Shoutout to Maribeth Slebodnik, Full Librarian, College of Nursing Liaison; Leslie Sult, Librarian, Reference, Instruction, and Student Engagement (RISE) Unit Lead; and Nicole Pagowsky, Full Librarian, Curriculum & Pedagogy, Academic Liaison Group Lead, whose published articles were in the College & Research Libraries (C&RL) September 2025 newsletter. CRL is the official, bi-monthly, online-only scholarly research journal of the Association of College & Research Libraries, a division of the American Library Association.

Librarians as Faculty Developers: Shaping Disciplinary Classroom Experiences through Information Literacy

Co-authored by Maribeth Slebodnik, Rachel Fundator, Michael Flierl, Clarence Maybee, Catherine Fraser Riehle and Amity Saha

Article overview:

Involvement in faculty development is a promising approach to realizing academic libraries’ goals for information literacy. This study examines an inter-institutional program where librarians partnered with classroom instructors to create projects where students learned to use information in disciplinary ways. Using thematic analysis to examine participant materials, the findings suggest that the informed learning design model underpinning the program supported the creation of information-rich projects and fostered a sense of empowerment in librarians serving as faculty developers. Librarians can advance their role as educators by partnering with classroom instructors and presenting information literacy as a way to foster disciplinary learning. Read full article.

Effectiveness of Academic Library Research Guides for Building College Students’ Information Literacy Skills: A Scoping Review

Co-authored by Leslie Sult, Nicole Pagowsky and Erica Lynn DeFrain

Article overview:

Academic librarians invest significant time and effort in developing and maintaining research guides, yet the extent to which these tools effectively support college students’ information literacy development remains uncertain. This scoping review aimed to comprehensively examine the existing literature on the effectiveness of academic library research guides in building students’ information literacy skills. Following a rigorous screening process of 1,724 publications, 61 studies met the inclusion criteria for analysis. The review reveals that much of the research in this area stems from usability studies and exploratory single site case studies, many of which are characterized by limited methodological transparency and a lack of clearly defined outcomes related to student learning. These findings highlight both the growing interest in evaluating research guides and the need for more robust, outcome-based research that directly examines their impact on information literacy. This review provides a foundation for future studies that seek to assess and improve the pedagogical value of research guides in academic settings. Read full article.

Congratulations, Maribeth, Leslie and Nicole!