In this case study, two librarians reflect upon our efforts to design STEM-focused information literacy instruction for undergraduate students at an R1, land grant university. Designed around the principles of culturally relevant pedagogy, our curriculum integrates community-focused and regionally specific topics reflecting our students' lived…

This paper explores the connection between critical theory, information evaluation, and the instructional practice of critique for STEM students and librarian instructors. Using an emerging theory and instructional method, the authors examine how to more deeply include voices that have historically been excluded from STEM information critique. The…

Exploration of "prior art"--the state of a technology's development, as manifested in literature, documentation, and artifacts--has many benefits for engineering students. It expands their understanding of the design problem, reveals a range of possible solutions, and develops research skills important to professional practice. While…

Though library science internships for undergraduates are not as well documented as those for MLIS students, internships for undergraduates can be impactful for both the intern and the library. Undergraduate students have firsthand, immersive experience with their major curriculum, and this expertise can benefit science librarians making…

The University Libraries at the University of New Mexico reconfigured their established library instruction program for biology as part of a broader grant-funded essential-skills workshop series for STEM students. This initiative standardized supplementary instruction through seven inperson and online workshops delivered to students through the…

Results from focus groups with 23 second- and third-year biology students revealed gradual gains in information literacy (IL) abilities and dispositions needed for them to join the community of scientific practice as laid out in the ACRL "Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education." Students were consumers of information and…

This paper explores how students judge scientific news resources, as they might find through a Google search. The data were collected as part of an Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) funded project. Students used a simulated search engine that ensured study participants found the same search results while seeking information for a…

The ACRL Framework for Information Literacy presents opportunities for moving beyond 'one-shot' information literacy sessions and creating a more scaffolded and embedded approach for instruction. We collaborated with faculty at [institution name] to create Framework-inspired information literacy learning objectives for first-year and third-year…

The CRAAP Test (Currency, Relevance, Authority, Accuracy, Purpose), is a popular tool among academic librarians for instructing students in resource evaluation. Its applicability to web-based information makes it particularly useful for students as they think about information they encounter both inside and outside of scholastic settings. However,…

Online tutorials are a way many librarians connect with students. The main benefit is the ability to reach more students than traditional face-to-face instruction sessions. In 2016, the Life & Health Sciences Librarian received instruction session requests for a freshman biology lab to teach students how to search for articles and use proper…

How might engineering technology students make use of patent information in the engineering design process? Librarians analyzed team project reports and personal reflections created by students in an undergraduate mechanical engineering technology design course, revealing that the students used patents to consider the patentability of their ideas,…

Science is a core discipline in academia yet the focus of most undergraduate technical writing is generally on the data and results, not the literature review. The Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) librarian and a new geology professor at the University of Nebraska at Omaha (UNO) collaborated to develop an information literacy…

This case study explores the use of flipped teaching in three different undergraduate engineering courses, discussing the advantages and disadvantages of class size and how it affects the delivery of information literacy instruction as observed through student engagement and the perceived helpfulness of the instruction. A flipped classroom was…

The published literature on information literacy in mathematics is relatively sparse. This article explores the current state of information literacy initiatives in undergraduate mathematics. The authors survey academic librarians (n = 118) who liaise with mathematics departments in order to gain an understanding of their practices and attitudes…

This paper describes the implementation of a poster assignment in a writing and information literacy course required for undergraduate Life Sciences and Environmental Biology majors with the Faculty of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences at McGill University. The assignment was introduced in response to weaknesses identified through course…