HOW WE GOT HERE - Volume 8 - Issue 2 - A historical look at the academic teaching library and the role of the teaching librarian

Oct 15, 2026

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This paper traces the development of the academic teaching library and explains how changing library roles have shaped librarians’ instructional work. It reviews shifts in terminology used for teaching-library activities, especially “bibliographic instruction” and “information literacy,” and links these concepts to broader information-literacy debates. Using historical milestones and published definitions, it clarifies distinctions between BI and IL and addresses the guiding question: what constitutes a teaching library and what role the teaching librarian plays.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages17

Reading Time43 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

The Link Between Semantics and Practice

Bibliographic instruction and information literacy

Early Teaching Libraries

Volume 8, Issue 2, 2014 [ARTICLE] HOW WE GOT HERE A historical look at the academic teaching library and the role of the teaching librarian Susan Ariew University of South Florida This paper outlines a brief history of the academic teaching library and, in consequence, it examines the changing role of librarians. As part of that history, the paper also discusses distinctions among various terms used to describe instructional activities in teaching libraries, such as “bibliographic instruction”and “information literacy.” Finally, amidst the renewed debates about the changing definition of information literacy and the proposed Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education, it attempts to answer the question,“What is a teaching library?” Ariew, How We Got Here INTRODUCTION Academic libraries evolved from passive, custodial organizations to more proactive, engaged institutions; this evolution began in the 1960s. Discussions about the “teaching library” have offered a way to contrast libraries of the past with the more progressive libraries of today and tomorrow. The question to be addressed is,“What is a teaching library?” This entails asking,“What is the role of the teaching librarian?”The history of the teaching library mirrors the changing roles of academic libraries and librarians as it provides insights about what type of libraries or organizational cultures, both past and present, foster strong information literacy programs. Thus, in reviewing the past, the aim of this paper is to identify characteristics of successful teaching libraries and strong teaching roles of librarians in order to inform the present and the future. THE LINK BETWEEN SEMANTICS AND PRACTICE Phrases such as “bibliographic instruction” (or BI), “user education,”“library instruction,” and “information literacy” have been used interchangeably to describe activities that librarians have engaged in with regard to instruction. However, the connotations of these phrases are very different; the progression of their use over time reflects significant changes in the development of the teaching library. Bibliographic instruction (BI) has been associated with an earlier period of library instruction which focused on library orientations that were “short-range, library centered , print-bound instruction ”(Murdock, 1995, p.27) . Communications in Information Literacy 8(2), 2014 Jeanne Murdock describes BI in terms of changes throughout three decades: the first generation of the 1970s viewed BI as library orientation; the second generation, the 1980s, saw the development of ideas and methods of bibliographic instruction and a growing trend toward defining BI as a way of teaching patrons how to use research resources; and in the 1990s we are seeing a shift from print-oriented library services toward information profusion in various formats, including multimedia for diverse user groups (1995, p.26) . We see a transition from BI to IL as early as 1981 when “a movement arose to teach problem solving techniques that can be used from one research project to another” (Salony, 1995, p. 44) . Hopkins (1982) similarly points out tension between those who wanted to teach problem-solving skills versus those who wanted to focus on“general access skills and technical bibliographic tools” (Hopkins, 1982) . Breivik (1989) and Rader (1990) suggest that bibliographic instruction was a forerunner to information literacy and that most BI programs evolved into information literacy programs. However, Rader and Coons (1992) stress the differences between them when they state: Information literacy is not a synonym for bibliographic instruction…Information literacy adds another dimension by representing a broader approach and offering the opportunity to produce students who understand the importance of information and who have the competence to locate, evaluate and manage it”(p. 118) . [ARTICLE] Ariew, How We Got Here Communications in Information Lite

FAQs

What question does the paper aim to answer about teaching libraries?

It asks what a teaching library is, including what role the teaching librarian plays within that library function.

How does the paper distinguish bibliographic instruction (BI) from information literacy (IL)?

It argues that BI is associated with narrower, training-focused instruction, while IL reflects a broader approach tied to lifelong learning goals and emphasizes identifying, accessing, evaluating, and using information.

When did academic libraries begin evolving toward more proactive roles?

The paper states that the evolution from passive, custodial organizations toward engaged institutions began in the 1960s.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by awa