Over the past three years, the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS)-funded Community College Academic and Student Support Ecosystem (CCASSE) initiative has aimed to provide the higher education community with insight into the organization of student-facing support services and how the library can best position itself to enhance student…

This study examines ongoing efforts by academic libraries to integrate digital resources into distance education courses. The study adopts a conceptual approach and it is thematically focused on the concepts of distance education and digital libraries; academic library models in distance education; the role of digital libraries in distance…

While working at a fast paced reference desk at a busy community college, a librarian may encounter many challenging questions and situations. One such problem that may exist on a community college level is that of the very needy student, who not only has issues with information literacy, but with reading competency and computer literacy. The…

This viewpoint aims to present the important role of liaison librarians and their relationship with teaching staff in STEM academic programs. The work provides a detailed explanation of the role of the four components of liaison librarians in the STEM higher education environment, each with the best practice proposed. The closing remarks emphasize…

In recent years, the opportunities for academic libraries to engage as a partner in digital initiatives in academia have expanded significantly. The traditional focus on digitization, preservation, and dissemination of collections has developed and shifted considerably, bringing new strategies for adequately serving the changed academic needs, as…

High school students' transition to college-level research is often discussed among school library and media specialists and academic librarians. The authors conducted a survey to gather data about the academic library's role in the adjustment to college, with the intention to identify compelling or recurring themes and share the results in…

Academic libraries are fundamental in promoting equitable access to education but are often overlooked and underfunded. The COVID-19 pandemic amplified these inequities. This study investigates how 39 library deans and directors perceived decision-making by university administration during COVID-19's onset. Open-ended survey questions were sent to…

This study investigates how co-curricular programming in universities can demonstrate and communicate impact in new ways. The Association of College and Research Libraries report "Academic Library Impact: Improving Practice and Essential Areas to Research" provides a framework to better understand how co-curricular programming…

This case study details how a community college library, in response to rising textbook costs and COVID-related closures, advocated for and received an increase in funding to provide online copies of many textbooks in its reserve collection. It also provides a glimpse into the roadblocks acquisitions librarians might encounter in trying to bolster…

This article discusses the work of the American Library Association (ALA) Special Task Force on Sustainability, which identified 52 recommendations, including the adoption of sustainability as a core value of librarianship. The group aims to promote libraries as catalysts, connectors, and conveners to promote sustainability, resilience, and…

This paper reviews recent literature on massive open online courses (MOOCs) and their impact on Library and Information Science (LIS) education, describing the features and types of MOOCs, as well as their disruptive nature, pedagogical impact and use in traditional classroom settings. Concerns with high dropout rates and the lack of a business…

Wright College is a Hispanic-Serving Institution and community college in Chicago, Illinois serving around 10,000 students per year. The majority of our students are First Generation, 36% are Pell-eligible, about 60% work in addition to taking classes, and many take advantage of the Healthy Market for free groceries on campus. In 2021 the college…

This article extends Kuh and associates' research describing high-impact learning as kinds and types of projects and assignments shown to benefit postsecondary students and increase rates of student retention and engagement. Given that the content and implementation of postsecondary courses have continuously evolved in recent years, this present…

The pandemic and resulting shift to remote work stressed the importance of distance library services. As librarians explored different modes of engagement, embedded librarianship became increasingly important but also more complicated than before. While there is a wealth of literature on embedded librarianship, few authors agree on how to define…

Challenging, unprecedented, and extraordinary in almost every way, 2021 even surpassed the previous "annus horribilis," 2020. Effects of the COVID-19 pandemic continued to ripple humanity-wide, ceaselessly rebounding off, and cruelly amplifying, almost every kind of inequity and social challenge. A long overdue reckoning with the…