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Higher education in recent years has witnessed dynamic changes due to the Coronavirus pandemic to the extent that a new term, 'new normal,' originated. In this regard, teaching and learning processes have significantly become dependent on digital technologies to warrant emphasis being laid on digital literacy skills, which many learners lack. In order words, the growing prominence of the Internet and other digital environments as educational tools requires research regarding learners' digital literacy and the role of librarians in supporting learning in the new normal. Digital literacy is the learners' ability to locate, organise, understand, evaluate, and create information using digital technology effectively for everyday tasks. Therefore, the paper's thrust is in the role of librarians as information providers in higher institutions of learning in promoting reading, teaching, research, and learning culture among the citizenry in the digital environment. Also, the paper gives an insight into the digital environment and the various e-learning platforms such as Moodle, Google classroom and so on. It concluded by recommending digital literacy skills inclusion in the school curriculum. Higher institutions should set clear policies that provide the appropriate learning environment to facilitate technology and libraries to support context learning and promote elearning platforms in every discipline. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction. The paper presents some findings of the Erasmus+ project IPEDU, which aims to include intellectual property education, more specifically industrial property, in the curriculum of technical universities, through training the teaching, support staff and librarians. We present selected results of the first two project stages for Slovenia, which is one of the project partners. Methods. Initial stages of the project assess the current level of inclusion of industrial property topics into higher education curricula and labour market needs. Samples include Slovenian technical sciences faculties, and employers of technical profiles with needs for industrial property knowledge. Online surveys are used for data collection. Results. General, not positive, alignment was found in terms of expected competencies: Companies do not place high priorities on industrial property competencies of their non-law employees. Furthermore, many higher education institutions do not include these topics in their teaching. Industrial property teaching is needed, but not done, which implies the need for educatorsemployers dialogue. A relatively traditional image of libraries emerges, as they are usually not involved in teaching. This provides an excellent opportunity for libraries to evolve and become more proactive. Conclusions. Our findings offer a valuable contribution to the planning of a systematic and holistic intellectual property curriculum for technical studies within the European Union. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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In March 2020, institutions of higher education shut down in compliance with the directives of the President of Ghana to curb the spread of COVID-19. In July 2020, when the lockdown restrictions were eased, universities resumed teaching, learning, and research in order to continue the second semester of the 2020/2021 academic year. Universities and their libraries immediately adapted to online teaching and the delivery of services and resources to their patrons even though most of them were largely unprepared for this 'new normal' experience. This paper adopts the qualitative research design which comprised documentary evidence of experiences of ten public and private universities libraries in Ghana with regard to their resources, services, facilities and staff as well as impact on library users during the pandemic. Findings reveal the strict compliance of the COVID-19 protocols and sanitation practices, the increased use of online databases, social media interventions and virtual training among others. The different strategies adopted by university libraries in Ghana are worth sharing and lessons learned provide a unique opportunity for academic librarians to rethink their key roles and core values in supporting the teaching and learning of their institutions during this very challenging time and the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Librarians working in higher education want to support students in the pursuit of their academic work, based on the good use of information. To this end, they need to know the emerging pedagogical changes that they can take advantage of when designing their courses, integrating this knowledge into a more segmented, clear, and objective training offer, based on international references, published in the last decades, since the ACRL Standards, until the ACRL Framework. The attention given to these documents can prepare librarians for the necessary updating of skills, supporting innovation, and best practice achievement. This paper aims to systematise the evolution of concepts and practices of information literacy guidelines in higher education and identify their inspiration for the creation of Portuguese guidelines. An exploratory inventory of international information associations was carried out to identify information literacy guidelines. The content analysis of these guidelines allowed the identification of pedagogical trends in the performance of libraries and their professionals. The analysed contents show an interpretative evolution of the guidelines, converging in the ACRL Framework and the contents of the Portuguese recommendations for academic libraries for the period 2020-2022. It is evident that updating skills for librarians requires not only an awareness of sector trends, but also transforming them into good practice and recommendations appropriate for the national context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many academic librarians in the state of New Jersey (NJ) have successfully integrated information literacy (IL) into the curriculum using the ACRL IL Competency Standards for Higher Education (Standards). These Standards formed the underpinnings of IL curriculum mapping and assessment plans, and have been adopted by administrators in higher education institutions across the state. The advent of the ACRL Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education (Framework) prompted the author to survey IL coordinators to investigate how their institutions are embracing the opportunities presented by the challenge of looking at IL through this new lens. This paper presents a snapshot of NJ librarians' readiness to adopt the Framework: challenges, opportunities, new approaches to IL integration, and gaining buy-in from relevant campus partners. This study is timely because the Standards were rescinded two months following the administration of the survey. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Academic libraries have long recognised the benefits of integrating information literacy into disciplinary curricula. One model that addresses the common problems of sustainability and scalability of such efforts is the train the trainer model, where academic librarians serve as faculty developers. Improving faculty development efforts requires understanding the methods and strategies of librarians engaged in this work. Using an action research methodology, this paper investigated the experiences of librarians and disciplinary instructors participating in a course redesign program at a large, public university in the midwestern United States, in order to identify effective strategies for engaging with disciplinary instructors about information literacy. Findings include focusing on pragmatic, contextual ways in which students will need to use information in the future, providing professional development opportunities for librarians to further develop faculty development skills, and prioritising strong collaborations between librarians and other academic units. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Academic librarians deliver information literacy instruction (ILI) to students, engage with a range of stakeholders, and work in a range of learning environments that are continually changing. While past research has focused on the perceptions of librarians regarding their role in ILI, this has not been a significant focus of research in the Australian higher education context. This study set out to explore the perceptions of six practising academic librarians at a regional Australian university, seeking to understand their perceptions of information literacy (IL), their role in ILI and the challenges they face in this role. The participants did not have a consensus on the nature of IL, despite having a clear definition from the institution. Librarians felt they had both an educative and supportive role and that they brought expertise and authority to ILI. Librarians noted that their ILI supported the broader function of the university to meet internal policies and external regulatory requirements. Librarians suggested that an integrated approach to ILI at the institution would improve librarians' agency in supporting students. The analysis of the findings led to the development of a model for the delivery of effective ILI for this institution. The findings of this study contribute to the existing body of IL research by (a) giving voice to the views of academic librarians working in a regional Australian university, and (b) highlighting the challenges that academic librarians face when delivering ILI at their institution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

At Södertörn University, Sweden, a collaboration model has been developed from the theory of academic literacies, aiming to support students' writing development. In this innovative way of working, university librarians and writing teachers collaborate with lecturers to integrate a teaching element on academic writing (including searching for, appraising, reading, and writing texts) into existing university courses. In this article, we describe and discuss our experiences of implementing this model in nursing education. We observed that the collaboration made it possible for all professionals to share their knowledge, both in a theoretical and practical sense. Among other things, the lecturers appropriated several linguistic tools which they were able to use in their continued teaching of academic writing. However, challenges regarding the collegial sharing of knowledge were also experienced. If the lessons learned are to be implemented in the organisation, both resources and a mandate from the management are essential. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports on research into librarian participation on faculty association executive and collective bargaining teams at 46 Canadian universities at which librarians are in the same bargaining unit as professors. The goal of this study is to determine the extent of such participation on these key committees, whether such participation is mandated by governing documents or a matter of custom (or neither), and what barriers librarians face to such participation. The authors analyzed these associations’ constitutions and bylaws and then conducted interviews with faculty association leaders and librarian activists. Findings indicate that nearly half of the surveyed associations either have a mandated seat for librarians or make every effort to include librarians on their executive committees, and more than a third do the same for their collective bargaining teams. Many associations have had a librarian as faculty association president and a handful have had a librarian as chief negotiator. The most-cited barriers to taking on these leadership roles in the association are workload and the lack of or unsuitability of course release for librarians. The level of librarian participation in faculty associations across Canada is very encouraging, but many issues need to be addressed if librarians are to have a full seat at the table.

While the one-shot model of instruction is the most common model of library instruction, a review of the literature highlights that academic librarians have struggled to identify how and if it is possible to meet curricular needs. This theoretical literature review takes a critical look at the one-shot and argues that this model fails to be the equitable model we think it is. This literature review examines the one-shot by examining its role in combating or upholding information privilege, whether it can be used when supporting learners with disabilities, and what alternatives exist for instruction practices going forward. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article explores the application of relationship and relational thinking to academic librarians' teaching practices through Harriet L. Schwartz's model of relational or Connected Teaching in his book "Connected Teaching: Relationship, Power, and Matering in Higher Education." Topics include views on one-shot or a one-time-only information literacy workshop, arguments on the duration of teaching interactions to Connected Teaching, and the application of Relational-Cultural Theory (RCT).

In the past seven years, student-led decolonisation movements have taken root in UK universities. Decolonising the university is an intellectual project, asking critical questions about the content of curricula, disciplinary canons and pedagogical approaches. It is simultaneously a material one, challenging the colonial legacies that manifest in institutional spaces, cultures and financial decisions, students' experience and staff labour conditions (Cotton, 2018, p. 24). Academic libraries have recognised their role in addressing how 'coloniality survives colonialism' (Maldonado-Torres, 2007, p. 243), in particular through the diversification of collections and resources. However, libraries have neglected to interrogate their educational potential for decolonisation, specifically in exercising information literacy (IL) teaching and approaches. This qualitative research examines IL through a decolonial lens with an eye to both its colonial attributes and its potential for decolonising the curriculum. Interviews with five academic researchers are used to explore the potential for critical information literacy (CIL) in decolonial work and ask what IL might look like from a decolonial perspective. The findings of the interviews are structured according to Icaza and Vázquez's framework of three core processes for decolonising the university; they reveal that CIL might usefully facilitate positionality, practice relationality and consider transitionality. In turn, these findings lead to a set of recommendations for unsettling IL and generating the potential for decolonisation. The relationship between CIL and decolonising the curriculum is as yet unexplored and academics' engagement with and opinions on CIL have rarely been examined. This research therefore offers some novel contributions for IL practitioners and researchers in relation to both teaching/learning and research. It also contributes some points of departure for a more a powerful and holistic decolonial pedagogy in the university. A more fitting approach than traditional IL, critical information literacy can become a key part of scaffolding a decolonising approach to learners' navigation of information and processes of knowing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents the results of research on the potential use of impact factors (IF) as a means of assessing the performance of academic librarians in Nigeria. An overview of related previous studies is provided, along with details of the research protocol, which involved a survey of 41 librarians at the University of Nigeria's Nsukka and Enugu campuses. It was found that the librarians did not favor the use of IF as a means of judging performance, due to factors such as the lack of internationally ranked journals which publish significant amounts of work by Nigerian researchers, and Nigeria's relative disadvantages in terms of research funding and infrastructure.

The Mervyn H. Sterne Library at the University of Alabama at Birmingham is located in an urban area and therefore receives traffic from the community, particularly area schools. We encourage visits from these schools in order to promote information literacy, higher education, and the University of Alabama at Birmingham, and we recognize the importance of the library in the development of responsible citizenship, education, and culture. Since we encourage students to develop research skills before they attend college, we collaborate with area secondary schools on projects, papers, and activities by providing research instruction and support both at the schools and in the library. This article explains the need for University collaboration, how Sterne Library integrates itself into the schools through classroom instruction and teacher workshops, and how we organize and conduct the instruction while promoting the Alabama Virtual Library, a group of online databases available to all students, teachers, and citizens of the State of Alabama. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Capstone experiences (CEs) serve a variety of purposes in higher education as opportunities to apply academic skills, explore post-graduate life and employment, and achieve a meaningful undergraduate event. This study investigated the purposes of CEs through a content analysis of institutional course syllabi/course outlines/module outlines and catalog/calendar descriptions at five institutions of higher education: a large public research university in Canada, a large public teaching university in the United Kingdom (UK), a college of a large public research university in the United States (US), and two medium-sized private liberal arts universities in the US. Using the CE purposes found in a review of scholarly literature as a research guide, the authors analyzed 84 institutional documents. CE purposes that appeared in the sample at lower percentages when compared with published studies included oral communication, a coherent academic experience, preparation for graduate school, preparation for life after college, and civic engagement/service learning. Implications for practice include the need for instructors and administrators to consider revising CE documents to better reflect the content and goals of the courses and to address the requirements of other audiences (e.g., program reviewers, accreditation evaluators). Moreover, the results of this study may assist educators in considering reasons for omitting explicit purposes from CE documents and/or justifying the inclusion of previously omitted purposes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A survey of 2,574 students and 1,157 faculty members across ten institutions of postsecondary education in the state of Utah was conducted by the Utah Academic Libraries Consortium. Survey items were created to understand the influence of textbook costs on student academic behavior and the viability of faculty adopting open educational resources (OER) as a solution to the cost of textbooks and the possible need for librarian support of OER. Two-year and four-year institutions were compared to identify differences that might exist between them. Most students felt that their academic success was negatively impacted by textbook cost, particularly at two-year institutions where students registered for fewer courses because of associated textbook costs. Faculty survey findings showed that adjunct professors were more likely to require a traditionally copyright-restricted textbook. Approximately 90% of participants indicated they would be willing to use suitable OER for their course, and almost half of survey participants expressed a desire for help finding these resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the 1990s, the assessment of learning outcomes in academic libraries has accelerated rapidly, and librarians have come to recognize the necessity of articulating and assessing student learning outcomes. Initially, librarians developed tools and instruments to assess information literacy student learning outcomes. Now, academic librarians are moving to a larger scale assessment approach: the articulation and demonstration of library impact on institutions of higher education. This article considers six questions relevant to the assessment challenges librarians face in coming years: (1) How committed are librarians to student learning? (2) What do librarians want students to learn? (3) How do librarians document student learning? (4) How committed are librarians to their own learning? (5) What do librarians need to learn? (6) How can librarians document their own learning? [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this exploratory study was to investigate how librarians at a public university in Dubai could support the information literacy of student tutors through collaboration with a peer-to-peer learning assistance program. We sought to understand how peer tutors experience, develop and share their information literacy skills. We conducted workshops to help tutors become more aware of information literacy and to develop their fluency and confidence in applying these skills as students and as tutors. Data from a survey, a focus group and a quiz was gathered and analyzed. Findings indicated that while there may have been some gains made in terms of tutors' actual information literacy levels and confidence, a more sustained impact on the learning of tutors is possible through recommended actions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Resources for teaching in higher education have undergone a tremendous evolution during the past several decades. The Internet and commercial services, such as YouTube and Google, have revolutionized the manner by which students and faculty access information to both conduct research and meet course requirements. This mixed methods study implemented an online survey and interviews to determine how performing arts faculty at three institutions integrate library resources and services into their teaching. Conclusions indicate that, while personal collections and Internet resources provide a majority of teaching content, the academic library still offers important access to materials for instruction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Through their affiliation with an institution of higher education, undergraduate students are able to access a range of research materials and, as a result, enter the scholarly conversation and build upon existing research. This ability to access information that others cannot is called information privilege. This article builds upon Char Booth's work on information privilege to present library outreach as a way to raise awareness about the disparity in information access and to encourage students to consider how their own scholarship and sharing practices impact others. The article presents one approach for facilitating information privilege outreach with undergraduate students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As the volume of academic library value research has continued to increase, the resulting literature has grown complex and sprawling. This article takes stock of this body of work, using a review of the published research literature and an analysis of its organization and structure. This investigation reveals that the research on library value follows a "levels of analysis" framework, with three types of studies--small group, single institution, and multi-institution--comprising the major dimensions. We discuss the strengths and weaknesses of studies at each level and propose a multilevel framework designed to improve the practical utility and scholarly rigor of academic library value assessment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Library instruction continues to evolve. Regardless of the myriad and conflicting opinions academic librarians have about the ACRL Framework for Information Literacy, the debates and the document itself have engendered greater discourse surrounding how and why librarians teach. The Framework provides an additional push toward designing instruction with big ideas rather than a skillsbased curriculum. However, we still must contend with constraints imposed upon us by higher education taking on business models and enforcing a skills agenda. To enact the pedagogy of the Framework in contrast to changes in higher education presents a challenge. We should consider ways in which the Framework can help us push back against these neoliberal agendas in our pedagogy and reinvent our roles as librarian educators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of the ACRL Framework for Information Literacy has sparked an immense amount of conversation among academic librarians, though the profession is still far from consensus with regards to if, when, or how the document should be implemented. This essay argues that despite debates over various points within the text, the overall theme of the Framework is a call for librarians and educators to recognize the importance of context when discussing information literacy. As this relates to the curriculum of higher education, instruction and assignments can no longer afford to separate "school" from "real life." Classroom instruction must recognize the political, cultural, and socioeconomic dimensions of information, as well as the systems of privilege and oppression that accompany these dimensions, and encourage students to critically engage with these systems when conducting research and creating information. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This essay raises questions about the future of information literacy in higher education, given the prevalence of the Information Literacy Competency Standards in the library profession for the past 15 years, and the heated debate that took place regarding whether the Framework for Information Literacy and the Standards could harmoniously co-exist. We do not have answers to these questions, but we offer our perspectives on how the Standards have served academic librarians in the past and on how we envision the Framework and the Standards working together tofurther information literacy instruction. Our conclusion is that the Framework and the Standards serve different purposes and have different intended audiences and are thus both valuable to the profession. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An essay is presented on topics related to the future of higher education libraries highlighted in the article "Inventing the Electronic University" written by David W. Lewis in 1988. Topics included use of digital technology in teaching and learning, electronic research, and merging of library services and academic computing. Also mentioned is automation in the access and preservation of data and information in libraries.

Academic librarians throughout higher education add value to the teaching and learning missions of their institutions though information literacy instruction. To demonstrate the full impact of librarians on students in higher education, librarians need comprehensive information literacy assessment plans, composed of instructional program-level and outcome-level components, that summarize the purpose of information literacy assessment, emphasize the theoretical basis of their assessment efforts, articulate specific information literacy goals and outcomes, describe the major assessment methods and tools used to capture evidence of student learning, report assessment results, and highlight improvements made as a consequence of learning assessment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, Open Educational Resources (OER) have gained significant reach globally as a means of facilitating free and open access to educational materials. However, most of the empirical research on the adoption of OER in higher education is conducted in the US, while Europe and other countries, including Greece, fall behind. To that end, this research focused on the awareness and use of OER by higher education students and educators within the Graphic Arts discipline in Greece, to provide evidence regarding the adoption of OER to university administrations and libraries and encouraging their use across campus. The findings suggest that awareness is low, especially among undergraduate students, despite the fact that educators are aware of OER and already share their work as such. This paradox is probably related to students' vague knowledge of what OER are and how to use them for learning. Therefore, actions are required from educators, university administration and librarians to inform students of the benefits of OER adoption in the educational process as well as to communicate educators' OER efforts to students. Moreover, participants identified as the biggest obstacle for adopting OER in Graphic Arts the lack of a portal that accommodates OER for this discipline, which lays the groundwork for further research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]