Library Publishers as Educators: Crafting Curriculum for Undergraduate Research Journals

Abstract

INTRODUCTION Library publishing programs continue to play an increasingly important role in educating their constituents. In particular, library publishers that support undergraduate student journals often provide guidance to students on both mechanical and conceptual issues related to publishing. This article presents a case study for developing a one-credit-hour course to support an undergraduate student journal publication, the Indiana University Journal of Undergraduate Research (IUJUR), at Indiana University Bloomington. DESCRIPTION OF COURSE The course is offered every fall as a mechanism for onboarding about thirty new undergraduate editors. The course was developed and taught by a librarian and an undergraduate student in consultation with IU’s Office of the Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education. Course curriculum touches on topics that scholarly communication and information literacy librarians alike can adapt for a variety of educational contexts, including authentic activities for understanding peer review models and applying publishing innovations. ASSESSMENT The article details both the formative and summative assessment strategies the instructor utilized to gauge student understanding of key publishing concepts. The summative assessment utilizes pre- and post-tests and extends previous library literature to evaluate students’ actual understanding of publishing concepts in addition to their perceived understanding and confidence. LIMITATIONS AND NEXT STEPS The course curriculum will continue to grow and change in order to accommodate students’ misconceptions and interests.