About this Project
This project is the culmination of two years' worth of research, teaching, and scholarship in the Master of Science in Library Science (MSLS) program at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill focusing on critical pedagogy, library instruction, and student success services and programming in higher education, with special attention to traditionally underserved and minoritized student communities such as first-generation college student (FGCS) scholars.
While the original project "package" is tailored in many ways to the characteristics and demonstrated needs of first-generation students at UNC-CH, principles of universal design dictate that by explicitly centering this sub-population of students, all learners will benefit from more inclusive, equitable instruction practices and techniques, including students who belong to identity groups with significant overlap with FGCS (racially or ethnically minoritized, from/of lower socioeconomic status, non-traditional age, DACA/undocumented, international students, etc.).
Feel free to use and adapt this guide/toolkit along with the principles, techniques, lessons, activities, tools, and other content listed within as you see fit within the scope of your own library instruction program, so long as proper credit is given to the original source material (cited appropriately throughout). Any errors or misrepresentations of original materials are my own and I welcome constructive criticism. No one person is or can be an expert in this area, and our understanding of best practices is ever-evolving; what's current or relevant today won't (and shouldn't) be the case tomorrow, so come back periodically for updates and revisions. I will do my absolute best to keep material up to date with current scholarship from the field.
Please do reach out with any questions, recommendations, feedback, stories about how you've used the material, or additions you'd like to see in the future!
About the Paper
Abstract
This paper describes the development of an online resource, or inclusive library instruction guide, designed to be used by graduate research and instruction assistants working in the R.B. House Undergraduate Library (UL) as an asynchronous, self-paced accompaniment to their on-the-job information literacy instruction training. While the School of Information and Library Science at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill currently offers a single course on Library Instruction & Pedagogy (INLS 783), it is currently only offered once annually, and recent demand for the course has exceeded enrollment capacity.
This resource is primarily meant to provide consistent, foundational guidance for the research and instruction services (R&IS) team to augment the existing instructional design training taught by the UL’s Undergraduate Teaching and Learning Librarian, whose position currently encompasses far more duties than would allow time for teaching an entire, ground-up training program for the full R&IS team. While universal design for learning and inclusive teaching practices are inherently valuable regardless of educational context, meeting the needs of an increasingly diverse undergraduate student body at UNC, particularly the large percentage of first-generation students, was a significant motivating factor in the design of this project.
Even though the guide was designed with this particular instructional context in mind, the materials are by their very nature universally applicable as “best practices for teaching” resources. Therefore, they would be equally useful and appropriate for graduate student workers as well as for new graduates and early career librarians across University Libraries or at other academic libraries that have similar information literacy instruction programs.
​
Link to Published Paper
Filling in the Gaps: Building an Inclusive Library Instruction Guide to Cultivate
Equity-Embedded Mindsets in (Future) Instruction Librarians Using Critical Pedagogy
​
Faculty Advisor
​
​
Full Citation
Squires, J.M. (2021). Filling in the Gaps: Building an Inclusive Library Instruction Guide to Cultivate Equity-Embedded Mindsets in (Future) Instruction Librarians Using Critical Pedagogy. [Master's Paper, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill]. Carolina Digital Repository. https://doi.org/10.17615/f16b-bq12
​
Contents of this Project
Navigation: Click on an icon to navigate to that page
Existing Materials: Philosophy & Planning
Future Directions: Lessons, Tech Tools & Assessment
​