Resources

Web-scale discovery services promise fast, easy searching from a single Google-like box, pleasing users and making library resources more discoverable. Some librarians embrace the concept of giving users what they have come to expect from Google, while others are concerned that this will “dumb down” searching and undermine information literacy. In this article we explore the potential impact of Web-scale discovery tools on information literacy, focusing particularly on undergraduate research skills. We review the existing literature and present findings and experiences from two mid-sized academic libraries that have adopted EBSCO Discovery Service as their library home page portal.Web-scale discovery services promise fast, easy searching from a single Google-like box, pleasing users and making library resources more discoverable. Some librarians embrace the concept of giving users what they have come to expect from Google, while others are concerned that this will “dumb down” searching and undermine information literacy. In this article we explore the potential impact of Web-scale discovery tools on information literacy, focusing particularly on undergraduate research skills. We review the existing literature and present findings and experiences from two mid-sized academic libraries that have adopted EBSCO Discovery Service as their library home page portal.

Teach students to love the library.

2013 article looking at recent trends with librarians and tenure

A statement prepared by the Joint Committee on College Library Problems, a national committee representing the Association of College and Research Libraries, the Association of American Colleges (now the Association of American Colleges and Universities), and the American Association of University Professors. Reaffirmed 2007.

Annoyed Librarian' Blog entry looking at reasons for and against librarians getting tenure.

Sociological look at religious belief and practices among college students

"How . . . do we represent religious experience, in all of its various forms from apostasy to rapture, in ways that remain faithful to the rules of careful historical scholarship, but without inadvertently denigrating the experience as such by making it seem subordinate to other goals?"

This teaching piece first invites the instructor to consider four criteria when planning a small-group discussion (class size, type of class, instructor preparedness, size of groups). Then, it briefly describes a great many variations on the small-group discussion, such as the jigsaw, the KWL, the fishbowl, the buzz group, the snowball, and several others. This lesson gives the instructor a solid start on a great many kinds of discussion activities.

This brief, practical guide lists common problems with leading effective small groups, then techniques for better facilitation. Then, it describes several variations on small group discussion: the fishbowl, the snowball group, the "group round," and others. A great resource for the instructor trying to enhance her "group discussion" repertoire.