Chapter Topics

Student practitioners are moving between both practitioner and academic worlds, each with different requirements for research. These students will need to master research in both contexts to succeed in the different kinds of classes they will take and in their professions. Consequently, information literacy instruction for creators needs to acknowledge and teach in ways that reflect these differences: for example, library instruction that focuses on authority codified in peer review and academic credentials can have the effect of minimizing the importance of key practitioner sources such as trade journals, grey literature, blogs, or technical reports. This section will consist of case studies of successful instruction for practitioners that meets their unique creative needs.

Example Topics:

• One-shot case studies for classes for engineers, artists, designers

• Embedded librarianship in studio and lab classes

• Information literacy for creativity and inspiration

• Information literacy to solve design problems

• Credit research courses for creators

Creator fields share a reliance on designated spaces for building and creation. Creator students spend much of their studying time in unique spaces—labs, makerspaces and studios—rather than in the library. This makes outreach to creators all the more essential. Founding outreach and reframing existing services to apply to the information-seeking behaviors that are practiced in these fields is key to relevance to this population. This section will explore case studies of outreach that utilizes the unique affordances of creator spaces and information behavior.

Example Topics:

• Reframing and marketing existing services to appeal to this audience

• Case studies of creating new services for this audience

• Collaborative events, exhibits or projects that connect creative practitioners and libraries

• Pop-up libraries and other library services in studio and lab spaces

• Developing spaces for creative practitioners in the libraries

Creators have unique collections needs, as they rely on a wide variety of sources beyond traditional academic works including handbooks, how-tos, coffee table books, trade journals, and more. Additionally, creator students have format preferences that often differ from their academic peers: artists often prefer to browse print collections, while engineers may have a strong preference for e-books. They may also turn to the library for equipment check-out, visual resources, or material samples. This section will explore case studies of collection building for creators, focusing on examples of building unique collections that meet creator needs.

Example Topics:

• Building unique collections to meet practitioner needs (materials, equipment, ephemera)

• Innovative approaches for managing or promoting collections like standards, grey literature, and reports

• Designing spaces that showcase collections and facilitate preferred use patterns

Students in practitioner fields must understand how rights and responsibilities change from being a student, once they enter the professional world. In the academic context, plagiarism and citation are the most commonly explored aspects of giving credit, but these practices change in the professional world. As well, practitioner students will have to understand how intellectual property works in creator fields, and will grapple with fair use, copyright patents, trademarks and trade secrets. For those establishing fluency in both the academic and commercial realms, they must make complex decisions around open access and the value of intellectual property in a commercial contex. They may also face questions of the value of often undervalued work. This section will include case studies that introduce intellectual property and concepts to creator students.

Example Topics:

• Appropriation and remix in art and design

• Patent research for designers

• Fair use for creators

• Inspiration and credit moving from academia to the professional world

• Establishing both an academic publication record and a commercial career