Does your instructional program feel like you're lost at sea, or can you say that you're following a charted course towards a pedagogical destination? Drawing on our experience developing a unifying instructional framework for our library system, this interactive workshop will prepare participants to perform similar work in their own institutional contexts. Participants will be guided through a process of identifying and applying strategies for focusing instructional scope and prioritizing capacity while meeting learners' needs. You will leave with the start of a treasure map for an instructional framework that will aid advocacy, coordination, and communication in your libraries.
Participants will be able to: 1. Collaboratively outline the audiences and content areas of their organization's instructional program 2. Map those audiences and content areas to overarching instructional goals in order to advocate and lead (at all levels) 3. Develop a strategy for getting stakeholder buy-in and implementing this instructional framework, considering local institutional contexts
Our information literacy instruction landscape is fundamentally challenged, from the limitations of one-shots to the complexities of our information ecosystem. Therefore, we must capture students’ attention quickly, communicate with clarity, make learning sticky, and support students’ ability to apply and transfer key concepts and skills. “Stories” serve as a pedagogical tool to not only spark interest, but also prompt meaning making, demonstrate relevance, and communicate impact. Stories can take the classic shape of anecdotes, as well as bite-size forms like analogies, images, and metaphors. We will explore how incorporating stories into our teaching can make concepts click and bring skills to life. Join us to discuss your favorite stories as well as information literacy concepts for which you would find stories most useful.
Participants will: 1. Be able to recognize and describe the pedagogical value of storytelling in teaching and learning including how stories support engagement, recall, meaning making, and transfer. 2. Identify and map shared/sample stories to specific information literacy concepts and skills, demonstrating the relevance of storytelling to the information literacy arena.
In academic libraries, where early-career librarians often feel unprepared for the role of instruction, collaborative teaching partnerships can be powerful tools for reflective practice and growth, thereby building instructional capacity and confidence. This session will chronicle a two-year collaborative teaching partnership focused on promoting continuous improvement, fostering a supportive work-place culture, and embracing multiple perspectives for positive and empowering professional growth. Highlighting the "Circle of Teaching Support" framework developed through this partnership, the authors will share insights for practical application and discuss important lessons learned along the way. Attendees will thoughtfully consider their own circles of support based on cycles of listening and observation.
Participants will: 1. Explore & Discuss reasons why academic librarians feel unprepared for library instruction 2. Illustrate the components of a reflective teaching cycle and how this process can complement library instruction 3. Identify strategies for forming and maintaining collaborative partnerships within academic libraries and beyond
Many librarians have mixed feelings about artificial intelligence - common concerns include the potential for biased or inaccurate information, cognitive and environmental harms, and issues with privacy, exploitation, and copyright. This presentation will discuss how to explore these concerns with students using a Critical AI Literacy lens. In the information literacy context, Critical AI Literacy examines the economic, sociocultural, and political dimensions of how information is mediated on artificial intelligence platforms. This presentation will describe how two librarians are implementing and assessing Critical AI Literacy outcomes alongside "traditional" AI literacy research skills in both the one-shot and credit-bearing environments.
Participants will: 1. Discuss what learning outcomes and goals might be included under the umbrella of Critical AI Literacy 2. Explore how Critical AI Literacy outcomes might fit into both one-shot and credit bearing information literacy instruction 3. Consider how they might implement Critical AI Literacy outcomes in their own situational and institutional contexts
The Content Creation team at our library was tasked with creating fun and interactive learning objects that can reach a large online student population. Asynchronous teaching objects are a great way for librarians to reach students in an engaging way, freeing up time for librarians while empowering students to learn key skills at their own pace. Scalable learning objects can also be leveraged as graded, in-course activities by faculty. At our institution this has led to over 60,000 students gaining access to vital information literacy concepts. Key takeaways from the experience in developing and implementing this program will be shared.
Participants will: 1. Explain how to design and implement scalable, asynchronous library learning objects that support large student populations. This was possible by collaborating within the content team to create and innovate around integration of multiple media types 2. Apply strategies for using narrative, gamification, and accessibility features in LibWizard to increase learner engagement. Explain process of utilizing AI as a tool in creation of tutorials 3. Evaluate methods for gathering and interpreting student feedback and usage data to refine and improve asynchronous badging tutorials
This session will offer strategies for library instructors navigating consistently controversial topics in higher education. Librarians' expertise have always been undermined by technology, misinformation, and public perception in some form or fashion. Right now, we face artificial intelligence and social media, as well as stakeholders who misunderstand our purpose and students who lack confidence in their own critical thinking skills. The speaker, an instruction librarian with experience teaching emerging and interconnected literacies, will explain how these problems feed into each other and highlight ways in which librarians' existing information literacy skills can be adapted to tackle them.
Participants will: 1. Understand the importance of addressing controversial topics in information literacy instruction 2. Identify ways in which their existing information literacy skills, knowledge, and pedagogical practices can be applied to artificial intelligence and news media 3. Learn how to make traditional critical thinking competencies applicable to emerging and evolving barriers to information literacy both within and outside higher education
Health Sciences Librarian, Western Kentucky University
I have a Bachelor of Arts in English with a Creative Writing Concentration as well as a Master of Science in Information Sciences from the University of Tennessee, where I worked as a student library assistant in Special Collections. I was an assistant librarian at Holmes Community... Read More →
As a field, mathematics is rarely mentioned in the LIS literature and is often perceived as independent and disinclined to collaborate. Because our work relies on relationship building and communication, librarians may find it an endless challenge to understand the needs of math and other less-responsive disciplines. This session will present the findings of our national survey of mathematics faculty, including their attitudes toward librarians, library services, and the resources they use for research and instruction. Our work provides insights into the perspectives of math faculty and offers ideas for communicating with and supporting mathematics and other, similarly independent departments. This session will cover our motivations for pursuing this research as well as collaborations that have been a result of the project.
Participants will: 1. Examine feedback from mathematics faculty on their reluctance or disinclination to engage with their academic librarians. 2. Assess how the presented results may apply to their specific library and faculty support.
Jenni provides research and instructional support in science information literacy to the College of Liberal Arts & Science and the College of Education. She earned her MLS from Texas Woman's University and a BA in English Composition with a minor in Speech Communication from Texas... Read More →
The Georgia Tech Library launched a new subject librarian model, with teams sharing responsibility for outreach, consultations, and instruction across seven Colleges. Some librarians were seasoned teachers, others just finding their sea legs, but all needed to know the ropes to ensure consistent, high-quality teaching. To anchor our efforts, we turned to the Critical Teaching Behaviors (CTB) framework, creating a shared compass for effective practices. Through workshops, surveys, and collaborative retreats, we mapped CTB categories to library examples and integrated UDL and ACRL strategies. This session charts our process and offers practical tools for reflection, peer training, and sustainable instructional leadership.
Participants will: 1. Identify examples of Critical Teaching Behaviors (CTB) that align with best practices in course-integrated instruction 2. Discuss strategies for applying the CTB framework in their own instructional leadership 3. Reflect on how the CTB framework can foster a culture of teaching excellence in their institutions
I am Instruction Manager for Academic Engagement at the Georgia Tech Library. I love talking about instructional design, active learning, information literacy instruction, professional development, mentoring, project management, staff training, classroom and online instruction, and... Read More →
Do you always begin your research with a list of search terms and alternative terms? Do you always start your search with library databases? Librarians often outline specific steps that students should take and provide structured guidelines we expect them to follow. But do we always follow these steps and guidelines ourselves? Why not? And how might this impact our effectiveness as instructors? In this interactive workshop, participants will explore the concept of "authenticity" as it relates to teaching information literacy and will consider steps they can take to embrace authenticity in their teaching. Participants will be encouraged to think about how we can teach the research process as it is, rather than what we think it should be.
Participants will: 1. Describe key characteristics associated with authenticity in teaching 2. Recognize teaching practices common to librarians that do not conform to expectations for authentic teaching 3. Reflect on how they can apply the understanding of authenticity in teaching to their own instructional practices
Since 2014, Syracuse University (SU) has pursued the goal of becoming the "best place for veterans," with Syracuse University Libraries playing a vital role in this mission. Three librarians will share how they support veteran and military-connected students and professionals through instruction, programming, and partnerships. This presentation will highlight SU's relationship with the National Veterans Resource Center (NVRC) and a network of veteran-focused programs across campus that are supported by the Libraries. Presenters will address key challenges and opportunities, including building trust, supporting entrepreneurship and leadership programs, using digital resources, and developing engaging instruction. Attendees will gain practical insights into collaborative strategies for effectively serving military-affiliated communities within an academic or professional environment.
Participants will be able to: 1. Understand the role of academic libraries as collaborators in supporting veteran and military-connected students through campus and community partnerships 2. Identify strategies for fostering trust and engagement with student veterans transitioning to academic life 3. Evaluate and adapt library resources and services to meet the unique needs of military-connected communities
Instructional librarians continue to seek practical tools for creating accessible and engaging instructional materials, yet many technologies require specialized skills or institutional support. H5P is a free platform that allows librarians to design interactive learning objects such as quizzes, timelines, and drag-and-drop activities without programming knowledge. In this hands-on workshop, participants will explore examples of H5P in information literacy contexts and then build their own activity with guided support. The session will focus on instructional design strategies, testing and usability, and how to integrate H5P into a learning management system or research guide.
Participants will be able to: 1. Design an interactive H5P learning object (e.g. a quiz, timeline, or interactive video) that addresses a specific information literacy learning outcome 2. Apply fundamental instructional design and accessibility principles when creating digital learning activities in H5P 3. Identify strategies to integrate and reuse H5P activities in instructional platforms (such as LMS courses or library research guides) to enhance student learning
***Participants will need to bring a laptop to take part in the hands-on activities during the workshop.***
Collection Development Librarian, Saint Paul University
Marta Samokishyn (she/her) is a Collection Development and Liaison Librarian at Saint Paul University and a Research Fellow at BC Campus. She has over 12 years of experience in teaching information literacy. Her research interests include instructional design in academic libraries... Read More →
Friday May 8, 2026 11:05am - 11:55am EDT Main Salon F
In July 2024, the University of New Mexico Libraries overhauled our instruction and liaison program in an employee-initiated and -led reorganization. We transitioned from a program comprised of solo liaisons plus a small instruction team to two population-oriented teams; one focused on undergraduates, and the other centered on graduate students and faculty. In this session, we explain our previous program's structure, why we changed, the reorganization steps, our current program's structure, and lessons learned.
Participants will: 1. Take away an example of an alternative instruction/outreach model to a traditional subject liaison model 2. Identify strategies for approaching collaborative reorganization design
This presentation offers a radical reimagining of information literacy by challenging the invisibility of reading. Traditional approaches separate reading from searching and evaluating, prioritizing the latter and leaving students struggling to make meaning from scholarly sources. Research shows that students rely on survival reading strategies that hinder synthesis, relevance assessment, and engagement with scholarly nuance. This session invites participants to explore strategies for embedding reading instruction in different teaching situations, question long-standing norms about information literacy, and consider how centering reading helps students navigate an AI-driven environment that undervalues deep, efficient, and critical reading.
Participants will: 1. Describe the impact of reading on students throughout their research process 2. Identify problematic student behaviors that impact reading efficiency 3. Develop strategies for instruction and consultation in order to guide students in becoming better readers in a scholarly environment
Interested in developing a student learning assessment program at your institution and don't know where to start? In this session, librarians from two vastly different universities will discuss how they have implemented programmatic student learning assessment plans for their unique library systems. However, creating and sustaining student learning assessment programmatic plans is not a small feat; assessment anxiety amongst librarians continues to prevail. This session explores the process, techniques, and impact from developing an individualized, supportive culture of assessment where library instructors gradually demonstrate higher level skills as they progress in each student learning assessment plan.
Participants will be able to: 1. Describe the collaborative process of creating and revising student learning assessment plans. 2. Identify ways to navigate through the barriers of assessment efforts. 3. Create a framework for a student learning assessment plan for their own institutional context.
Accessibility Lead and Student Success Librarian, George Mason University
Ashley Blinstrub is the Accessibility Lead and Student Success Librarian. She previously served as the Student Success and Inclusion Librarian at George Mason University from 2019-2025, the Research and Assessment Librarian at Saginaw Valley State University from 2016-2019, and the... Read More →
Drawing on an administrative perspective, this session details the strategic steps taken to launch a scaffolded information literacy program for all incoming students. We share how a pilot with a few incoming students transitioned into a required component of Ball State's Week of Welcome and inclusion in First-Year Seminars. Learn the leadership strategies, including leveraging the administrative support required to secure cross-campus buy-in and institutionalize an essential instruction initiative.
Participants will: 1. Gain knowledge of leadership and advocacy strategies that enable institutional buy-in from a variety of stakeholders 2. Learn how to link scaffolded instructional programs to key strategic goals of the university 3. Understand best practices for cross-campus collaboration to institutionalize and sustain essential instruction initiatives
Curricular consultation between librarians and faculty is one possible solution to address complex curricular problems surrounding information literacy. During curricular consultation, librarians consult with faculty members and make recommendations to improve course, assignment, and scaffolded learning intervention design and alignment to support students in meeting information literacy learning objectives, and in retaining and applying critical information literacy knowledge.
In this presentation, three librarians each share how they implemented curricular consultations as a strategy for impacting curricular change at their institutions. Individual approaches will be contextualized by intersecting and differing aspects of presenters' positionalities.
Participants will: 1. Be able to form a baseline understanding of the practice of curricular consultation and its relevancy, promoting transfer and application of knowledge. 2. Understand the practice of curricular consultation further and how positionality can impact approaches and thus will be able to apply this method to practice and scope it to their own positions. 3. Be able to design and implement their own approaches to curricular consultation for information literacy and thus advance necessary curricular change and positively impact student success.
This session explores the intersection of generative AI and pedagogical frameworks to promote critical thinking in higher education, ensuring genAI does not simply replace genuine learning. Our tool, Bloom's stAIrcase, aligns Bloom's Taxonomy with AI literacy creating an interactive interface for educators to design AI-leveraged assignments. A feature of this tool is a prompt generator, which guides users through the process of using a generative AI tool to build their own AI literacy activities specific to their subject area and teaching context. This session provides strategies for scaffolding deeper learning, ethical engagement, and reflective use of generative AI in academic environments.
Participants will: 1. Understand how the Bloom's stAIrcase connects AI literacy to critical thinking and learning design 2. Explore an interactive prompt-generation tool that allows users to scaffold AI-related learning activities into their own teaching contexts 3. Develop ideas for implementing or adapting the model for their own institutions or disciplines
This session examines why research guides often fade from student awareness. Drawing on a redesign project for STEM and Health Sciences students, it highlights how discipline-specific needs and Gen Z learning preferences shape guide engagement. Informed by ACRL standards and user data, the project produced five interactive tutorials to clarify research pathways and address gaps. Preliminary findings on engagement and navigation patterns will be shared. Attendees will learn to identify design challenges such as content sprawl and accessibility and apply user-centered strategies to strengthen guide visibility, usability, and instructional impact. Audience participation will include phone-based polls.
Participants will: 1. Identify and evaluate design and maintenance challenges of LibGuides, such as content sprawl, accessibility, and pedagogical alignment in order to consider evidence-based strategies that make guides more visible, inclusive, and instructionally effective 2. Apply principles of evidence-based and user-centered design, incorporating preliminary findings on student preferences like navigation and layout, in order to enhance the discoverability and user engagement of their own research guides
How can we know our students? This session attempts to answer this eternal question through two undergraduate student storytelling initiatives. The first is a peer storytelling project in which students who have successfully made use of library services and spaces share what they learned via an online gallery. The second is a life history project that situates students' experiences within a wider library landscape, allowing us insight into their perceptions and willingness to engage in library instruction. Both projects center students as experts of their own experience. These stories allow us to develop instruction resources that authentically reflect our students.
Participants will: 1. Be able to describe two approaches to centering student stories in library instruction.
Reflect on your current instruction and assessment practices through reflective pause and imagination. This collaborative workshop provides opportunities to connect around instruction and assessment approaches. While much assessment revolves around demonstrating value quantitatively, we resist by framing assessment as a way to connect with students and express care. The presenters will introduce an observational assessment framework participants can utilize to iterate on assessment methods and artifacts. Participants will reflect on their chosen lesson plan, identify areas for improvement, and consider how to improve their instruction. Bring a lesson plan to practice intentional assessment and curricular redesign with us!
Participants will: 1. Use a reflective framework to redesign a lesson plan and identify areas for actionable assessment 2. Reframe assessment from a perspective of care utilizing the PCPS framework for empathetic reflection
***This session has been withdrawn and will not be presented***
Our session focuses on distributed leadership or "all hands on deck," thereby creating a communal approach to instructional leadership within the department. In contrast, when approaching the broader university community, the department took a more unified strategic approach to instructional leadership by "taking the instructional helm." These two navigation strategies required complex approaches to collaboration and problem-solving. Thus, we will offer a case study in distributed leadership, strategic decision-making, and collaborative instructional design during a new general education curriculum implementation. This case study is meant to be more broadly applicable than the general education reform context. Session participants will learn how to navigate instructional change with more than one captain.
Participants will: 1. Identify strategies our department used to ensure appropriate information literacy concepts were integrated into the new general education curriculum. 2. Explain how distributed leadership supported the creation of information literacy resources for university faculty. 3. Determine actionable next steps for improving information literacy support at their own institution.
In this session, we will consider several alternatives to the standard library database demonstration frequently used in one-shot instruction sessions. Gather new ideas from three practicing instruction librarians with diverse experiences and pedagogical approaches. Participants will select from three hands-on stations to explore active learning techniques that can promote better learner engagement and retention of library lesson objectives. Through game-playing, assessment of learning objects, discussion, and more, participants will walk away with new or enhanced activities to implement in their own classrooms. Join us as we dive into library instruction that is anything but a database demo!
Participants will: 1. Evaluate several strategies for teaching database search skills and think critically about how to best engage learners beyond a lecture-based learning experience 2. Consider how they would apply several active learning strategies to their own lessons to increase learner engagement 3. Be able to explain why active learning teaching strategies offer a more engaging experience for students when teaching database search skills
How much do undergraduate students really know about Generative AI? That question elicits nebulous answers, reinforcing the necessity of embedding a critical AI literacy approach into information literacy instruction. In this session, two librarians teaching full-semester credit-bearing Information Literacy and Research classes at different CUNY colleges, will present our strategies for engaging students with responsible and practical Gen AI activities. We will discuss our lessons and how they align with the frames that comprise the ACRL Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education. Activities discussed will include writing Gen AI prompts to help students hone their research questions and testing the reliability of responses by verifying sources returned by AI.
Participants will: 1. Understand appropriate uses of Gen AI in information literacy instruction 2. Have examples of Gen AI activities to use or adapt for their instruction
As academic libraries approach the limits of what can be achieved through one-shots, innovative strategies are needed to deepen and sustain library integration in course curriculum. This presentation highlights a series of librarian-led faculty development initiatives aimed at improving assignment design and strengthening librarian-faculty partnerships. Leveraging the Transparency in Learning and Teaching (TILT) framework, our initiatives support instructors in creating clear, effective assignments and promote equitable teaching and learning practices. Drawing on feedback from faculty participants, this presentation highlights the benefits of this model, offering practical insights for academic libraries seeking alternatives to traditional instruction.
Participants will: 1. Identify how librarian-led faculty development initiatives can extend instructional impact beyond one-shot sessions and individual consultations 2. Evaluate the effectiveness of collaborative assignment design as a scalable strategy for integrating library resources into course curricula 3. Recognize the role of incentives and faculty interest in fostering deeper engagement with librarians and advancing institutional teaching and learning priorities
Outreach & Engagement Librarian, Nevada State University
As the Outreach & Engagement Librarian, Alena is responsible for leading the Nevada State University Library’s marketing and outreach efforts. Alena holds a BA in English and Art from Lafayette College and an MSLS from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She is a recipient... Read More →
Friday May 8, 2026 2:35pm - 3:25pm EDT Paul. D Fraim
Assessing students' search strategies skills is challenging. How can we target assessment to specific strategies? How can we gather evidence of learning? This session describes an assessment project that has addressed these challenges.
After search strategy instruction, students complete a worksheet that presents them with three scenarios that describe common search problems. Their task is to suggest two strategies to improve search results for each scenario. This simple assessment targets certain kinds of search skills-such as keywords and filters, or whatever you've taught-while leaving room for creative problem-solving and can be used for either course-embedded instruction or credit courses.
Participants will: 1. Describe two factors that make assessment of search skills challenging. 2. Create a scenario to assess one aspect of your own search skill instruction.
Teaching and Learning Librarian, University of Northern Colorado
My passion is working with underrepresented and underserved students, particularly first-generation students, to build on their strengths, navigate their college experience, and use information thoughtfully. In my work as an Information Literacy Librarian at the University of Northern... Read More →
How do you get faculty and librarians to sing sea shanties in praise of library support for first-year writing? The presenter engaged in a process of collaboration, feedback gathering, shared lesson planning, and nested learning outcomes to design a menu of shared lesson plans. She will describe the impact of this net of support using data from assessment of student learning, experiences of librarians, and perspectives of faculty. Through intention and collaboration, we can entice folks to take the bait of an introductory information literacy instruction program, whether students, early-career librarians, mid-career subject specialists, graduate students, or seasoned faculty.
Participants will: 1. Describe benefits of a library instruction menu or shared lesson plans 2. Summarize types of collaboration needed to rejuvenate a stale instruction program
This presentation will bring together metacognitive theory, the ACRL Framework for Information Literacy, and the humble CRAAP acronym to describe an approach to instruction that focuses on helping students: (1) recognize their own information needs and unspoken expectations about research, and (2) identify the types of sources available to fulfill that need.
When treated as a set of guiding questions to critically consider, rather than a binary checklist, CRAAP becomes a powerful tool to guide students toward metacognition, metaliteracy, and a deep understanding of the nature of the sources they use.
Participants will: 1. Guide students & patrons in asking generative questions about the sources they are looking for and the sources they select 2. Modify evaluation acronyms to serve the ACRL Framework and bolster their students' metacognitive abilities
To strengthen campus-wide information literacy and faculty scholarship, Fayetteville State University Library partnered with the Office of Faculty Development to integrate information literacy into both teaching and research. This session showcases adaptable mini-lessons, an asynchronous Canvas course with certificate modules, and publication support initiatives designed to build faculty capacity and confidence. Presenters will share outcomes, materials, and strategies for creating sustainable partnerships that enhance instruction, research productivity, and institutional engagement.
Laura Mehaffey, Fayetteville State University, co-created this presentation.
Participants will: 1. Identify strategies for developing partnerships that advance information literacy integration across campus 2. Design or adapt modular, discipline-specific lessons to support faculty instruction 3. Apply approaches for sustaining faculty engagement through collaborative professional development and online learning tools.
Many academic libraries maintain online guides to teach citation formatting, but how accessible are these guides? Imagine reading the text aloud: how much information would the listener miss? Relying heavily on visual cues and examples, citation guides present special accessibility challenges. We'll investigate techniques for enriching and improving these webpages, including particular considerations for screen reader users.
Participants will: 1. Consider specific accessibility concerns associated with the teaching of formal citation. 2. Apply principles of accessible design to the revision or creation of online citation guides. 3. Recognize and remedy barriers to the effective use of assistive technologies.
The traditional one-shot often feels like a missed opportunity. How can we get out of the shallow end and dive deeper? This interactive workshop reframes the one-shot by combining intentional pedagogical principles with a sustainable, blended approach. We'll explore creating on-demand, multimodal content using lightweight EdTech tools to free up class time for more meaningful learning. Attendees will collaboratively design solutions to common, problematic instruction requests through scenario-based learning, leaving with a practical framework to create effective, high-impact learning opportunities that engage all learners.
***Participants can bring a laptop to take part in the hands-on activities during the workshop, though there will also be printed worksheets as well for those that do not have a laptop.***
Participants will: 1. Apply pedagogical principles (e.g., backward design, small teaching) to restructure a traditional one-shot session into a "flipped" or blended model 2. Identify appropriate multi-modal tools (e.g. H5P, Genially) for creating sustainable, on-demand instructional content 3. Conceptualize active learning activities to replace passive lecturing during in-class time
Online Learning Librarian, University of California, Santa Barbara
Brittany O'Neill (she/her) is the Online Learning Librarian at the University of California, Santa Barbara (working from NC). She supports foundational information literacy with first-year and first-generation students through instruction, digital learning objects, and research consultations... Read More →
Library Assistant Professor, Business Librarian, East Carolina University
Nicole Stith is the Business Librarian at East Carolina University. She provides information literacy instruction with a focus on business-related topics. She is also an advocate for digital literacy improvements and user-centered approaches to library websites and online services... Read More →
Friday May 8, 2026 4:10pm - 5:00pm EDT Main Salon C
Most of us tell our students not to use ChatGPT for research. But what about "safe" uses like brainstorming and finding keywords? Drawing on interdisciplinary research, this presentation intends to complicate those supposedly safe uses of generative AI by introducing the concept of epistemic autonomy. The autonomous student is able to use AI for ideation just enough for it to be helpful, without letting AI determine how they should think. Classroom strategies for incorporating autonomy into information literacy instruction will be presented so that librarians can help students reflect on the role and limitations of AI in ideation.
Participants will: 1. Understand the concept of epistemic autonomy as it relates to information literacy. 2. Identify uses of AI that undermine student autonomy. 3. Be familiar with some strategies to encourage student reflection on personal autonomy in the research process.
Securing robust administrative support for library instruction requires strategic communication. This session offers instruction leaders practical strategies to advocate effectively, moving beyond jargon to anchor teaching initiatives to institutional priorities. This session emphasizes three core pillars of creating a siren song: finding the lyrics and melody (tailoring the message to administrators' concerns and preferences); sharing the treasure (identifying and implementing specific, measurable actions); and connecting to trade winds to ensure smooth sailing (demonstrating library instruction's strategic alignment with institutional priorities). Participants will learn how to translate pedagogical value into compelling proposals that are tailored to their administration, ensuring sustained support of library teaching programs.
Participants will be able to: 1. Identify the key priorities and communication preferences of specific academic administrators and modify their instructional advocacy language accordingly 2. Articulate how proposed or existing library instruction programs directly contribute to established institutional or library strategic priorities to secure greater administrative buy-in
Department Head, Education and Engagement, University of Notre Dame
Hello! I'm happy to chat about teaching & learning, teacher identities for librarians, person-centered management, advocacy in library leadership, and strategic planning.
Saturday May 9, 2026 8:50am - 9:40am EDT Paul. D Fraim
What can pony bead animal keychains teach us about research instruction? In this hands-on workshop, attendees will use a playful craft activity to explore the connections between critical thinking, patience, and productive struggle. Participants will actively create bead animals with limited guidance, then reflect on how the process mirrors students' research experiences: navigating frustration, persisting through challenges, and developing resilience. Together, we will link these insights to instructional design, discussing strategies for scaffolding and encouraging self-directed learning. Attendees will leave with both a tangible reminder of the exercise and new approaches for cultivating critical thinking in the classroom.
Participants will: 1. Experience the role of productive struggle and persistence in developing critical thinking 2. Reflect on parallels between hands-on activities and students' research processes in library instruction 3. Identify instructional strategies that encourage patience, resilience, and self-directed learning in their own classrooms
Dive into a creative approach to research and collaboration! This session explores how faculty and librarians partnered to complement group projects by replacing or supplementing typical research papers with research-based zines, fostering student engagement with an experiential learning technique aligned with the Universal Design for Learning guidelines. Participants will see examples of student-created zines, learn strategies for designing assignments, hear faculty and student feedback, and discuss how this format encourages critical thinking and creativity. We will also share our plans for the next steps on the horizon for this project. Whether you're curious about zines in your instruction or seeking innovative ways to collaborate across disciplines, this session offers practical insights and inspiration for making waves in your teaching and outreach.
Participants will: 1. Analyze the benefits and challenges of replacing traditional papers with zines in research-based assignments. 2. Design a collaborative assignment that integrates zine creation into class projects. 3. Evaluate strategies for fostering creativity and critical thinking through faculty-librarian partnerships.
Experiential Learning Librarian, Texas A&M University
After 20 years of service in public libraries working mostly with children and teens I transitioned into an academic library as an instruction librarian. As a typical librarian, I am a lifelong learner and have enjoyed learning all the new things about my position. I worked specifically... Read More →
Starting a new position can be an exciting prospect, but it can also be turbulent. Unless you are starting in a newly created position, many have faced the struggle that they have inherited an established position, with all of the benefits and drawbacks that go with it. There can be a delicate balance as you take on establishing yourself, determining the best instruction methods with an ever changing population, and ensuring you don't step on anyone's toes. This presentation will dive into recurring inheritance issues and how to turn the tide in your favor.
Participants will will be able to: 1. Employ new outreach and testing techniques in order to adjust pre-existing academic liaison relationships 2. Adapt and grow as a liaison to meet your department's needs while keeping in mind interpersonal relationships within the library 3. Building and modifying existing instruction techniques and materials for an ever changing student population
Based on experiences during one-shot instruction sessions, librarians at a public R1 institution collected questions from first year and transfer students during instruction sessions and coded the results in order to identify themes in content and types of questions. This presentation will describe the research project, the themes that emerged in the collected data, and how this informs future instruction and outreach. The ways in which this research was completed will be reviewed in order to assist attendees with doing similar work. The methodology of this research will also be presented to inspire other instruction librarians.
Participants will: 1. Identify trends in the data in order to inform instruction and outreach at their libraries. 2. Adapt the practice of asking students what they want to learn in an instruction session in order to encourage student engagement in learning
Grab your compass and chart a course toward privacy literacy (PL) to navigate this new horizon of information literacy!
PL is an emerging area of library instruction. Research indicates librarians need resources to grow their PL practice. This session debuts educator resources developed by a national forum, including a Framework comprising learner standards and practitioner competencies, Roadmap to PL Programming, and PL Self-Study Guidebook.
Developed through participatory workshops, working groups, calls for feedback, and expert review, these resources support the planning, delivery, and assessment of PL in libraries. This project was made possible in part by the IMLS.
Participants will: 1. Apply the privacy literacy practitioner resources, including the Framework for Privacy Literacy, Roadmap to Privacy Literacy Programming in the Library, and Privacy Literacy Self-Study Guidebook, to advocate for, plan, implement, and assess privacy literacy education and library instruction.
Librarian, information ethicist, and permaculturist, Penn State University Libraries | Penn State Berks
Sarah provides research coaching and instruction at Penn State Berks, working closely with programs in the Engineering, Business, and Computing division. She began her decade-plus academic library career in technical services, managing subscriptions, electronic resources, and library... Read More →
Saturday May 9, 2026 9:55am - 10:45am EDT Main Salon G
How do you transform a boring lecture hall into a community of active, excited, and engaged learners? Experience how we turned our large enrollment LIB 1600 course into a dynamic space for active, skills-based playful learning. In this session, participants will experience four classroom-tested hands-on strategies, games, and interactive activities that can be integrated into any information literacy curriculum. Walk away with a toolkit of strategies and real-world examples to personalize any classroom, no matter how large, and make the learning engaging and fun.
Participants will: 1) Design an interactive lesson using instructional strategies that engage large classrooms and audiences 2) Modify parts of their current curriculum to increase active engagement and memory retention through a pedagogy of play 3) Communicate and collaborate with other participants on different ways that they can reach large audiences made of diverse learners.
This session showcases a semester-long course that leverages librarian collaboration and critical pedagogy to teach students how to identify and resist misinformation. Through guest lectures, group work, and interdisciplinary projects, students explore information bias, inequity, and manipulation. Presenters will share course design, lessons learned, and strategies for adapting this model across disciplines and institutions.
Participants will: 1. Explore instructional approaches for designing and teaching a misinformation-focused course grounded in interdisciplinary, critical pedagogy. 2. Discover assignment design and scaffolding strategies that foster student engagement, reflection, and peer learning around misinformation themes. 3. Identify adaptable methods for integrating guest librarian expertise and collaboration to empower students to apply information literacy skills to real-world contexts.
Much like first wave feminism our first waves of information literacy focused on education and skills to navigate systems. Over time the waves evolved to center and include marginalized humans, concepts, and care. Today, however, we face insidious challenges where the weaponization of data and information against us is imperceptible yet forceful. In this session I will draw connections to fourth wave feminisms by defining what we might call "fourth wave information literacy." I will describe classroom tested activities via three approaches: gaining awareness of the fog, circumventing manipulation, and controlling the information consumed and subsequent decisions we make.
Participants will be able to: 1. Describe elements of Fourth Wave Information Literacy and why they matter for research and instruction sessions 2. Describe at least one classroom activity with Fourth-Wave Information Literacy in mind in order to illuminate algorithmic influence
Instruction librarians face a persistent challenge: re-educating administrators who view Information Literacy as transactional support rather than a strategic driver for student retention and equity. This undervaluation often leads to systemic burnout and understaffing (presenters know this first-hand!).
This workshop addresses this gap by teaching librarians to craft "Strategic Value Narratives." Moving beyond traditional process-based reports, participants will learn to align library instruction-including algorithmic literacy-with institutional priorities like accreditation and workforce readiness. Through collaborative analysis of advocacy strategies, you will build a toolkit to shift administrative perceptions from "what we do" to why our work is indispensable for the university's mission.
Participants will be able to: 1. Analyze and deconstruct common administrative misconceptions regarding the depth and strategic impact of Information Literacy instruction 2. Develop a personalized Strategic Value Narrative that frames their instruction program's efficacy using institutional metrics (e.g., retention, equity, assessment data) rather than library-centric language, as well as identify and articulate the risks and opportunity costs associated with an undervalued or under-resourced IL program to library deans and university administrators 3. Practice delivering a concise, high-impact narrative designed to re-educate new library or university administration about the program's strategic necessity
This session introduces "fearstorming," a reflective technique adapted from UX research that turns uncertainty into insight. Like brainstorming, fearstorming invites open, nonevaluative expression - but instead of generating ideas, participants are given space to articulate fears and anxieties before diving into new tasks or experiences. For students, this encourages reflection and metacognition. For instructors, fearstorming fosters authentic connection, reveals hidden barriers, informs instruction in real-time, and provides measurable insight into learners' affective growth. Participants will take part in a mini fearstorm, explore a case study from an introductory writing course, and leave with ideas to adapt fearstorming to their own contexts.
Participants will: 1. Examine the potential of fearstorming to support students' affective learning and consider its applicability in their own instructional contexts. 2. Be able to describe the role of affective dimensions of learning and their impact on instructional design.
Teaching is a relational practice that brings identity and emotion into the learning process. It is not an easy practice, but rather one where educators and learners work together, address conflict, and learn from one another. Friction is part of the learning process, but Generative AI (GenAI) in higher education attempts to create a frictionless mimicry of learning. This presentation will explore the challenges of relational teaching with the prevalence of GenAI in the library classroom. Participants will discuss the role of discomfort, challenge, and connection in learning and how it is complicated by the promises and prevalence of GenAI.
Participants will: 1. Examine learning as a relational process intertwined with emotions 2. Analyze generative AI's attempts to mimic emotion and relational connection 3. Explore strategies for communicating the importance of friction / challenge in finding and using information to students and faculty
Academic libraries are navigating turbulent waters-shifting priorities, resource constraints, and evolving curricula for instructional programs. In this environment, leadership approaches matter more than ever. This session explores compassionate leadership as a framework for guiding information literacy programs through change, emphasizing empathy, communication, recognition, and support as core principles. The presenters will explore how this theory applies to librarians in both formal and informal leadership roles. Join us to chart a course toward leadership that balances advocacy, adaptability, and care-essential qualities for navigating the evolving seas of teaching and learning in higher education.
Participants will: 1. Be able to define compassionate leadership in order to apply it to instructional programs 2. Analyze the compassionate leadership approach, noting limitations and other complementary management approaches 3. Determine possible applications of compassionate leadership for leading library instruction programs, with both formal and informal leadership roles
This interactive workshop explores how Students as Partners (SaP) pedagogy (Cook-Sather et al., 2014) can transform information literacy (IL) instruction, drawing on a conceptual model integrating SaP with the Framework for Information Literacy (LeGrand, 2025). The facilitators will share experiences infusing student-instructor partnership in their teaching (Fundator et al., 2024) and guide attendees through practical design exercises to engage students' knowledge and goals within the Frames. Reimagine instruction with asset-based, relational language and design learning for transformative action. Leave with strategies to co-create meaningful IL learning experiences with students, promoting shared responsibility and agency in the classroom and beyond.
Participants will: 1. Identify instructor-centered assumptions in the ACRL Framework for Information Literacy. 2. Apply Students as Partners principles to reframe information literacy instruction using relational, asset-based language. 3. Design a partnership-oriented IL activity or lesson plan that incorporates student agency and transformative action.
In a sea of new and innovative technology, returning to our analog roots can have a transformative impact on students, especially those early in their college careers. During this session, participants will be reintroduced to analog instructional methods that can be integrated into various contexts from one-shots to credit-bearing courses. Using data from their ongoing Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) research, presenters will discuss methods they used in a First-Year Studies course to enhance student learning and engagement through analog information literacy activities. Participants will also engage in these activities themselves, giving them first-hand experience.
Participants will: 1. Explore analog strategies for instruction and classroom engagement 2. Reflect on their own reactions to clickbait headlines to better understand the information landscape of our students
It was fair skies and calm seas six years ago when librarians and writing professors set sail together on a voyage of collaborative information literacy and writing instruction. And while the program was effective in terms of student learning, the collaboration ended amidst growing discontent among the writing faculty. Professional expertise is a necessary but insufficient condition for successful collaborative instructional efforts. Foundations in authentic leadership and effective teams are also essential components. This presentation will use our collaborative instruction program as a use case to illustrate the importance of the human side of instructional partnerships, addressing the affective side of teaching partnerships, team dysfunctions to avoid, and the importance for leaders to acknowledge their team members and spend time with them to strengthen relationships.
Participants will: 1. Summarize the threats to effective team work 2. Analyze collaborative instructional efforts from a managerial angle 3. Evaluate the role of leadership in the success or failure of instructional collaborations
Assoc. Professor/Dept. Chair, Southern Utah University
Anne Diekema is Department Chair of the Library & Information Science department at Southern Utah University's Sherratt Library. Anne teaches information literacy and library research skills and studies how to best prepare students for information problem solving in school, profession... Read More →
This interactive session addresses the growing challenge of student distraction in college classrooms by equipping educators with strategies to increase engagement and assessment through tools such as Canva Whiteboard, Slido, Padlet, Blooket, and Pear Deck. Additional resources, such as Nearpod, InsertLearning, Formative, Classkick, and Genially, will be introduced. This workshop will feature a mix of engaging technology demonstrations, live learning activities, and a group collaboration activity where participants will integrate the technological tools into real micro-lesson teaching scenarios, equipping them to engage disengaged students, assess students' learning, and reinforce the importance of creating student-centered lesson plans in the digital age.
***It will be helpful if attendees are encouraged to bring a laptop, Chromebook, or iPad for the interactive workshop component.***
Participants will: 1. Integrate engaging teaching technologies into their classroom. 2. Create formative assessments that assess student learning in a fun and unique way, utilizing interactive tools.
Workshop attendance is the great white whale for academic libraries, but is it really worth chasing? In this presentation, we will explore how Oxford College Library has developed a sustainable workshop program that aligns staff efforts with student needs, rather than focusing on attendance numbers. We aim to encourage librarians to concentrate on building meaningful relationships with workshop participants and to consider the more intangible benefits of our programs. This presentation will offer attendees practical guidance on maintaining a low-effort, high-impact workshop program. We'd like you to attend but we won't worry if you don't!
Participants will: 1. Consider how to structure a workshop program in an equitable way for library staff. 2. Understand how attendance metrics for library workshops are connected to neoliberal ideas of value. 3. Discover new ideas for workshop topics.
Improvement of library instruction often relies on anecdotal evidence-faculty feedback, student comments, or informal observations-to gauge success. While these insights are valuable, they rarely provide the depth needed to improve instruction systematically or evaluate impact. Using a real-world example of a successful action research project with 436 English I and II students at Seminole State College as its backbone, this session will demonstrate how to move from anecdotal impressions to iterative, data-driven assessment. We'll share a practical step-by-step process for diving deep into impactful assessment strategies, including tips for backward design, faculty collaboration, and scaling from a single class to a college-wide assessment program.
Participants will: 1. Describe the benefits of iterative assessment 2. Identify an instructional challenge that could benefit from quantitative assessment 3. Apply the step-by-step process to a current instructional challenge in your library
This session guides participants in navigating multi-year strategic plans to uncover where library instruction can anchor and thrive. Through a practical framework for identifying key terms, priorities, and alignment points, attendees will learn how to translate institutional language into actionable instructional opportunities. Interactive Mentimeter activities-including live keyword mapping and real-time word clouds-will allow participants to analyze their own strategic plans and collaboratively build a shared "navigation map" of instructional possibilities. This fast-paced workshop equips librarians with leadership-ready strategies for charting clear, confident instructional pathways within evolving strategic landscapes.
Participants will: 1. Analyze strategic language: Identify and categorize keywords and priorities within multi-year plans that align with library instruction 2. Apply alignment strategies: Map instructional activities to strategic goals to demonstrate practical relevance 3. Create impact narratives: Develop a concise, strategic-language-driven plan or narrative that communicates the value of instruction to stakeholders
Head, Library of Architecture, Design and Construction, Auburn University
Head of the Library of Architecture, Design, and Construction ( LADC) at Auburn University. Currently serving on the ACRL Board of Directors. Previously held positions in liaison areas of Education, History, Psychology, Sociology, Legal Studies, and Political Science at various universities... Read More →
Saturday May 9, 2026 1:30pm - 2:20pm EDT Main Salon F
The ship has sailed on traditional library workshops in lieu of new gamified approaches that allow students to dip their toes in or dive right in. This interactive presentation showcases innovative, playful approaches to instruction that transform fundamental skills and concepts into engaging learning experiences. Drawing from successful programming ideas, attendees will discover how to implement hands-on literacy activities that appeal to diverse learning styles and skill levels. Participants will leave with practical, ready-to-implement ideas that make literacy learning both effective, enjoyable, and bite-sized.
Participants will: 1. Discuss the value of activity-based learning in informal environments and how these approaches can reach learners who might not respond to traditional methods 2. Reflect on their own teaching strategies and create or adapt potential hands-on activities to incorporate into their instruction based on their learning goals, institutional contexts, audience needs, and available resources
This session will share the rewards, challenges, and learnings involved in adopting and adapting library instructional practices to enhance a student library advisory committee. With a focus on reflecting on the first year of this re-envisioned approach, the session will highlight experiences in launching a facilitation team, experimenting with multi-modal and online opportunities for participation, and incorporating elements of curriculum design, appreciative inquiry, and informal assessment. Participants will leave with strategies to foster collaboration, engagement, and experiential learning with student-focused groups in their own settings, as well as ideas to kindle collaboration among their library and campus colleagues.
Participants will: 1. Describe strategies to incorporate instructional practices in informal student learning settings 2. Identify aspects of curriculum and syllabus design to foster student engagement 3. Explore opportunities to build a learning community through shared facilitation and multiple modes of participation
As generative AI becomes ubiquitous in higher education, instruction must move students' AI literacy beyond spotting hallucinations to critical interpretation. Students need to understand that generative AI responses that appear singularly authored and authoritative emerge from a statistical blending of training data, platform policies, algorithmic design, and user prompts. This workshop introduces a critical information literacy framework presenting generative AI as a polyphonic, unreliable narrator. Participants will practice four heuristics (authorship mapping, provenance chasing, interrogating the narrator, and narrator/audience switching) with live tools and adapt them to their own instructional contexts. Please bring laptops and be ready for a fun and educational session. Takeaways will include scenario cards, activity templates, and readings.
Participants will be able to: 1. Map at least three socio-technical forces (like training data, fine-tuning, market goals) that influence what generative AI says, how it says it, and to whom. 2. Apply two of the critical reading heuristics to reveal how generative AI privileges certain knowledge, perspectives, and voices while marginalizing others 3. Design or revise one discipline-specific instructional activity that integrates a critical reading heuristic to support students' agency and critical use of AI
Ever feel your active learning approach has drifted off course? This session shares research from a team that discovered-surprisingly-they were lecturing far more than expected. The presenters will share their research findings, while acknowledging the limitations of any one pedagogical approach in one-shot sessions. To support students, librarians must chart a course combining interactive pedagogies with a culture of care. Leave with strategies for instructional audits and ideas to shift one-shot sessions from isolated encounters into meaningful starting points for collaboration. Ensure that students leave not only with skills, but with a sense of belonging and a reason to return.
Susan Van Patten, Radford University, co-created this presentation.
Participants will: 1. Identify methods of auditing their own pedagogical styles 2. Be able to articulate some of the benefits and limitations of active learning pedagogy within one-shot library workshops 3. Develop techniques to combine pedagogies of active learning and care to create a supportive learning environment
Alyssa Archer is the Head of Research Services at Radford University’s McConnell Library. Working as a team member in Library Instruction and Research Services, she is grateful to have wonderful colleagues to collaborate with and try out different strategies related to learner-centered... Read More →
This session explores how two librarians at an R1 institution successfully implemented new systems for auditing, creating, and maintaining a large collection of digital learning objects (DLOs). The presenters will share their workflows, both for assessing existing resources as well as those for the creation of new content. Presenters will also discuss how to maintain DLOs while ensuring that all content stays relevant to students' needs and meets Title II accessibility standards. Both new and experienced librarians will leave this session equipped with the technical know-how and confidence to incorporate these strategies into their own practice.
Participants will: 1. Identify auditing tools for digital content, in order to evaluate their digital learning objects for Title II accessibility compliance and learner engagement 2. Explore project management and content creation tools, in order to develop sustainable workflows for their digital learning content 3. Analyze processes for content maintenance, in order to ensure their digital content continues to meet accessibility standards and learner needs
Partnering with our university’s program for students with intellectual and developmental disabilities and with the local public library district, University of Northern Colorado teaching librarians have created course-embedded instruction that expands the library curriculum to include transition skills for using public libraries now and after graduation. Public libraries offer a strong sense of connection to students’ home communities and by interactively collaborating with public libraries and planning for long-term access, our hope is that these students will be active and engaged library users and community members after graduation.
Participants will: 1. Discover strategies for designing inclusive library instruction that supports undergraduates with developmental and intellectual disabilities. 2. Recognize how collaboration with campus and non-campus partners fosters life-long connection and library engagement for non-traditional learners.
Love the ideas you hear at LOEX but struggle to make them work at your home institution? This session focuses on turning that inspiration into action. You will explore strategies found in implementation science, an evidence-based approach from public health, to adapt ideas to your institution's unique context. I will draw on my experience adapting an information literacy program I developed for a new First Year Seminar at Ohio Wesleyan University to fit an established FYS program at Butler University to show how this process can work. You will then explore tools to help you assess feasibility, identify what to retain or modify, and find key campus stakeholders. Through hands-on activities, you will leave with a plan for all the inspiration from LOEX.
Participants will: 1. Discover the core principles of Implementation Science and how they apply to library instruction programs 2. Explore at least two tools from the Quality Implementation Framework Toolkit to evaluate and adapt an instructional idea for their own context
AI literacy is a critical skill, yet teaching students to identify hallucinations, limitations, and ethical concerns without demonizing AI use entirely is a delicate balance. This session introduces a hands-on lesson plan in which students use Large Language Models (LLMs) to generate autobiographies, designed to help them confront privacy concerns, understand information creation, and critically evaluate AI tools. Using themselves as subjects, students become instant experts in fact-checking, easily spotting manufactured details and misinformation. Attendees will receive a lesson scaffold mapped to the ACRL Framework, modifications for any teaching context, and classroom-tested tips and tricks.
Participants will: 1. Outline the challenges of engaging with students about AI use as a research tool and its inherent limitations, environmental impact, and ethical concerns 2. Describe specific plans and tools that can be applied to their own teaching and libraries to help students build AI literacy 3. Analyze strategies to connect with students in the participant's unique context in a way that is both effective and engaging, while building strong connections rather than fear-based or adversarial relationships
This session will explore how Joy-Centered Pedagogy can transform the way instruction librarians approach information literacy instruction, particularly within the confines of the one-shot. Often, information literacy is taught through deficit models, focused on what students lack, as well as on the difficulty and pain of academic research. Joy-centered pedagogy invites instructors to make authentic connections with students, choosing vigor over rigor, and cultivating deep, enduring engagement by highlighting the inherent joy in discovery, critical evaluation, and ethical creation. Participants will leave with immediately applicable, student-centered techniques for sparking joy in their information literacy classrooms.
Participants will: 1. Identify the core principles of the Joy-Centered Pedagogy 2. Reflect on current information literacy teaching methods and identify opportunities to shift to a joy-centered approach, enhancing student self-efficacy and ownership 3. Implement strategies for fostering a classroom environment where students feel safe and motivated to engage in the challenging, joyful process of finding and evaluating sources
This presentation shares the results from a mixed-method comparison study that examined library anxiety between freshmen honors students and freshmen enrolled in a University Learning course that serves as a college introductory course. The study explored the levels of library anxiety, overconfidence, barriers, and behavioral factors. Findings indicated that honors students had higher levels of library anxiety and associated perfectionism and self-esteem more closely with library use. University Learning students worked longer and more independently to use resources before seeking help. Knowing these results, teaching librarians could create tailored instruction sessions to address and alleviate library anxiety and its effects.
Participants will: 1. differentiate the levels of library anxiety and overconfidence between honors and University Learning college freshmen. 2. be able to identify instructional strategies to address students with high levels of library anxiety.
Deficit thinking is deeply embedded within American higher education systems, making it hard to root out. Deficit thinking disproportionately harms students from underrepresented communities by degrading their personal or cultural identities. Teaching librarians are likely to recognize the adverse impacts of deficit thinking but may be unsure of how to actively prevent it. This workshop will reframe deficit thinking as a cognitive bias and will expose common deficit-based narratives within higher education teaching settings. This workshop aims to train librarians in equity-based thinking and will equip librarians with strategies to move forward with this work after the Conference.
Participants will: 1. Learn how to recognize widespread cognitive biases of deficit thinking within the higher education academic context and articulate their harmful effect on underrepresented students. 2. Practice transforming common deficit-based narratives into equity-based perspectives. 3. Identify strategies for planning library instruction experiences grounded in strengths-based approaches.
Reference and Instruction Librarian, Penn State Harrisburg
I'm a Reference and Instruction Librarian at Penn State Harrisburg. I am the liaison librarian to the School of Public Affairs and to Harrisburg's International Students Office. I currently research and publish about cultural capital, information literacy, international students... Read More →
Saturday May 9, 2026 2:35pm - 3:25pm EDT Main Salon C
Seeing a large uptick in the use of our chat reference service during the pandemic, Anne Arundel Community College librarians wanted to find ways to investigate how we might best teach information literacy skills and concepts in a chat reference context. After five years of gathering, analyzing, and acting on data, this project has proven so beneficial in so many ways that we plan to continue annual assessments indefinitely. The impact of this project ripples through all our instructional efforts, from our chat service to all kinds of reference interactions, from our information literacy classes to our embedded librarian program.
Participants will: 1. Discuss a mixed methods approach for assessing a chat reference service for evidence of information literacy instruction. 2. Explore ways to use chat reference assessment for data-driven decision-making. 3. Identify approaches that are critical for developing a community of practice around chat reference assessment activities.
