A Splendid Torch - Learning and Teaching in Today’s Academic Libraries

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Jake

A Splendid Torch: Learning and Teaching in Today’s Academic Libraries is a 2017 edited collection exploring how contemporary academic libraries reshape teaching and learning. The essays emphasize redesigning learning spaces, advancing the interplay of physical and digital resources, and strengthening information literacy and related literacies through practical instruction. Contributors illustrate these changes through case studies spanning librarian–faculty collaboration, digital humanities instruction, university mapping services, and new pedagogical approaches such as 3D printing.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages158

Reading Time6 h 38 min

AccessFree to download

About This Publication

Handing on the Splendid Torch: The Continuing Evolution of the Learning Commons

Creating Contact Zones in a “Post-Truth” Era: Perspectives on Librarian–Faculty Collaboration in Information Literacy Instruction

Exploring How and Why Digital Humanities Is Taught in Libraries

Current Use and Prospective Future of the University Map Library: A Case Study of Multiple Perspectives From One Institution

New Opportunities for Collaboration in the Age of Digital Special Collections

Shiny Things: 3D Printing and Pedagogy in the Library

Afterword

About the Authors

A Splendid Torch: Learning and Teaching in Today’s Academic Libraries Jodi Reeves Eyre, John C. Maclachlan, and Christa Williford, editors September 2017 CounCil on library and information resourCes ISBN 978-1-932326-58-1 CLIR Publication No. 174 Published by: Council on Library and Information Resources 1707 L Street NW, Suite 650 Washington, DC 20036 Web site at [http://www.clir.org](http://www.clir.org) Copyright © 2017 by Council on Library and Information Resources. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. Cover illustration: derived from Rosenbach Museum MS 197/30, fol. 21v Digitized through Digitizing Hidden Special Collections and Archives, a CLIR program generously supported by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. Project: ”Bibliotheca Philadelphiensis: Toward a Comprehensive Online Library of Medieval and Early Modern Manuscripts in PACSCL Libraries in Eastern Pennsylvania and Delaware” Participants: Lehigh University, Linderman Library; Free Library of Philadelphia; University of Pennsylvania Libraries; Bryn Mawr College; College of Physicians of Philadelphia; Haverford College; Library Company of Philadelphia; Rosenbach Museum and Library; Swarthmore College; Temple University; University of Delaware; Chemical Heritage Foundation; Franklin & Marshall College; Villanova University; Philadelphia Museum of Art For more images from the project, see \#bibliophilly on Twitter. Contents Foreword, by Charles Henry............................................................................................v About This Publication................................................................................................... 1 Handing on the Splendid Torch: The Continuing Evolution of the Learning Commons, by Martin Tsang, Tamsyn Mahoney-Steel, Jodi Reeves Eyre, and Christa Williford .................................................................................................................5 Creating Contact Zones in a “Post-Truth” Era: Perspectives on Librarian–Faculty Collaboration in Information Literacy Instruction, by Bridget Whearty, Marta Brunner, Carrie Johnston, and Ece Turnator..........................................................................32 Exploring How and Why Digital Humanities Is Taught in Libraries, by Hannah Rasmussen, Brian Croxall, and Jessica Otis .......................................................69 Current Use and Prospective Future of the University Map Library: A Case Study of Multiple Perspectives From One Institution, by John Maclachlan, Jason Brodeur, Brian Baetz, Patrick DeLuca, Julia Evanovitch, Rebecca Lee, and Supriya Singh ...................................................................................................................89 New Opportunities for Collaboration in the Age of Digital Special Collections, by Erin Connelly, Anne Donlon, Dimitrios Latsis, and Dawn Schmitz ............................107 Shiny Things: 3D Printing and Pedagogy in the Library, by Jennifer Grayburn, Veronica Ikeshoji-Orlati, Anjum Najmi, and Jennifer Parrott ............................................125 Afterword, by Lauren Coats and Elliott Shore .............................................................. 143 About the Authors ...................................................................................................... 145 iv Foreword Field Guide to a Revolution The essays in this remarkable collection describe and exemplify some of the most important and vital contemporary reformations of our traditional concept of higher education: they cogently articulate the benefits, with specific case studies, of unwinding and redefining inherited social hierarchies, disciplinary boundaries, methods of knowledge organization, and the procedures of discovery in academia. The library becomes the instrument fomenting, abetting, and facilitating these

FAQs

What is the central focus of this collection about academic libraries?

The collection examines how academic libraries are evolving as active supports for teaching, learning, and research, rather than only curating and circulating information.

How do the essays describe the relationship between physical and digital spaces?

A major theme is coordinating physical and digital elements by redesigning concrete spaces and pairing them with digital resources and tools to enhance learning and new methodologies.

Which examples of library-supported pedagogy are highlighted?

Examples include librarian–faculty collaboration in information literacy instruction, digital humanities instruction in libraries, and pedagogical enrichment through 3D printing of objects derived from digital files.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Jake