Laura Saunders teaches and conducts research in the areas of reference, instruction, information literacy, and intellectual freedom. She has a strong interest in the connections between information literacy and social justice issues, as well as in the impact of mis- and disinformation.
Her most recent books include Reference and Information Services: An Introduction, 6th edition, co-edited with Melissa Wong and the open access textbook Instruction in Libraries and Information Centers: An Introduction, co-authored with Melissa Wong. Her articles have appeared in a variety of journals including College & Research Libraries, The Journal of Academic Librarianship, and Communications in Information Literacy. Laura has a PhD and a Master of Library and Information Science, both from Simmons College, and a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature from Boston University. She serves as a Trustee for the Somerville Public Library in Somerville, MA. She is the 2019 recipient of Simmons University’s Provost Award for Excellence in Graduate Teaching.
Education
- PhD Simmons University (formerly Simmons College)
- MSLIS Simmons University (formerly Simmons College)
- B.A. Boston University
Area of Expertise
Information literacy, academic libraries, mis- and disinformation ("fake news"), reference services, assessment
Courses
- LIS 407 Information Sources & Services
- LIS 408 User Instruction & Information Literacy
- LIS 451 Academic Libraries
- LIS 493 Intellectual Freedom & Censorship
Research/Creative Activities
Laura co-created and co-hosts LIS Pedagogy Chat, a community of practice hosting bi-monthly moderated discussions on topics of interest to faculty and practitioners who teach in library and information science.
Professional Affiliations & Memberships
- American Library Association
- Association of College & Research Libraries
- Association for Library and Information Science Education
Awards
- Simmons University’s Provost Award for Excellence in Graduate Teaching (2019)
- Reference Services Press Award (2014)
- ACRL/NEC Best Paper Award (2014)
- Jean Tague-Sutcliffe Award for Doctoral Research (2010)