2019/07/01 by Robert Detmering, Samantha McClellan, Amber Willenborg
Social Sciences · #Library Science and Administration #Library Science and Information Literacy #Online and Blended Learning
paper · pdf · doi:10.5860/crl.80.5.720
crossref issued 2019/07/01 · crossref published 2019/07/01 · crossref published-online 2019/07/01 · crossref published-print 2019/07/01 · openalex publication_date 2019/07/01 · crossref created 2019/07/12 · crossref deposited 2019/07/12 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · crossref indexed 2026/07/30 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/30
This qualitative study explores academic librarians’ perceptions of and experiences with information literacy assessment, focusing primarily on issues of professional identity, agency, and power. Findings from in-depth interviews reveal that instruction librarians view teaching as integral to their professional identity and use assessment to legitimize that identity, both personally and at the institutional level. While this suggests that assessment has the potential to elevate the status of librarians on campus, the interviews also highlight ongoing professional and organizational tensions that hinder assessment efforts and inhibit librarian agency. The authors recommend more transparent communication, among other strategies, to address these challenges.