Information Literacy Instruction in Asynchronous Online Courses: Which Approaches Work Best?
Elizabeth Pickard, Sarah Sterling
Abstract
Which modes of information literacy instruction (ILI) work best in asynchronous online courses? Recent national trends and COVID-19 have made it critical to answer this question, but there is little research comparing different modes of ILI specifically in asynchronous contexts. This multiyear study employed five different modes of ILI in different sections of an asynchronous online anthropology course and compared the modes’ effects on students’ coursework. Ethnographic analysis of students’ bibliographies revealed nuanced changes to students’ approaches to searching and source selection. These findings can inform librarians’ development of ILI curricula and pedagogy for the unique circumstances asynchronous instruction presents.
Copyright Elizabeth Pickard, Sarah Sterling

This work is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
Article Views (By Year/Month)
| 2025 |
| January: 41 |
| February: 75 |
| March: 79 |
| April: 82 |
| May: 55 |
| June: 83 |
| July: 56 |
| August: 91 |
| September: 73 |
| October: 102 |
| November: 117 |
| December: 80 |
| 2024 |
| January: 42 |
| February: 29 |
| March: 30 |
| April: 43 |
| May: 68 |
| June: 30 |
| July: 46 |
| August: 30 |
| September: 28 |
| October: 55 |
| November: 105 |
| December: 30 |
| 2023 |
| January: 29 |
| February: 30 |
| March: 24 |
| April: 47 |
| May: 73 |
| June: 28 |
| July: 39 |
| August: 24 |
| September: 38 |
| October: 39 |
| November: 35 |
| December: 34 |
| 2022 |
| January: 0 |
| February: 0 |
| March: 1113 |
| April: 450 |
| May: 210 |
| June: 64 |
| July: 49 |
| August: 54 |
| September: 53 |
| October: 33 |
| November: 28 |
| December: 26 |