In October 2022, the authors of this textbook applied and were fortunately awarded an Emporia State University (ESU) Class Resource Affordability Initiative Grant (CRAIG) (University Libraries & Archives - ESU Resources for OER (google.com) The CRAIG is awarded to ESU faculty who are willing to work to increase the adoption, adaption, compilation, and creation of Open Educational Resources (OERs) and other no-cost or low-cost resources to ESU students. This is especially important given the high costs of textbooks creating barriers to college student learning and success. According to the William - Flora Hewlett Foundation (Open Education (hewlett.org), OERs are “teaching, learning, and research resources that reside in the public domain or have been released under an intellectual property license that permits their free use and repurposing by others.” This OER is to be used as a textbook for learning foundation concepts and practices in providing reference and user services. 

Authors of this textbook understand lbrary and information science and best practices in librarainship as indicated in the American Library Association Core Competences of Librarianship (2022), the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions Foundational Knowledge Areas (2022), the Guidelines for Behavioral Performance of Reference and Information Service Providers (2023), and the American Library Assocation Core Values of Librarianship (2024).

The purpose of this new OER textbook titled High Impact Instructional Librarianship is to address what to teach and how to teach information literacy skills to library patrons of all ages and with many kinds of information needs. This OER is intended to facilitate and guide pre- and in-service librarians to know and use theory and models from many academic disciplines to inform practices, develop excellent instructional design skills, and express high confidence as instructional librarians no matter what position they hold in any library type.  

Based on foundations of library and information science and commitment to upholding American Library Association core values, in easy to follow narrative, this book is written to 

• introduce the evolving nature of libraries and librarianship in today’s society; 
• identify different perspectives on effective teaching;  
• address instructional engagement to foster equity, diversity, and inclusion for the betterment of the community;
• discuss information and technology instruction and strategies to avoid misinformation, disinformation and malinformation;
• explore types of instructional sessions;  
• walk readers through possible learning outcomes and evaluation methods relevant to development of information literacy skills in library patrons; 
• demonstrate how to develop and use a lesson plan designed for specific audiences;  
• introduce user-centered instructional design strategies useful in various learning environments; 
• anticipate instructional librarian’s evaluation and continued growth; and 
• provide example lessons and reading lists for further learning.  

Organized in chapters that end with featured exercises, we include a variety of content formats and many authoritative sources. These resources are selected to guide librarians as they assist individuals with everyday information needs, as well as to provide high impact instructional practices that educationally benefit individuals through intellectual growth and positively changed information behaviors across many contexts including home, schools, workplace, and recreation.  

Are you ready for high-impact instructional librarianship?  Let’s get started!