Celebrating 300 Episodes of The Authority File: The Changing Role of Higher Education

Today's list of episodes looks back at developments in higher ed

Posted on December 22, 2022 in Blog

To celebrate The Authority File reaching 300 episodes, the Choice team put together several lists highlighting key episodes and topics. Today’s collection explores the changing role of higher education, seen through developments in information literacy, the undergraduate workflow, and citation evolution. Enjoy!

MLA Guide to Digital Literacy book cover. Dark purple background with the title and author name in white. In the bottom right corner are three thick, 150-ish degree angle lines with blue, pink, and yellow colors between each line.

Episode 107: The Demand for Digital Literacy: “Even Really Smart People Get Duped”

Oh, how the internet has changed…Once, homely, Comic Sans-ridden websites occupied the top-search returns in Google and blurry, camcorder-recorded videos glued users to YouTube. Now, nearly everyone has the means to create professional-looking media or websites, thanks to the ubiquity and fairly affordable pricing of high quality products like smartphones and website builders. Read more and listen here.

Episode 277: Understanding the Undergraduate Workflow: Introducing the Research Project and Roles

Students, faculty, and librarians belong to the same higher education ecosystem. And yet, the three stakeholders often lack strong communication and collaboration, leading to accessibility issues, outdated resources, and a general misunderstanding of each party’s unique responsibilities and obstacles. Read more and listen here.

Episode 141: The Future of Education: Preparing a 21st-Century Workforce

As the cost of college in the US continues to rise, prospective students wonder how their postsecondary education will help them land a career. When universities feel the pressure to prepare students for the ever-changing job market, how does that impact the offered curriculum? Read more and listen here.

Episode 193: Aiding the Scholarly Journey: Using the Humanities to Change the Culture

Paula Krebs, Executive Director of the Modern Language Association, is sick of having to defend the Humanities. Though Paula agrees that a public relations issue exists, she argues that the existing culture—whether in the form of political attacks, budget cuts, or even parents urging students to pursue other majors—needs to transform. Read more and listen here.

Paula Krebs headshot. Paula has short hair that falls to her ears with sideswept bangs. She wears glasses and a dark brown shirt/jacket. Background is a gradient of gray to white.
Ethics and Integrity in Educational Contexts book cover. Book title in white text. Background is blue with a pink to blue gradient at the top with opaque circles.

Episode 239: Ethics and Integrity in Educational Contexts: Introduction, History, and Audience

On college campuses, the responsibility of learning and applying academic ethics and integrity standards tends to fall upon the students. Young scholars are expected to understand how to evade contract cheating scams or navigate the line between plagiarism and proper citation. Even if faculty and librarians take the time to teach students the dos and don’ts of educational ethics and academic integrity, curriculum can still fall short. Read more and listen here.

Episode 124: A New Approach to Info Lit: “These Skills Aren’t Just Academic”

Though misinformation has long been part of our news and media, the 2016 election galvanized academics, librarians, and researchers into combating the issue with renewed force. Their methods have grown into a multidisciplinary approach that interweaves media literacy, social sciences, and data science through one-shots, workshops, and interactive lesson plans. Read more and listen here.

Episode 238: Looking at Community Music: Can It Thrive Within Higher Education?

As the traditional field of music education moved to embrace community music—and therefore, new music styles—certain hurdles emerged. Professors teaching Beethoven fretted over techno beats thumping across the hall. Traditionalists balked at holding rock instruments to the same standard as woodwinds or strings. However, with time, a more fluid, contemporary, and accessible form of music education has entered the academy. Read more and listen here.

Episode 62: Toward Clarity in Editing and Publishing: Behind the Scenes at the Library of Congress Publishing Office and the Chicago Manual of Style

Bill speaks with Becky Brasington Clark, the head of the Library of Congress’ publishing office, and Carol Saller, chief copyeditor of the Sixteenth Edition of the Chicago Manual of Style. Their conversation weaves together the mission of publishing at the Library of Congress and the ethical and moral considerations that emerge from editorial, style, and publishing norms. Read more and listen here.

On the left, The University of Chicago Press logo: Image of a bird/phoenix rising out of flames, colored in red and white. An open, white colored book with a red outline is above the bird. "The University of Chicago Press" is below the drawing in navy. To the right is the Chicago of Manual Style logo: Red/orange background with the "The Chicago Manual of Style" written in white text.

Episode 217: The Myth of the Covid-Transformed Workplace: The Changing Role of Higher Ed

As the pandemic exacerbated inequities in housing, technology access, health care, and more, higher education faced a reckoning of its own. In today’s virtual learning and work environments, many called for a reevaluation of the academy’s purpose. What do students receive from their postsecondary education? Read more and listen here.

Keep up with the rest of the Celebrating 300 Episodes of The Authority File posts on Choice’s blog, Open Stacks.

You can find more Authority File episodes on our website, Spotify, Stitcher, Apple Podcasts, and Google Podcasts.

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