Interview and Focus Group Discussion Questions These 5 main questions represent the main areas that our research is particularly interested in. We have included some clarifying questions beneath each main question in order to give you a better idea of what we’re thinking might fall within that main area. However, we invite and encourage you to think broadly about the main questions and bring your own perspectives and narrower focuses, even if they aren’t represented here already! 1. How is for-credit instruction by librarians conducted or organized at your institution? Clarifying questions, as needed: · What requirement(s) for graduation do these courses fulfill? · Requirements include course designations such as general education course, research or writing course, subject/area course, etc. · What disciplines or subjects do these courses fall under at your institution? · At your institution, what level of for-credit courses are librarians generally eligible to teach? · Do librarians at your institution share course materials, including but not limited to syllabi, lesson plans, learning outcomes, etc? · Do librarians at your institution have the freedom to propose and/or teach new for-credit courses or are they always adopting standardized courses? · Are credit-bearing classes taught by librarians at your institution connected or embedded with other courses in the university? 2. How is instruction by librarians supported, assessed, or valued at your institution? Clarifying questions, as needed: · Do you or your library conduct any assessment to show that these classes contribute to higher retention rates, higher grades, better performance, or other improved student outcomes? · If you do, how do you do so? · Did you receive any training from your *current* university or library before starting your first teaching assignment? · Have you received formal teacher training through *past* positions? · Are there offices on campus which offer teaching assistance/advice which you are eligible to use? (e.g., an office of academic innovation or center for teaching and learning) · Have you worked with other campus faculty to evaluate/assess/improve your teaching skills/methods? · For example, taking part in formal teaching observations? · Which university unit/department/school funds and grants the credits for library credit-bearing classes? · Is your teaching load assigned/supervised by a non-library academic unit? 3. Are there policies and/or documentation at your libraries related to for-credit instruction being taught by librarians? If so, could you please describe them? Clarifying questions, as needed: · Do your policies outline how librarians are to be paid, provided workload accommodations, or otherwise compensated for their instruction under various circumstances? · Do they give guidelines, or even rules, on how librarians are to teach specific courses? · Do they support librarians in proposing new courses or modifying existing courses to add to the course catalog? · Do they cover job descriptions, core responsibilities, etc for a librarian position that will be expected to conduct for-credit instruction? · Are you considered an adjunct professor if you conduct for-credit instruction? (Meaning it is not considered part of your contracted duties as a librarian and you are not supposed to work on it during your regular hours or as part of your duties as a librarian.) · If you are considered an adjunct professor, are you paid at (or near) the same rate as adjuncts in other departments at the university? · Does your institution or library offer any release time from your library responsibilities to support your teaching? · What other areas do your policies address besides these? 4. Please explain the nature of the for-credit course(s) you’ve taught as a librarian. Clarifying questions, as needed: · Were/Are these courses part of your work as a librarian, or do you consider them to be outside of your library work? · Were/Are you teaching one course or several? · Were/Are you teaching within a specific discipline, or were your courses open to students from any discipline/major? · Were/Are your courses aimed at a specific population of students, like first-year students, graduate students, etc? · Do you teach to meet ACRL Framework goals and/or other instructional standards? · How is your motivation to teach for-credit courses supported by your library and/or institution? a. Do librarians at your institution receive additional compensation for teaching for-credit courses of any type? b. Does your library receive tuition dollars for credit-bearing information literacy courses taught by librarians? 5. What are your perceptions, feelings, or ideas about for-credit courses taught by librarians outside of library-degree programs? Clarifying questions, as needed: · If you teach credit courses and conduct library workshops or non-credit instruction sessions, would you say that your library workshops or instruction sessions have been affected or changed as a result of the credit courses? · If so, how? · Do you believe it is appropriate for librarians to spend time teaching non-library classes? · Do you believe that there is value in time spent by librarians teaching non-library classes? · Do you think that a librarian teaching subject matter outside of the libraries enhances or detracts from the perception of librarians? · To what degree do you feel your teaching responsibilities have changed your approach to your other library responsibilities?