Instructional Design for LIS Professionals: A Guide for Teaching Librarians and Information Science Professionals

Armed with freshly minted master’s degrees, many new librarians are confronted with an expectation that wasn’t necessarily addressed in their library science programs: being an effective adult educator. Wong (Graduate Sch. of Library & Information Science, Univ. of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; editor, Reference and Information Services, 5th ed.) joins the effort to prepare librarians for success as teachers. While LIS faculty is the primary target audience, academic librarians with teaching responsibilities can also benefit from the mix of theory and practical tips drawn from Wong’s almost two decades of graduate-level instruction. Part 1 covers learning theory and issues surrounding accommodating disabled students. Part 2 delves into instructional design, from identifying desired outcomes to constructing lesson plans to conducting course evaluations for ongoing improvement. Part 3 will be of interest to any librarian tasked with developing a workshop, webinar, or professional development course. Ideas for instructional design are fine-tuned for those specific teaching venues. Sean Cordes’s Instructional Design Essentials and Beverley Crane’s How To Teach are other choices on the topic.