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This paper seeks to present the findings of a series of experiments in embedding a librarian at a variety of levels into the undergraduate classroom. This study aimed to determine whether different levels of librarian embedment correlated with improvement in undergraduate students' information literacy (IL) skills.

Students from five undergraduate History courses and two undergraduate Women's Studies courses participated in the study. A librarian was embedded in each of the courses, at a variety of levels across courses. All student assignments were graded using a standardized rubric. Students' IL skills were assessed using the research component of the rubric, which measured their ability to locate, retrieve, evaluate, and incorporate sources into their assignments. Students' research and overall scores on their initial problem‐based learning (PBL) assignments and written assignments were compared to their final assignment scores in order to assess improvement over the course of the term.

There was significant improvement in students' scores when a librarian was conspicuously and obviously embedded in the academic classroom. Students' scores showed little improvement when the librarian was embedded but not explicitly identified as a specialist in information literacy, and when the researchers attempted to embed information literacy seamlessly in the classroom.

The research was conducted only in courses in the Humanities.

This study suggests that students' IL skills improve most when IL is identified in the classroom as a specialized subject taught by a highly trained specialist. The methodology used may be useful for others studying the impact of IL instruction.

Although embedding has been studied and reported on in the literature in a variety of contexts, the study of different levels of embedding, quantified using the same rubric is unique.

Owing to the growing number of online and commuting students at the University of West Georgia, the Instructional Services department at Ingram Library experimented with offering online synchronous library instruction. This paper aims to describe how it approached this problem and the findings from the initial attempts.

The authors wanted to provide library instruction to online graduate students at the university. They worked with the staff development department to develop a pilot program for an online library instruction course using WIMBA web‐conferencing software.

It was found that due to the limitations of technology, the authors had to reduce the amount of information they deliver in the same amount of time. It was also discovered that it is easy to be distracted by the technology and forget that clear communication with the users (students and faculty) are the key to any successful instruction program regardless of the delivery method.

Most libraries offer face‐to‐face library instruction and rely on tutorials to reach their distance education and non‐traditional students. Few libraries are using distance education tools to teach information literacy skills. As librarians begin to explore this avenue, they need to re‐evaluate how and what they teach students to better leverage the technology while reaching the same information literacy objectives.

This instructive study intends to demonstrate the value of investing time and training in the development of student workers who are able to perform higher order tasks like reference work in academic libraries, specifically, the information commons. This practice will provide more time for librarians to devote to more advanced reference queries, instruction, collaboration, outreach, and collection development.

The approach to determining the value of time spent training student assistants included a literature review, surveys of librarians and staff from a variety of academic libraries, and group discussions at three conferences.

The literature review conducted prior to the collection of survey data showed fairly consistent opinions regarding the value of student assistants working at the reference desk. The survey data collected in the study showed that the majority of librarians have a favorable opinion of the ability of student assistants, when well trained, to answer basic reference questions.

The survey used for this study is designed to gauge opinions and attitudes from librarians and library staff. Questions included in the survey are primarily demographic or open‐ended. The survey is distributed using a variety of e‐mail lists and social networking tools. In total, 90 survey responses are received, and a larger sample size may be preferable to more long‐term, in‐depth study of this topic.

The study summarizes and further contributes to the existing body of research about student workers in academic libraries. Readers will find a summation of training methods, core competencies, and best practices to help them to fully utilize student workers in new ways.

This paper aims to examine potential instructional benefits from, and methods for, incorporating concepts from Bloom's taxonomy into reference interactions.

The paper analyzes chat transcripts and assigns each question asked by a librarian to one of the six levels of Bloom's taxonomy, and also codes it as open (divergent) or closed (convergent).

Three of the six levels of Bloom's hierarchy consistently matched observed questions from the transcripts. Bloom's taxonomy provided a rich vocabulary and methodology for expanding delivery of information literacy instruction in reference.

Questioning is a key part of standard reference training, and the findings suggest ways to enhance questions, to direct patrons towards instructional goals such as the ACRL Standards for Information Literacy.

The research expands the traditional open and closed questioning vocabulary of the RUSA Behavioral Guidelines and provides librarians with a new methodology for understanding and choosing which questions to ask based on specific instructional outcomes. The results particularly benefit those looking to integrate their reference and instructional missions, and expand the instructional role of reference services.

This paper aims to describe the University of Idaho Library's efforts to develop instructional videos starring the school mascot, Joe Vandal, and integrate these videos across the curriculum using the university's course management system. Video development, implementation in library instruction courses, and student and faculty assessment are discussed.

The video creation process is described thoroughly, with an eye towards best practices, for those libraries that may wish to develop their own videos. Applications for implementation outside library instruction are also discussed.

Although costly, professional‐quality videos are an engaging and effective way to reach students. Students at the University of Idaho found the library's instructional videos, starring the school mascot, to be entertaining, informative, and easy to understand.

The longitudinal effect of the videos on information literacy instruction has yet to be determined. Future research should study the efficacy of the videos by evaluating the book‐finding ability of control groups of students who have viewed the video and those who have not.

The increasing ubiquity of film‐making software and of video‐hosting sites makes video a more attractive vehicle for information literacy concepts than ever before. Instructional videos are especially relevant when used by those libraries which wish to integrate materials into a course management system.

Although using video for library instruction is not a new concept, creating instructional videos starring the school mascot in the role of the information‐seeker is unique.

The purpose of this paper is to describe how librarians at UC Merced developed an iPod Touch Video Library Tour to replace in‐person instruction for freshman library orientations.

Librarians developed and marketed the iPod Touch Video Library Tour, collaborated with Writing faculty to promote and measure the effectiveness of instruction, then collected and analyzed student assignment scores and survey assessment data to evaluate the project.

Post‐tour assessment data from student assignments suggest that the iPod Touch Video Library Tour is successfully introducing new students to the space, services and resources of the library. Post‐tour comments from students and faculty also indicate that they consider the tour an effective means of being introduced to the library.

Faced with increasing teaching workloads, instruction librarians can benefit from developing asynchronous instruction objects such as podcasts/vodcasts. Asynchronous teaching allows the time shifting of instruction activities, offers scalability, and optimizes assessment. Students often value the freedom to receive instruction when it is most convenient for them.

This paper offers practical information that will assist academic libraries in developing and justifying asynchronous instruction alternatives for traditional face‐to‐face library classroom sessions. Assessment data presented supports the effectiveness of asynchronous instruction through podcasting with popular iPod technology.

This paper aims to report on how a close collaboration between librarian and instructor made it possible for an existing course assignment to organically evolve into an information literacy assessment, overcoming some of the impediments educators confront in assessing student learning. In addition, the paper seeks to discuss how assessment with realistic scenarios requiring actual research helped to highlight deficiencies in skills and critical thinking, a method known as “authentic assessment”. Results from a pilot and the formal assessment are included.

A six‐question pre‐ and post‐test “authentic assessment” was piloted with 60 students, then administered to 43 students. Other journalism instructors and librarians reviewed the questions for validity. A detailed scoring rubric was used, with the authors reviewing each other's work for reliability.

Of students completing both tests, 80 percent showed an average improvement of 47 percent, and average scores increased on five of the six questions. The assessment tool, which addresses most learning outcomes for the course, appears to be a useful gauge of information literacy for journalism students.

The reliability of the instrument needs to be tested. Also, modifying questions between pre‐ and post‐test, to prevent copy‐and‐paste answers, requires care to assure similar levels of difficulty.

While there are many case studies of collaboration in information‐literacy instruction and of assessment performed by librarians, there are few examples of assessments jointly developed by librarians and course faculty, and fewer still “authentic assessments” using measures requiring real‐world research because of the effort involved. Additionally, the paper finds no examples of what is described as “organic assessment”, wherein an existing course assignment, if developed to demonstrate student learning, was adapted to become an assessment tool.

This paper seeks to re‐conceptualize Web 2.0 tools within the intellectual and theoretical frameworks currently driving changes in academic learning communities and to explore the effect of this paradigm shift on academic libraries.

The paper explores an intellectually rather than technologically driven definition of Web 2.0 and its potential effect on teaching and learning in libraries. Reflections are based on paradigm shifts in learning theories implicit in the adoption and implementation of Web 2.0 technologies. The paper also discusses applications of Web 2.0 designed to improve student and faculty engagement in the research process.

The paper encourages librarians to think beyond the technology and to consider how Web 2.0 can support intellectual teaching and learning objectives in an academic library.

The paper discusses applications of Web 2.0 designed to improve student and faculty engagement in the research process.

The paper offers insights into rethinking current conceptions of Web 2.0 based on participation in and collaboration with faculty during a summer institute session. It provides a common conceptual framework of teaching and learning theory for librarians to use when implementing Web 2.0 tools and applications.