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The purpose of this study is to examine teaching intent of information literacy threshold concepts via asynchronous reference transactions. Instructional content in academic librarians’ replies to research requests are analyzed for and mapped to threshold concepts contained in the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) framework.

The author mapped the instructional content of a research request reply template to the content of the ACRL framework, then took a random sample of research requests using the template during the calendar year 2016. Additional instructional content provided in the sample replies was also mapped to the framework.

In providing written instruction for students to create searches from keywords and search subject-specific databases, every frame is at least partially addressed in the template except Scholarship as Conversation. However, individual librarians adapt the template to teach as needed and there are examples in this case study of teaching aspects of all six frames asynchronously.

This study provides support for librarians to teach the threshold concepts of the ACRL framework asynchronously at the point of need during virtual reference, and the effective use of a research reply template to accomplish this instruction.

Few recent studies examine instructional intent in asynchronous/email reference. This study examines teaching the ACRL framework via reference rather than instructional sessions. A portion of this research was presented as a poster at the 2017 ACRL Conference in Baltimore, Maryland.

While many librarians have celebrated the pedagogical inspiration offered by the ACRL Framework, some have raised concerns about the comprehensibility and accessibility of its language, particularly for students. The authors sought to understand if introducing the language of the frames explicitly – in addition to using them as the implicit foundation of our teaching – resonated with these undergraduates. This case study investigates how undergraduates at a liberal arts institution interpreted the Framework’s language and concepts in relation to their independent research.

In this case study, the authors analyzed 25 undergraduates’ reflections on their information literacy learning guided by recommendations for thematic analysis of qualitative data from Braun and Clarke (2006) and Castleberry and Nolen (2018). These steps included closely reading the reflections, disassembling and reassembling by frame, coding for themes, and finding trends and patterns.

The authors’ analysis of students’ reflections offers insight into how these students interpreted the Framework’s language and related it to their own experience. By noting language that seemed to resonate in this instance, the authors suggest ways in which educators could effectively use the Framework’s language with undergraduates.

Other studies in this area have generally been conducted with semester-long general education courses. This case study explores if explicit use of the Framework’s language outside of the classroom setting can resonate with undergraduates. Expanding research into different academic contexts enhances our understanding of how librarians may use the Framework as an explicit pedagogical tool.

The purpose of this paper is to outline the evolution of academic and information literacy (AIL) teaching initiatives in a first-year core social work course at the University of Auckland. It traces the development of AIL teaching, support and assessment activities over a 10-year period as part of a collaborative project involving librarians, learning advisors and an academic staff member. The paper clearly outlines the challenges arising because of the rapidly evolving and complex information environment in which tertiary students find themselves, as well as the student-centred pedagogical approaches which can assist them in navigating this environment and developing resourcefulness and resilience in undertaking research.

The case study presented in this paper outlines the evolution over a 10-year period of AIL teaching and activities taken to specifically develop AIL integration for the first-year core course, Sociology for Human Services, for the degree of Bachelor of Social Work. At its core, this case study demonstrates the application of reflective practice on the part of library staff, academic staff and student learning advisors with a view to implementing AIL initiatives which not only addressed information needs for assignment completion at university but also took a holistic view of students’ lives, recognising the importance of AIL in their civic, social and work lives. Reflection involved challenging key assumptions about the teaching of AIL initiatives and what constituted success and failure; gaining a better understanding of new and developing information environments in which students currently operate; and identifying existing and emerging AIL frameworks which could best equip students to survive and flourish in these environments. The paper focuses on the drivers, challenges, successes and impact of implementing and adapting AIL activities as well as the learning design and pedagogical approaches implemented to scaffold and develop initiatives with the whole three-year degree structure in mind. Special reference is paid to the application of new and emerging AIL frameworks, including the Research Skills Development Framework (Willison and O’Regan, 2006) and the ACRL Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education (Association of College and Research Libraries, 2015). The paper also outlines how mapping to graduate attributes, learning outcomes and core practitioner competencies can strengthen AIL and assessment activities.

Application of new and emerging frameworks of research and AIL can enhance both teaching and assessment activities in an undergraduate degree programme. This paper outlines a move away from reliance on teaching of tools and resources to a focus on mastery of threshold concepts and deeper understandings of the importance of information and academic literacy capabilities in study, work and civic life. The approach outlined here fosters the development of informed learners who are resilient and resourceful and who can easily navigate within the complex information environment in which they find themselves. This case study further demonstrates that students appreciate and recognise the value (as well as the transferability) of these capabilities to other areas of their life both at the tertiary level and post academia. In a practice-based course such as this one, the application of key frameworks and an understanding of expected practitioner competencies and graduate attributes can also help address a generally recognised research practice gap common in undergraduate practice-based courses. The paper further outlines the benefits of a collaborative approach to the integration of AIL. Such collaborative initiatives bring the fresh perspectives and deeper understanding; apart from this, they also serve as a springboard to work with other academic staff to develop AIL initiatives at different stages of a degree programme.

This paper focuses on the development of AIL skills in one social work course at the University of Auckland. The information presented here may not be relevant for other disciplines or institutions.

This paper takes both a theoretical and practical approach. Challenges in the development of AIL initiatives are clearly contextualised within relevant pedagogical and AIL theories. Practical solutions for common challenges are clearly outlined. It is hoped that the problem − solution approach outlined in this paper will benefit other information professionals and academic staff who are implementing AIL in the current tertiary environment.

Students find themselves in an increasingly complex information environment. Traditional information literacy (IL) skills may no longer meet their needs in this rapidly evolving environment. This paper outlines how application of current research frameworks, practitioner attributes and a focus on mastery of core threshold concepts can build information resilience and resourcefulness and better equip them to access, evaluate and utilise information both for their study and work and life beyond academia.

Demonstrating clear trends in how IL initiatives have developed over the past 10 years, this paper provides practical examples of how new and emerging research and threshold concept frameworks can be applied to the integration of AIL initiatives in undergraduate degree programmes.

The purpose of this study is to determine the extent to which first-year writing course guides contain instructional content and whether the ACRL Framework for information literacy has been addressed in these guides.

First-year writing course guides were identified from American Research Libraries websites and examined for instructional elements. These elements were categorized using a rubric that mapped the Framework to instructional content. Qualtrics was used to organize and analyze the data.

Most first-year writing course guides include instructional content, but less than half incorporate the Framework in some way. Guides that do incorporate the Framework focus on “searching as strategic exploration” and “research as inquiry”.

This paper provides librarians with practical information on first-year writing guides and includes examples of how the Framework might be addressed.

This study contributes to the literature on research guide content and is the first to invent first-year writing course guides.

This paper aims to uncover the current status of information literacy (IL) instruction through massive open online courses (MOOCs), comparing the content and instructional design of existing offers and showing avenues for future MOOCs.

An extensive search for existing MOOCs on IL revealed 11 offers that are available for analysis. A content analysis is conducted to compare their content and instructional design. The category system is based on the IL standards and performance indicators of the Association of College and Research Libraries (2000), which has been supplemented with additional categories and an evaluation grid for MOOCs.

The results suggest first, that the topics covered by IL MOOCs differ widely. While some of the MOOCs mainly reflect the performance indicators suggested by the ACRL standards on IL from 2000, some other MOOCs focus on completely different topics such as fake news or internet security. Second, they show that MOOCs on IL tend not to emphasize subject-specific and country- or culture-specific contexts. Third, it shows that input-based teaching approaches dominate, while collaborative and interactive activities are only rarely used. Fourth, they allow drawing a possible connection between student engagement and design of the learning contents.

This work reflects the current status of IL facilitation through MOOCs. Further research is needed.

The results confirm that MOOCs are a promising approach for developing IL skills and provide avenues for future MOOC projects, especially on IL.

This paper is one of few works to discuss IL facilitation through MOOCs.

This article reviews current librarian instructional approaches for poster and oral presentation assignments and showcases a new approach using the Pixar Pitch outline.

The authors adapted the Pixar Pitch framework to aid students in synthesizing complex information and improving their communication strategies.

Librarians are frequently involved in teaching strategic searching and topic development in instruction sessions for students preparing to communicate research through posters and presentations. Students need to understand how to communicate effectively and prepare information for various audiences, skills closely linked to several threshold concepts in the ACRL Framework for Information Literacy. However, this area remains less taught by librarians. This article presents one approach for librarians to become involved in this instruction.

There is currently minimal research on using the Pixar Pitch within higher education; most use appears in publications in the communications field.

This paper aims to investigate how teaching information creation as a process in a decentralized library classroom impacts student learning and engagement.

By using mobile technologies (iPads) and a targeted lesson design, the authors explored how these devices can be incorporated into threshold pedagogy. The study took place in a second-year composition course and was taught by librarians during a class session.

The findings supported by pre- and post-test scores, textual analysis and observations show that iPads did add to the engagement and learning of some students. The discussion includes student responses to the iPads, the decentralized roles of the librarian and instructor, the use of social media as an engagement tool and possible adaptations to the lesson.

This paper provides practical ideas for using iPads in higher education to engage students, particularly in targeting learning outcomes that emphasize on the changing nature and impact of the information creation process.

The study sought to assess and evaluate the information literacy experiences and competencies of nursing students at Aga Khan University, Uganda. A review of information literacy (IL) programs was done to establish the competencies students acquired from the library staff and examine the contribution of IL competencies to the effective utilization of library information resources.

A qualitative descriptive research design was used to describe the participants' experiences regarding IL competencies. The study population included 35 nursing students pursuing a diploma of science in nursing in the second year of study. Purposive sampling was utilized to identify only second-year diploma students who had undertaken the IL training. The study utilized individual interviews and open-ended questionnaires.

The study found that nursing students who attained some IL competencies could easily locate the required information; IL was not integrated into the curriculum as a stand-alone course unit, but rather a few elements were embedded in some of the nursing course units like research, nursing informatics and academic writing. Furthermore, there was no well-developed IL curriculum used for teaching the subject. The study also noted that there was a minimum collaboration between the faculty and librarians in teaching IL at AKU. Findings showed there was a gap in the IL program delivery.

This study extends the literature on the subject by bringing together current views and opinions of the three populations involved to present a more comprehensive view of the challenges academia faces regarding teaching and student acquisition of IL skills.

Institutions seeking to develop or expand digital literacy programs face the challenge of navigating varied definitions for digital literacy itself. In answer to this challenge, this paper aims to share a process for developing a shared framework for digital literacy at one institution, including drawing on themes in existing frameworks, soliciting campus feedback and making revisions.

A draft digital literacy framework was created following the work of an initial library task force. Focus groups were conducted to gather feedback on the framework and to identify areas for future development.

Focus groups yielded 38 written responses. Feedback themes related to gaps in the framework, structural suggestions and common challenges for learners. Themes in focus group feedback led to several framework revisions, including the addition of Curation as a competency area, the removal of information communication technologies as its own competency area, and the inclusion of Learner rather than Student at the center of the framework.

The approaches described in this case study can be adapted by those looking to create a shared framework or definition for digital literacy on their campuses, as well as to create or revise definitions for other related literacies.

This case study presents an adaptable process for getting started with broad digital literacy initiatives, within the context of existing digital literacy frameworks worldwide.

The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate the rationale, technical framework, content creation workflow and evaluation for a multilingual massive open online course (MOOC) to facilitate information literacy (IL) considering cultural aspects.

A good practice analysis built the basis for the technical and content framework. The evaluation approach consisted of three phases: first, the students were asked to fill out a short self-assessment questionnaire and a shortened adapted version of a standardized IL test. Second, they completed the full version of the IL MOOC. Third, they were asked to fill out the full version of a standardized IL test and a user experience questionnaire.

The results show that first the designed workflow was suitable in practice and led to the implementation of a full-grown MOOC. Second, the implementation itself provides implications for future projects developing multilingual educational resources. Third, the evaluation results show that participants achieved significantly higher results in a standardized IL test after attending the MOOC as mandatory coursework. Variations between the different student groups in the participating countries were observed. Fourth, self-motivation to complete the MOOC showed to be a challenge for students asked to attend the MOOC as nonmandatory out-of-classroom task. It seems that multilingual facilitation alone is not sufficient to increase active MOOC participation.

This paper presents an innovative approach of developing multilingual IL teaching resources and is one of the first works to evaluate the impact of an IL MOOC on learners' experience and learning outcomes in an international evaluation study.