This article is adapted from a presentation given at the Ontario Library Association Super Conference, held in Toronto, Ontario, February 1-4, 2017. This presentation brought together 80+ participants, ranging from students to early-and mid-career professionals. The goals of this presentation were to recognize and build a shared understanding of how library and information professionals experience imposter syndrome. Through personal experience and research, ideas of imposter syndrome are explored through the lens of new librarians. This discussion included competition in the job market, burnout rates, and social media. Through experience and research, we aimed to share tips and tools for managing and examining imposter syndrome.

Numerous studies exist on how and to what extent course instructors in higher education are embedding or directly teaching writing, learning and information literacy skills in their courses (Cilliers, 2012; Crosthwaite et al., 2006; Mager & Spronken-Smith, 2014). Yet, disparity within the literature demonstrates that there is no consistent approach to the scaffolded development of these necessary skills within courses, programs, disciplines, or across disciplines. This study sought to explore the skills expectations of instructors and whether students are capable of identifying or articulating the academic skills they are required to develop in to succeed in third-year undergraduate university courses. We discovered a discrepancy rate of approximately 63% between instructor and student responses when exploring differences in instructor expectations and student interpretations of academic skills indicated on course outlines. Data from this study suggests that instructors and students do not always share the same understanding of the skills required to complete course work and to be successful in assessments. With the support of learning, writing, and research specialists, instructors can embed academic skill development in the curriculum.

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