Foraging for instruction: a microethnography of academic librarians’ information behaviours and practices in instructional planning
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.47989/ir31ISIC65151Keywords:
information behaviour, information practice, academic library, information literacy, instructional planningAbstract
Introduction. Academic librarians regularly deliver information and digital literacy instruction. This study explores the information behaviours and practices exhibited by academic librarians in the context of instructional planning, with a focus on information foraging and information-resource use.
Method. A short-term microethnographic study was conducted of academic librarians (n=3) from a postsecondary institution in Toronto, Canada. Data gathering involved unobtrusive observations in librarians’ offices, fieldnotes, photographs, and semi-structured interviews.
Analysis. A manual stepwise analysis process was conducted, involving open coding, focused coding, and the writing of integrative memos. The thematic narrative was employed to present findings, which manifested in the writing of excerpt-commentary units.
Results. Findings reveal that instructional librarians exhibit information foraging behaviours in the instructional planning process. Instructional librarians rely on a combination of documentary and social information resources to complete the task of instructional planning. Temporal pressures, experience levels and feelings of inadequacy also shape information behaviours and practices.
Conclusion. While instructional librarians take pleasure in seeking and retrieving instructional information, they often lack adequate time for planning or adequate information from faculty colleagues. Regardless, institutional repositories of instructional materials and strong relationships with fellow teaching librarians are integral to their information behaviours and practices.
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