Paradoxes and Play: An Emergent Theory of How Community College Librarians Sustain Library Instruction Programs.

Abstract

This constructivist grounded theory study proposes an explanation of community college library instruction coordinators' efforts to sustain effective library instruction programs in southern California. The theory explains library instruction coordinators' positive approaches to the paradoxes, or persistent tensions, that they encounter when they work to improve the educational context in which they are teaching information literacy. Identity and role conflict, student learning outcomes assessment, curriculum integration, and instructional improvement emerged as core concerns among library instruction coordinators. Librarians who avoided burnout described the following techniques that have kept them engaged in their work: gaining allies, embracing iteration, holding goals lightly, challenging their assigned roles, learning and influencing the organizational rules, and staying motivated by the prospect of getting to teach more meaningfully. Library instruction coordinators who use these tactics in their classrooms, in their program development, in their efforts to integrate information literacy into the curriculum, and in their attitudes toward traditional library services are taking a positive approach to the paradoxes of their work by applying a play-framework to remain flexible and engaged.

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