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

Abstract

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.