This paper discusses perceptions regarding the roles of PhD- and MLS (or MLIS)-holding librarians within academic libraries in the United States gathered via a survey conducted in 2019. Based on a review of previous literature and the results of the survey--which present mixed opinions about PhD holders as librarians--the authors provide…

This article reports on findings of an online survey about academic instruction librarians' conceptions and experiences of teacher agency in relation to their instructional work, and, more specifically, on the role of librarian-faculty relationships in these conceptions and experiences. The research study is informed by an ecological model of…

Over the past few decades, the demand for academic librarians who can teach information literacy skills to college students has steadily increased. This interview study explores how academic librarians in a mid-Atlantic metro area define the roles of librarians and teachers, value their teaching role as librarians, and view their teacher-librarian…

This essay explores the tension between pursuing meaningful work in instruction librarianship and the realities of working in a society in which many jobs provide little fulfillment or pleasure, or, as the journalist Sarah Jaffe puts it, "Work won't love you back." Drawing on a recent conference keynote by Anne Helen Petersen, C. Wright…

This qualitative study examines how academic librarians understand, conceptualize, and describe their teacher identity. The role of the academic librarian has greatly changed due to the advent of information technology. Traditionally, they were generalists, who were responsible for selecting and maintaining library collections. Academic librarian…

As the need for librarians to provide instruction on information literacy and other teaching topics increases, masters of library science students, in turn, need to become better prepared to provide to serve in this role. A content analysis of courses offered by American Library Association accredited masters of library science programs seeks to…

This article presents a thematic analysis of a part of research results on LGBT (in)visibility in education from the perspective of educators, obtained by four focus groups conducted with educators (N = 27) employed at four secondary schools. The aim of the article is to apply the pedagogical relationship as a conceptual framework to analyze the…

In this article, Jorge Arredondo begins by describing an experience he had in his Houston, Texas high school where his teacher and a librarian via a collaborative unit made literature come alive for him. His experience later influenced his English language arts (ELA) career in public education and inspired him to do the same for his students. Now…

The purpose of the study was to examine the impact of short professional development interventions, covering core concepts in teaching and learning, on the self-efficacy of academic librarians in the teaching role. The participants in this study were six academic librarians at a large, research-intensive university in Canada for whom instructional…

The author explores teacher librarians' ideas about teacher collaborations around literacy and literature learning, roles in collaborations, and the characteristics of good collaborations. Productive and strong collaborations between librarians in schools and their teacher colleagues can enhance students' learning experiences and outcomes.…

Teachers do much more than instruct children in the classroom. They also play an important role in supporting learning across settings: at school, home, and throughout the community. The Families Learning Across Boundaries (FamLAB) Project surveyed 407 library professionals, 1,550 parents, and 600 pre-K through grade 8 teachers in the United…

In this article, two teachers describe their transition from pre-K-12 schools to higher education, where they teach college students to be school librarians. Both were at points in their pre-K-12 careers at which they were comfortable and felt good about their abilities, but both were ready for new challenges. While they no longer see the direct…

This article reports on findings of an online survey of teacher librarians about their instructional work, approaches, and roles and how these aspects of their teaching have changed over time. Academic librarians who had at least one year of library teaching experience and who had been actively involved in library instruction within the past two…

In 2016 the National Forum for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education funded three Irish academic libraries to review, implement and evaluate a new "National Professional Development Framework for All Staff who Teach in Higher Education" over two years. The Framework situates professional development as a process…

"Boy books" are frequently promoted as a surefire way to increase reading motivation and engagement among young adolescent boys. This study challenges the "boy book"/"girl book" dichotomy, suggesting that particular book covers may discourage boys from reading novels they might otherwise enjoy. It also presents…