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abstract: Librarians in many types of libraries frequently find themselves positioned as instructors in formal and informal educational settings. Librarians can help ensure that learner needs are better defined and addressed by gaining basic competency in instructional design (ID), an intentional process used to create effective, efficient educational and training programs. Additionally, instructional design skills have the potential to benefit librarians in nonteaching roles. This paper examines existing library literature to determine how librarians can benefit from ID skills and to identify core ID competencies for the profession, and suggests opportunities to investigate how librarians might best acquire these skills.
Introduction
Nearly all librarians provide some degree of instruction, whether it comes in the form of library instruction for undergraduate students, training sessions for fellow librarians and library technicians, or the development of online learning modules for remote library users. Despite the prevalence of teaching in library work, many librarians complete their master of library and information science degree (MLIS) or an equivalent degree without acquiring a good foundation in instructional design (ID).
This paper examines how librarians across library types and departments can benefit from instructional design proficiencies and argues that librarians should strive to attain core ID skills through formal or informal educational opportunities. It investigates ID theories discussed in library literature and compares the skills presented in the literature to a list of essential ID competencies for librarianship. This paper will investigate the following questions:
* How can librarians of all types benefit from knowledge of instructional design?
* What instructional design competencies should librarians consider as essential skills within their profession?
This report will conclude with arguments in favor of including basic instructional design education in most, if not all, MLIS programs and will suggest how this might be accomplished.
Librarians as educators and Instructional Designers
Multiple studies demonstrate librarian engagement with instruction in some form, regardless of library type. Instructional roles are usually correlated with academic and school librarians. However, a national survey of public librarians reports that 100 percent of city libraries offer formal or informal technology training, such as computer skills, photography, and website development classes.1 Reference librarians at nearly any library instruct patrons on how to use resources on a one-to-one or one-to-many basis. Circulation librarians...