Washington & Lee University librarian co-authors article on teaching through COVID-19

Paula Kiser, digital scholarship librarian and associate professor at Washington and Lee University, co-authored an article published in the April 2024 issue of the journal College & Research Libraries.

The article, “From ‘Outside the Box’ to ‘Out the Window’: Teaching with Primary Sources Through the Pandemic,” was written alongside Christina Larson, assistant director at the University of Miami Center for the Humanities, Kevin M. O’Sullivan, associate professor of English at Texas A&M University Libraries and Anne Peale, Chapin librarian at Williams College.

The study references faculty interviews conducted in 2019 and 2021 that document dramatic shifts in primary source instruction of undergraduate students during the COVID-19 pandemic. The authors use the data to analyze how faculty cultivated pedagogical practice, developed practical approaches to teaching with primary sources and adjusted goals for student learning outcomes. The study also looks at lessons learned from the pivot to remote and hybrid teaching, including ways to support new and emerging instruction practices, developing instructor training programs, showcasing collections of digital primary sources and adopting a trauma-informed approach to future outreach.

“I am grateful for all the W&L faculty collaboration, especially all the interviews. Everyone was so generous with their time and open in sharing their teaching experiences through the pandemic. It was also such a supportive process working with my peers from other libraries to conduct this research, and I am excited about our recommendations, which can be applied to libraries of varying sizes,” Kiser said.

Kiser joined the W&L faculty in 2018. She holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in history from JMU, a master’s degree in library and information science from the University of Tennessee and a graduate certificate in digital public humanities from George Mason University.