New Librarians
The books on this page introduce the foundational concepts, values, and practices that shape academic librarianship today. From becoming an embedded or reflective practitioner to understanding instruction, writing, and career development, these resources are designed to help new librarians navigate their first years with confidence, curiosity, and purpose. Whether you’re preparing for your first position, transitioning roles, or mentoring others, this collection offers guidance and inspiration for building a meaningful and sustainable career in libraries.
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Becoming a Reflective Librarian and Teacher
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This thoughtful book illuminates reflective practice as a pedagogical tool that holds benefits both for ourselves as professionals and for our students.
ISBN: 9780838915387Publication Date: 2016-12-16 -
How to Write and Get Published
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Selected as a 2025 Doody's Core Title Written by two librarians with extensive publication experience, this book provides practical techniques and tools to prepare librarians to publish successfully. This book is neither a research methodology nor a 'craft of writing' book. Instead, its sole goal is to help librarians (and other information science professionals) start writing, identify an outlet for publication, and publish successfully. It dispels the mythos surrounding "scholarly writing" by providing practical tools and advice to help soon-to-be authors get started on the publication journey now. This book will guide aspiring authors step-by-step through the writing and publication process, from nurturing an idea to fruition all the way to enjoying a successful publication. Along the way, readers will learn how to identify the best publication type and venue, gather the needed information to make a convincing argument, and skillfully manage even the most complex project. Topics range from cerebral (such as how to maintain motivation through a project) to technical (such as common grammar and vocabulary errors), but all are designed to be practical and of immediate use to a writer. Whether a graduate student at the beginning of your career in the field of information sciences, a newly minted librarian fresh out of graduate school, a library administrator at the peak of your career, or somewhere in between, publishing can keep you engaged in the issues facing the profession and enhance your career and professional success. Readers will be inspired and ready to contribute to library scholarship and start building their own successful scholarly habit.
ISBN: 9781538116852Publication Date: 2019-04-22 -
IMPACT Learning
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IMPACT Learning: Librarians at the Forefront of Change in Higher Education describes how academic libraries can enable the success of higher education students by creating or partnering with teaching and learning initiatives that support meaningful learning through engagement with information. Since the 1970s, the academic library community has been advocating and developing programming for information literacy. This book discusses existing models, extracting lessons from Purdue University Libraries' partnership with other units to create a campus-wide course development program, Instruction Matters: Purdue Academic Course Transformation (IMPACT), which provides academic libraries with tools and strategies for working with faculty and departments to integrate information literacy into disciplinary courses. Describes how academic libraries can help students succeed through partnering with teaching and learning initiatives. Helps teachers and students deal with information in the context of a discipline and its specific needs. Presents an informed learning approach where students learn to use information as part of engagement with subject content.
ISBN: 9780081021033Publication Date: 2018-02-13 -
The Indispensable Academic Librarian
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Traditionally, academic librarians have delivered "beck and call" service to educators both in and out of the classroom. However, far from being merely auxiliary to the learning cycle, academic librarians are educators in their own right. If the primary challenge before them is to change how they're perceived within their institutions, Reale proposes, the key lies in becoming a proactive teacher and collaborator. Offering strategies applicable to many different areas, this book shows how the academic librarian can be an educator in both structured and unstructured spaces on campuses. Blending practice-based evidence with a warm approach, Reale discusses the changing perception of academic librarians, how they are seen and how they see themselves; shows how academic librarians can and should assert their rightful place in the learning cycle; looks at how to match teaching goals with academic librarians' mission; advocates for the indispensable roles the academic librarian should play, including co-collaborator, one-on-one research consultant, expert-at-large in non-structured spaces such as the dorm or student lounge, and embedded librarian in the classroom; offers talking points for self-advocacy, looking at the many ways academic librarians are making a difference; and explores activities and programming for engagement and learning. This book will empower and validate academic librarians by demonstrating their indispensable roles as educators.
ISBN: 9780838917091Publication Date: 2018-03-16 -
The New Instruction Librarian
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The sheer amount of resources on the subject of information literacy is staggering. Yet a comprehensive but concise roadmap specifically for librarians who are new to instruction, or who are charged with training someone who is, has remained elusive. Until now. This book cuts through the jargon and rhetoric to ease the transition into library instruction, offering support to all those involved, including library supervisors, colleagues, and trainees. Grounded in research on teaching and learning from numerous disciplines, not just library literature, this book shows how to set up new instruction librarians for success, with advice on completing an environmental scan, strategies for recruiting efficiently, and a training checklist; walks readers step by step through training a new hire or someone new to instruction, complete with hands-on activities and examples; explores the different roles an instruction librarian is usually expected to play, such as educator, project manager, instructional designer, and teaching partner; demonstrates the importance of performance evaluation and management, including assessment and continuing education, both formal and informal; and provides guided reading lists for further in-depth study of a topic. A starter kit for librarians new to instruction, this resource will be useful for training coordinators as well as for self-training.
ISBN: 9780838915127Publication Date: 2016-11-16 -
The New Librarianship Field Guide
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How librarians can be radical positive change agents in their communities, dedicated to learning and making a difference. This book offers a guide for librarians who see their profession as a chance to make a positive difference in their communities-librarians who recognize that it is no longer enough to stand behind a desk waiting to serve. R. David Lankes, author of The Atlas of New Librarianship, reminds librarians of their mission- to improve society by facilitating knowledge creation in their communities. In this book, he provides tools, arguments, resources, and ideas for fulfilling this mission. Librarians will be prepared to become radical positive change agents in their communities, and other readers will learn to understand libraries in a new way. The librarians of Ferguson, Missouri, famously became positive change agents in August 2014 when they opened library doors when schools were closed because of civil unrest after the shooting of an unarmed teen by police. Working with other local organizations, they provided children and their parents a space for learning, lunch, and peace. But other libraries serve other communities-students, faculty, scholars, law firms-in other ways. All libraries are about community, writes Lankes; that is just librarianship. In concise chapters, Lankes addresses the mission of libraries and explains what constitutes a library. He offers practical advice for librarian training; provides teaching notes for each chapter; and answers "Frequently Argued Questions" about the new librarianship.
ISBN: 9780262529082Publication Date: 2016-05-13 -
The New Faculty Career Guide
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This hands-on resource supports the development of new faculty through a self-mentoring model, offering opportunities to reflect on and plan for teaching effectiveness, scholarship, and university and professional service.
ISBN: 9781032772561Publication Date: 2025-08-19
