Book Reviews

Claire McGuinness. The Academic Teaching Librarian’s Handbook. London, UK: Facet Publishing, 2021. 279p. Paper, $76.33 (ISBN 978-1-78330-462-2).

In The Academic Teaching Librarian’s Handbook, Claire McGuinness, faculty in the School of Information and Communication Studies at the University College Dublin, offers comprehensive insights into different topics that are relevant to instruction librarians. These topics include the changing context of information literacy, social media and the rise of “fake news,” digital learning, and professional identity. The author also discusses the value of an articulated personal teaching philosophy, the importance of self-analysis and self-reflection, developing a teaching role as a new instruction librarian, and leadership and advocacy skills. McGuinness’ academic narrative style, set to small black font, is supported by a wide array of citations and data from reports and surveys. In addition, each topic offers “personal reflection points” along with figures and tables that highlight important details. The chapters conclude with exercises inviting readers to reflect on the content covered through different hypothetical scenarios.

McGuinness starts by addressing issues and trends surrounding information literacy. She invites readers to move from thinking about information literacy as an operational skill to a competency that requires problem-solving acumen and critical thinking capacities. Because ideas about information literacy are always evolving, the author refers to a “literary continuum” that encompasses different skills and competencies. Digital literacy, for example, includes multiple skills related to accessing different media to generating new content within changing technologies. Moreover, academic teaching librarians will reflect on new information literacy frameworks as they interconnect with instruction, considering the role of the student as an active participant as a seeker, consumer, and producer of information. “Fake news” is also examined as distinguished from “false news,” misinformation, disinformation, and malinformation.

Chapter 2 notes that the academic teaching librarian’s role has become more “specialized and professionalized” in the last 30 years. However, the field still struggles to define what makes a teaching librarian and whether academic teaching librarians see themselves as teachers. The author contemplates teacher identity as it relates to the teaching librarian’s responsibilities, strengths, and competencies as well as the benefits of developing a teaching philosophy fed by self-reflection and self-analysis practices. This holistic approach recognizes that a teaching librarian is more than a list of skills but is seen within a “context sensitive” lens that includes a variety of different roles within a library. McGuinness concludes part I by offering helpful inputs on what it takes to become an academic teaching librarian, inviting readers to explore personal values, pedagogical trends, and showcasing one’s work. Here, a teaching portfolio will resonate by including a teaching philosophy, goals, responsibilities, outcomes, and engagement in communities of practices.

Part II begins by examining digital technologies the academic teaching librarian can use to strengthen student learning. McGuinness invites us to contemplate opportunities and limitations and to assess our own knowledge, abilities, and perceptions about digital learning. This examination will prepare the academic teaching librarian to make decisions surrounding the “why,” “when,” “what,” and “how” involved in digital learning. In other words, we are encouraged to survey the benefits and challenges surrounding digital learning, while reflecting on our “assumptions and beliefs” to integrate technology in the classroom. In addition, teaching librarians are motivated to consider how prepared they are to integrate competencies such as technology knowledge, content knowledge, and pedagogical knowledge into their instruction.

The last two chapters of the book discuss leadership and advocacy in instruction programs. McGuiness maintains that leaders may be found in management, in those who coordinate, and among librarians at any level of an organization who have a vision and are able to inspire others. The author also notes that teaching librarians with leadership attributes have personal, interpersonal, and organizational knowledge that guides them through their professional life. These qualities range from engaging in continuous learning, using data to identify areas of concern and inform decision making, building collaborative relationships, understanding the power of trust, and identifying “key players” to reach goals. Finally, McGuinness contemplates advocacy for the academic teaching librarian from different perspectives, offering strategies and delving into academic publication as a type of advocacy work. Here, the author mentions several strategies that may be used to build support for instruction in libraries such as activism in social media, communication with local and national government representatives, contributions to blogs, podcasts, and websites, and connections with community groups.

The Academic Teaching Librarian’s Handbook will serve as a guide to early- and late-career academic librarians with instruction responsibilities and to library information science students who are considering a career in library instruction. McGuinness’ recurrent invitation to reflect on the many aspects of the academic teaching librarian role serves both as a foundational starting point and as a call to develop a holistic approach to teaching librarianship that can shape the profession.—Kathia Ibacache, University of Colorado Boulder