This paper presents findings of a Mellon Foundation–funded study conducted at Penn State University in University Park during Fall 2012 that explored scholars’ information practices across disciplines encompassing the sciences, humanities, and social sciences. Drawing on results of the Web-based survey and ethnographic interviews, we present findings related to academics’ practices in discovering, storing, citing, and archiving information, as well as their views on the role of library in the digital age. The paper harvests a comparative multidisciplinary perspective of our study, identifying principles and technical architecture that support digital scholarship and facilitate the development of literacies for faculty personal information management.

Higher education information literacy standards have readily addressed cognitive skills, although affective competencies—the emotional abilities that students must acquire in order to successfully navigate the research process—have not yet been incorporated into standards. This paper presents examples of current information literacy standards, integrating affective competencies or dispositions, including the American Association of School Librarians (AASL) 21st Century Learning Standards , and proposes a model for affective-focused higher education information literacy standards. The role of affect in library learning, the importance of affective competencies, and the centrality of affective learning to student mastery of research skills are discussed. Viewing information literacy as an integrated literacy, encompassing affective learning, technological literacy, and critical thinking, can provide avenues for greater collaboration with faculty in support of effective student research assignments.

While information literacy in higher education has long been focused on cognitive learning outcomes, attention must be paid to students' affective, emotional needs throughout the research process. This article identifies models for embedding affective learning outcomes within information literacy instruction, and provides strategies to help librarians discover, articulate, and address students' self-efficacy, motivation, emotions and attitudes. Worksheets to assist in creating affective learning outcomes are included to bring structure to an area of learning that is often challenging to articulate and measure. Also included in the article are the results of a recent survey of instruction librarians' familiarity and inclusion of affective learning outcomes within teaching and learning initiatives.

A usability study was undertaken at Penn State University to explore how students search the library's online catalog after they have received library instruction. In 2004, eight first-year students received library instruction and were subsequently recruited for the study. Participants were recorded using the online catalog, and a think-aloud protocol was employed to capture students' thoughts. Results were compared with nine first-year students observed in 2002, using the same methodology. Analysis of both groups revealed subtle differences in how they utilized the online catalog. Although these differences cannot be definitively attributed to library instruction, the evidence suggests that instruction can have a positive effect on user search behaviors. The article recommends strategies for increasing the impact of library instruction.

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