Academic Librarianship: Assignments

Assignments and Other Major Required Activities

Listed below are summaries of most, but not all, of the major activities that will be required in this course. Additional detailed instructions will be provided for each of them by your professor.

Professional Organization Event Assignment (10%): This assignment addresses Course SLO 2.

Summary:  You will attend a professional organization event (meeting, webinar, recorded webinar, etc.) related to academic libraries. By week two, you will identify the organization hosting the event; by week three you will find an event of interest; and by week eight, you will need to have attended the event. You will write a short paper (1-2 pages) describing what was discussed and what you learned about academic libraries in the session. Detailed instructions will be provided by the professor. 

Research Consultation Exercise (10%): This assignment addresses Course SLO 5.

Summary: You will be given a list of research consultation topics. After selecting one topic, you will apply what you have learned in class and in your readings to write up a 1- to 2-page description of how you would help a student to research and learn about the selected topic. Detailed instructions will be provided by the professor.

Reflection Assignments (5%): This assignment addresses Course SLOs 3, 6, and 7.

You will be asked to reflect on different aspects of academic libraries (e.g., use of space; assessing services based on library website) at various points in the semester.

Summary: You will have weekly readings to help understand the issues that impact academic libraries. Based on your weekly readings and class discussions, you will write three short reflection papers on the following topics:

Reflection Paper 1: Bias in classification systems and efforts to broaden inclusion in the catalog

Reflection Paper 2: Scholarly communication and/or the academic publishing ecosystem

Reflection Paper 3: Current issues in higher education and the role of the academic library

Detailed instructions will be provided by the professor.

Information Literacy Instruction Assignment (25%): This assignment addresses Course SLO 4.

Summary: Instruction in information literacy is a fundamental component of academic librarianship. You will create a plan for a workshop or class instruction session and map it to the ACRL Framework. The session or workshop will be on a facet of library research of your choice (examples include how to search in databases, academic integrity/avoiding plagiarism, research in the social sciences, etc.). Detailed instructions will be provided by the professor.

Final Paper and Presentation (40%): This assignment addresses Course SLO 1.

Summary: Your final assignment for this class will include both a written paper and presentation. You will choose from a list of topics for job talks that reflect different aspects of academic librarianship (examples will include research, instruction, student success, critical pedagogy, cataloging, assessment, archives, leadership, etc.). You will write an 8- to 10-page response to the prompt and you will also present a summary of your findings in a ten-minute presentation in the last class. Note that the length of the presentation may change based on the number of students enrolled in the course. Detailed instructions will be provided by the professor.

Participation (5%): Please actively participate! Sharing your ideas and experiences greatly improves the class for all of us.