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Relegating expertise: The outward and inward positioning of librarians in information literacy education

Hicks, A; Lloyd, A; (2021) Relegating expertise: The outward and inward positioning of librarians in information literacy education. Journal of Librarianship and Information Science 10.1177/09610006211020104. (In press). Green open access

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Abstract

Previous research has demonstrated that discourses of information literacy and learners constrain and enable the practice of information literacy within higher education (Authors, 2020). This paper uses discourse analysis method to identify how information literacy discourses construct and position teaching librarians within higher education. Texts analysed include 4 recent English-language models of information literacy and 16 textbooks. Analysis suggests the existence of two distinct narratives related to the role, expertise and professional practice of teaching librarians. In the outward-facing narrative librarian work is typically absent from guidelines for practice. In contrast, book introductions, which constitute the inward-facing narrative, centre professional librarians yet simultaneously position them as incompetent, or as lacking the skills and understandings that they need to be effective in this setting. These narratives constitute a form of othering that threatens professional practice at a time when the professionalisation of librarianship is being drawn into question. This paper represents the second in a research programme that interrogates the epistemological premises and discourses of information literacy within higher education.

Type: Article
Title: Relegating expertise: The outward and inward positioning of librarians in information literacy education
Open access status: An open access version is available from UCL Discovery
DOI: 10.1177/09610006211020104
Publisher version: https://doi.org/10.1177/09610006211020104
Language: English
Additional information: This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/) which permits non-commercial use, reproduction and distribution of the work without further permission provided the original work is attributed as specified on the SAGE and Open Access pages (https://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/open-access-at-sage).
Keywords: information literacy, librarians, discourse analysis, positioning theory
UCL classification: UCL
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL SLASH
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL SLASH > Faculty of Arts and Humanities
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL SLASH > Faculty of Arts and Humanities > Dept of Information Studies
URI: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10127486
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