resources and improved the document delivery services provided by the library. The second case study relating to the developing two open access repositories on open educational resources (ROER) using a Japanese open source system, WEKO can support collaboration on resource sharing across the university and other academic libraries. On the first case study, the author co-worked with the Moodle system's stakeholder from the Educational Technology and Publishing Unit to integrate the EDS widget into the university's virtual learning environment platform as another library learning spaces for users to retrieve and request learning resources. As for the second case study referring to building ROERs, a pull to push design approach strategy was used whereby metadata of scholarly open access materials were harvested using an Open Archives Initiatives Protocol for Metadata Harvesting (OAI-PMH) method into another open knowledge platform (WEKO) for discovery by other users. Library leverages digital solutions to improve and facilitate customer requests, delivery and sharing of information. This approach coincides with the University's quality philosophy of delivering the right and sustainable scholarly information. Document delivery and resource sharing services of OERs are inter-related for libraries through the use of new technologies and information supply techniques. It has also increased inter-department cooperation and local-international libraries. This paper provides value addition to the library personnel in advancing knowledge dissemination and building institutional repositories services as the sharing and preservation of knowledge.

The fundamental mission of the library is to provide users with unrestricted access to library resources anytime, anywhere regardless of their physical location, disability, or other circumstances. Library Access Service departments across the nation have been an innovation engine of creativity and opportunity for many decades. The global epidemiology outbreak experience illuminates areas for potential reforming beyond traditional library services. Controlled Digital Lending (CDL) is one of the emerging modern technologies libraries have used to deliver information digitally in support of online learning and teaching, to make educational materials more affordable and more accessible during the global health crisis. CDL opens a new frontier of library services, as a mechanism for the library practice to enhance user's experience of using libraries' services. By exploring this tool, libraries can distribute resources in an effective and equitable way. This paper shares the journey of piloting a CDL program at a large R1 institution to ensure students have reliable, affordable access to course materials they need during the pandemic. The paper demonstrates the development of the CDL platforms, policies, and implementation plans and further discusses challenges and lessons learned and how the library community plans to sustain the program into future library services.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the accessibility of library resources and support services by distance learners at the Open University of Tanzania (OUT). The study utilized a survey approach in soliciting information from distance learners. A total of 33 learners from OUT responded to the survey. The study revealed that OUT offered several library services as well as library resources to distance learners. The resources identified as accessible to distance learners were books, journals, internet services, past examination papers, dissertations and theses, research guides, computers, and electronic resources. The study found out that there were challenges that hindered effective use of the library resources and services including high data cost, information overload, inadequate skills to evaluate information sources, password and login frustrations, lack of comprehensive online tutorials from OUT library, lack of information search skills, lack of distance librarian assigned to support remote students, lack of free, full text, lack of instructional resources and lack of university's account to access digital library resources from home. The study, therefore, put up recommendations to increase resource and service accessibility at OUT library.

This paper investigates the relevance of electronic resources and improved access for effective distance learning and continuing education. The descriptive survey design was adopted for the study. The total population of the study comprises 7,125 registered students of the National Open University of Nigeria. A convenience sampling technique was used to select a sample size of 379 respondents. Structured questionnaires were distributed to the respondents through a research assistant, and only 320 valid responses were returned and used for the study. The study used frequency counts and percentages as statistical measures for data analysis. Findings revealed that students access e-resources regularly. Electronic resources were also relevant as they provide students with up-to-date information, complete information from different sources, speedy and easy access to information, and more. Access to electronic resources can be improved through the following means: provision of useful Internet/server to enhance the accessibility of e-resources, online user guideline for accessing e-resources, creation of user-friendly interfaces for easy access to online contents. It was recommended that audio and video conference chats be made available to students to connect librarians for assistance when the need arises; compulsory user-education and orientation program should also be conducted for students on the use of electronic resources.

Due to a lack of diversity found in the maker movement, makerspaces are going through an evaluation. Academic libraries have an opportunity to rebuild makerspaces and programming from a place of equity. At a University located in the Midwestern United States, the Library maker program collaborated with the Asian American and Asian Resource and Cultural Center (AAARCC) to make a quilt from printed archival photos, student photos and recorded stories. The result was a "living history" quilt that reflected Asian community and culture on campus. This paper explores diversity in making through collaboration, details of the project process and lessons learned.

People with disabilities have been among the most marginalised groups both within society and within post-secondary/higher education. Over the last two decades, an increasing number of inclusive educational programmes have come into existence both nationally and internationally for this group of learners. The Trinity Centre for People with Intellectual Disabilities (TCPID), School of Education, Trinity College Dublin, offers students with intellectual disabilities a two-year programme entitled Arts, Science and Inclusive Applied Practice (ASIAP). This paper presents a selection of voices from ASIAP students which highlights their experiences of becoming both co-researchers and second language learners. These studies present a variety of ways in which power relationships are negotiated between faculty and students through utilising creative and inclusive approaches to the research process.

This paper describes efforts at the University of Arizona Libraries (UAL) in Tucson to improve access to the Internet and technology during the COVID-19 pandemic and as the libraries continue to adapt to hybrid instructional modalities. The authors highlight how their institution leveraged campus data and new partnerships to better meet students' basic technology needs, particularly for first-generation and underrepresented students. While much of this content was previously presented at the 2022 Library Assessment Conference, there have been several updates, and more operational information is shared in this article. UAL analyzed anonymized student demographic data, including race and ethnicity, first-generation student status, and Pell grant recipients, to determine how service utilization aligned with the campus population. The libraries established new campus partnerships and are evaluating and refining their approach. This foundational work provided new ideas for ways to reach more students in need and to form additional partnerships with groups on campus.

This paper considers library programming as a means of extending and enhancing the academic library's pedagogical mission and role in student success. Scholarly programming in the form of faculty speakers, film screenings, or other kinds of research-based events creates opportunities for students to join an academic community and to practice critical thinking skills learned in class. These presentations inscribe the library within the students' journey from student to scholar, highlighting its importance as a nexus for scholarly exchange. At the same time, this programming strengthens the library's mission by encouraging engagement with the campus, interdisciplinary research, and efforts to support diversity and inclusion. Drawing on the Association of College and Research Libraries Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education and concepts in critical thinking in the liberal arts, this paper examines the role of programming in the academic library's instructional and formative mission. Library programming can help students become informationally literate, thoughtful consumers and producers of content.

The paper will explore how the UCL Student Centre, opened in 2019, responds to the emphasis on 'research-based education' in the UCL Education Strategy. It discusses the high levels of engagement at different levels, which characterised the design of the building, and how services and spaces were designed around student needs. The paper will aim to provide insights on both successful characteristics and lessons learned from the construction and first year of operation of the Student Centre, to benefit library staff and designers in planning, designing and operating research library spaces. The article will also consider how the building provides a showcase for the talent and creativity of the diverse staff and student community of the university. The building has elicited a strong emotional response from students, creating a stronger sense of belonging to the UCL community and encouraging students' pro-active approach to learning.

Across the sector, universities are transforming the student experience by reconceptualising the ways in which they partner with students. The academic library is at the heart of the university experience and libraries have a long history of collaboration and engaging with their communities. As such academic libraries are the perfect next frontier within which to embed the 'students-as-partners' approach. This paper proposes a broadening of partnership with students to improve the governance, operations and design of the academic library. Taking La Trobe University Library as a case study, the authors explore a series of examples in action across six domains: space transformation, library governance, service excellence, research, resource design and collection renewal. Within these domains the paper provides insights into how the relationship between the academic library and its community might be shifted to foster critical student/staff partnerships.

This paper presents the results of a survey completed by academic librarians at United States colleges and universities identified on the ThinkCollege.net website, a project of the Institute for Community Inclusion at the University of Massachusetts Boston funded by grants from the Office of Postsecondary Education, US Department of Education. The objective of the study was to learn about the reference and instructional involvement of academic librarians in providing resources, library services, and learning activities with enrolled college students with intellectual disabilities (ID). The results reveal several recommendations for academic libraries and librarians toward improving access to postsecondary education for students with ID.

With flexible access and permission features, LibGuides and LibGuides CMS offer an adaptable platform for hosting patron-created content. This paper highlights how librarians at Georgia Southern University opened their LibGuides CMS platform to host faculty and student projects and portfolios. Employing similar techniques, libraries can host a wide range of patron-created content while protecting library-managed guides and assets, controlling access to patron-created content, and protecting patron privacy. This paper provides a detailed overview of access and permission features available in LibGuides and LibGuides CMS, presents two case studies, and offers considerations and best practices for hosting patron-created content.

Initially coined by sociolinguists, the term code-switching refers to the alternation of languages by multilinguals. Code-switching is an active research area that has significant implications for academic libraries. Using data from focus groups and a survey tool, this paper examines language preferences of foreign-born students for particular information tasks. The main finding of this paper is that students' culture and language represent an active influence on and important part of their identity, information consumption, and academic socialization. The author discusses the practical implications of these findings on academic library services in relation to ACRL's 2012 Diversity Standards Cultural Competency with an emphasis on standard 6, linguistic diversity.

This paper reports the findings of a survey administered to a large academic university student population, assessing students' self-reported motivations, difficulties, and methods used in finding and using financial information. Results discussed include information types and sources students consult for financial information. The survey also explored students' perceptions of the relative ease of finding financial information and the degree of success students had in finding appropriate information. These results are relevant for librarians who support financial literacy through collection development or one-on-one patron support, or who are involved in developing financial literacy programs for libraries.

There has been a wave of interest in UK academic libraries in developing services to support student well-being. This paper identifies three fundamental and interrelated issues that need to be addressed to make such initiatives effective and sustainable. Firstly, well-being has to be defined and the impacts of interventions must be measured in appropriate ways. Secondly, there is a need to identify the true nature of the underlying social problem around well-being. Thirdly, relevant approaches to the issue need to be located within the professional knowledge base of librarianship.

In 2015, the Research and Instructional Services Unit of Meyer Library at Missouri State University was challenged to update and rethink the current service model and space. We had been operating in a traditional reference model, including a large, walkup reference desk that was staffed primarily by faculty librarians. After reviewing the literature, it was decided that some form of reference/research service point should be kept but should be completely revamped to fit the research needs of the campus community and the changing demands on faculty librarians. Various library service models and those used in campus tutoring centers were reviewed and used to reframe our own reference service model. This paper outlines our process for researching, designing, and implementing our new space and service model, and the subsequent change in library organization, resulting in a combined desk.

The South African Higher Education Institution (HEI) sector had to move to 'emergency' online learning during the COVID-19 pandemic, and they embraced a humanistic approach underpinned by the need to complete the academic year in 2020 and support all students. Because this emergency online learning accelerated the digital shift, evidence of pre-existing disparities and inequalities have been magnified, such as the digital divide, infrastructure, connectivity, access to data, digital literacies, vastly different learning environments, software and hardware tools, and others. The Department of Library Services (DLS) is aligned to the University of Pretoria's shift to online learning and to reimaging its service offerings and innovation readiness. It deliberately adopted a responsive engagement strategy for students, staff, senior management and service providers. Therefore, the DLS now offers a mix of services and programmes, with more reliance on virtual services to support and sustain the academic agenda. This paper provides real-life case study experiences of student engagement during the COVID-19 pandemic, with reference to the relevant student engagement with literature. It also reflects on how the DLS previously applied attributes of service innovation, such as 'employing' a client-service robot at an HEI library in Africa, this being in keeping with the UP's innovation culture.

The purpose of this study was to assess the convenience and accessibility of library services to users with disabilities at Aligarh Muslim University in India. The study utilized both quantitative and qualitative methods through questionnaires, interview and remarks applying the IFLA checklist to investigate the scenario. The study established that AMU has a purpose-built library to accommodate users with disabilities; however, additional funds were not allocated for developing library facilities, assistive technologies and collections in the accessible formats that lead to the delivery of inadequate services to users with disabilities. Despite the availability of some specialized services, the study found that users with disabilities face numerous obstacles when using library services due to unavailability of library materials in convenient formats, lack of assistance from the trained library staff and lack of adequate training to users. The paper concludes with the recommendations to implementing guidelines of IFLA and UNESCO regarding access to library services for users with disabilities.

George Kuh and Robert Gonyea's 2003 article entitled "The Role of the Academic Library in Promoting Student Engagement in Learning" appeared in "College and Research Libraries" in July 2003, after being presented as an invited paper at the ACRL 11th National Conference that April. Herein, Megan Oakleaf describes not only the impact that this paper presentation had on her but also how Kuh and Gonyea--assessment experts, prolific authors, and national leaders in conversations about college experience, student success, and institutional quality--provide both an early example of a burgeoning research field and an exemplar for present and future authors to emulate. Oakleaf explains that despite not being librarians, or perhaps because they aren't librarians, Kuh and Gonyea offer a unique, valuable, and insightful contribution to literature of librarianship. She goes on to say that while a straightforward answer to answer Kuh and Gonyea's question, "What do libraries and librarians contribute to student learning and other positive outcomes?" is not revealed by their research, the complexity of their findings have provided librarians with a rich area for productive follow-on research as well as a number of substantive recommendations. Oakleaf also points out that while Kuh and Gonyea's article is an exemplar of early research exploring the impact of libraries on learning and other positive student outcomes, it also foreshadowed the research efforts librarians have undertaken in the years since its publication. In the intervening years, librarians have addressed many of the problems that caused difficulty for the authors. Other recommendations mentioned by Kuh and Gonyea are the subject of current research projects. And other issues noted by Kuh and Gonyea in their study still challenge the library profession today. Currently, librarians seeking to answer Kuh and Gonyea's question have been challenged by a host of information challenges including limited availability of library data (because the data are not collected, not maintained, or not accessible due to technological issues or librarian skill gaps), lack of integration between library information systems and campus student information systems, inaccessible vendor data, and issues related to privacy and data security. Oakleaf concludes that it's reasonable to expect that, as librarians gain access to more complex and more revealing information about student library activity and interactions as well as campus level learning analytics, they will gain the connections, skill, confidence, interest, and ability to conduct more sophisticated analyses of the ways in which libraries make a difference in students' lives.

This paper presents the results of focus groups conducted with student-parents at the University of Memphis. The objective of this study was to explore the research services and library spaces student-parents need to thrive in higher education settings. The results identify several ways in which academic librarians can support student-parents' research needs and contribute directly to their academic success.

In brief: The short research paper is ubiquitous in undergraduate liberal arts education. But is this assignment type an effective way to assess student learning or writing skills? We argue that it rarely is, and instead serves as an artifact maintained out of instructor familiarity with and unnecessary allegiance to timeworn conceptions of “academia.” As […]

Advances in Information and Communication Technology have significantly affected the way information is acquired, processed, stored, retrieved, communicated as well as secured. This has changed the way Librarians handle and secure information systems while users are expected to have some level of information and communication technology skills to access and utilize information systems to their full benefits. This study investigated the influence of tech-skills of librarians and users in securing the information systems of selected Nigerian University libraries, employing multiple regression as well as mean and standard deviation involving a survey of 48 librarians and 44,508 registered users of purposively selected university libraries in South-west Nigeria. The study established that most librarians have basic information technology skills but are poor at advanced skills, furthermore, library users also have basic IT knowledge and skills but most users are fairly skillful at advanced information technology. Basic information technology skills of librarians did not significantly influence information systems security, whereas advanced information technology skills does. On users basic information technology skills, there is significant inverse influence on information systems security while advanced information technology skills of users had significant positive influence on information systems security. The result also revealed that there was significant joint influence of basic and advanced information technology skills of librarians and users on information systems security. The study concludes that it is pertinent that librarians have advance skills in order to ensure secure information systems. The paper recommends structured training and capacity building initiatives to re-tool and up skill librarians.

Offering students synchronous research and reference help can be a challenge for libraries that offer services at a distance. Virtual office hours can be a means of overcoming this challenge, allowing patrons the opportunity to seek timely point-of-need assistance. The author implemented a librarian-led virtual office hours pilot project at her home institution, Athabasca University. The program was initially received enthusiastically, but fewer and fewer patrons availed themselves of the service as the pilot progressed. This paper explores the implementation of the virtual office hours pilot project and its outcomes, and concludes with a discussion of how the pilot could have been more successfully carried out.

Outreach programs remain essential in fostering the use of library collections and services. A review of one hundred seventy-four papers on academic library outreach from 2008 to January 2019 highlighted the popularity of these programs during this period as well as the identification of five themes. These themes point to the importance of library outreach to targeted groups, the popularity of specialized library outreach programs, the need for collaboration in fostering outreach efforts, the benefits of managing these programs and the use of social media for library outreach. Foremost, these materials highlight opportunities and challenges for librarians in providing library outreach in academic institutions.

Libraries offer a mix of options to serve the film studies curriculum: streaming video, DVDs on Reserve, and streaming DVDs through online classrooms. Some professors screen films and lend DVDs to students. But how do students obtain the films required for their courses? How would they prefer to do so? These are among the questions explored using data obtained by surveying students at one Canadian university as well as faculty and librarians at ten Canadian universities that offer film studies programs. The study finds that more students are engaging in digital piracy than using the Library Reserve desk and that faculty and librarians must contend with formats, licenses, and copyright to provide effective, legal access. The paper recommends that libraries increase streaming options, collect DVDs for preservation, digitize DVDs when legally possible, screen films in class, investigate social screening spaces, and lobby industry and government for changes to law and practice.

This paper reports the results of a survey study of foreign-born students' use of academic and public libraries. The researcher administered the survey at a public liberal arts college in the fall of 2014. The analysis shows that foreign-born students use both public and academic libraries with great frequency for academic tasks. Variables such as being a first-generation foreign-born student and being a foreign-born student of color also have a statistically significant effect on how these students use academic libraries as a social and study space. The author uses a theory from migration studies called "super-diversity" to discuss how multiple identities and categories of belonging are important variables when it comes to public services. A super-diversity approach involves a shift away from studying only one variable (such as ethnicity, language use, gender, or the like) and looks instead at the effects of multiple variables on an issue, in this case library use. In addition to incorporating super-diversity as part of the data analysis, the author also discusses how the Association of College and Research Libraries Diversity Standards provide guidelines for improving services to foreign-born students based on the insights from the survey and statistical analysis.

This paper discusses how the William G. Squires Library conducted a usability study on their LibGuides to identify student design preferences. The results of the study support previous research concerning best practices for LibGuide creation. This paper offers insight into how librarian-centric design hinders student success and provides suggestions for how to best develop a student-centric template design that offers consistency and increased user proficiency across all guides. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a consequence of the high adoption levels of mobile technology, users are increasingly accessing academic library-subscribed content via vendor-supplied mobile applications (apps) or responsive websites. However, users may be unaware of the existence of some standalone apps and might miss benefitting from available apps at their most significant point of need. This paper outlines the McGill Library's multifaceted approach to promotion and outreach to increase awareness and usage of mobile apps in an effort to provide additional access points for the library's e-resources. A variety of online and traditional promotional methods were employed, such as faculty news e-bulletins, an app web-guide, images on the Library home page slideshow, and in-person demonstrations, to advertise two of the Library's subscribed apps, PressReader and BrowZine. Complementing this approach, four different workshops were offered at different times during an academic year targeted to specific audiences: faculty, university communications and library staff, and students. The authors describe the content and results of these initiatives showing how specific promotional strategies appear to have a greater impact on usage. They conclude with thoughts on how current behaviours in mobile usage might begin to affect the future direction of mobile access to library-subscribed e-resources.

Research workshops are designed to help students develop skills that go beyond the scope of one-shot library sessions. However, with more students conducting research off-campus, online, and in the evening, workshops targeted towards complex skills and competencies are difficult to offer. But what if librarians were to design and deliver intensive workshops online? By removing the constraints of time and space, librarians can bring active learning and collaboration to an environment that meets student demand. This paper describes one research library's experience with the development, implementation, and assessment of a multi-day, asynchronous, online workshop, targeted at teaching "Effective Literature Review."

We test whether and how well the presence of an embedded librarian improves the quality of student research. Students in introductory-level courses tend to have very low levels of research skills and experience. Though faculty are frustrated by this lack of skills, both students and faculty tend to have only a peripheral knowledge of the role librarians can play in helping develop their research skills. Studies suggest that embedding librarians into course instruction is the preferred method for improving students' research skills, yet the political science teaching and learning literature rarely addresses this issue or focuses on single-class experiences, measuring change in student knowledge and skills from the beginning to the end of a semester. We compare two International Politics courses taught in consecutive fall semesters with different levels of librarian involvement in the class. We assess the changes in quality and the use of information sources in the final research papers, both from a bibliographic perspective (looking at the number, quality, and variety of sources used) as well as an information-use perspective (looking at the relevance of cited material in supporting arguments).

Massive Open Online Courses, or MOOCs, have recently emerged as a disruptive pedagogy gaining rapid momentum in higher education. In some states, proposed legislations would accredit MOOCs to provide college-credit courses in the name of cost saving, efficiency and access. While debates rage regarding the place of MOOCs in higher education, some librarians are already tasked with supporting student learning within this untried context. Challenges faced by librarians seeking to support MOOCs span all traditional academic librarian roles: instruction, reference and collection development. To successfully serve these new communities of learners, librarians must apply existing best practices established by distance learning librarians as well as develop new skills and approaches. This paper offers a brief introduction to the current state of MOOCs in higher education, explores the needs of MOOC students and discusses possible best practices to be adapted and adopted as librarians prepare to serve this emerging student population.

Academic libraries are well lauded for offering supportive spaces for students' self-directed study, and significant resources are dedicated to librarian instruction in the classroom. What many academic libraries lack, however, is a middle ground, a routine way for students to help one another using best practices in peer-to-peer learning theory. A new, nonauthoritative, supplemental service by students and for students began at Grand Valley State University in Allendale, MI, in fall 2012 with a cohort of "peer research consultants." Students learn information literacy skills with a well-trained peer, untethered from the hierarchy inherent in formal instruction environments. This paper describes the program design, training, and conclusions after two academic years in operation and argues the value of peer tutoring in libraries.

Building on the theoretical proposals of Kevin Guthrie and others concerning the transition from print books to e-books in academic and health sciences libraries, this paper presents data collected using the MINES for Libraries® e-resource survey methodology. Approximately 6,000 e-book uses were analyzed from a sample of e-resource usage at thirteen academic and health sciences research libraries between July 2009 and June 2013. The authors report on findings about e-book usage and propose explanations regarding how the adoption path from print books to e-books differs from the growth in use of e-journals and the associated decline in print journals usage.