Merinda Hensley

Merinda Hensley serves as an Adjunct Associate Professor at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign's School of Information Sciences and works as a Research Programs Liaison and Instruction Librarian at the University Library. She holds a Master of Science in Library and Information Science from UIUC (2006) and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from the University of Arizona (1998). Her current teaching responsibilities include Academic Librarianship (IS582ALO) scheduled for Fall 2025.

Dr. Hensley's research focuses on information literacy, teaching and learning methodologies, scholarly communication frameworks, and critical reflection in academic library contexts. She has particular expertise in undergraduate research support, having managed multiple undergraduate research journals and coordinated the Image of Research competition for undergraduates. Her work bridges the gap between traditional library services and evolving scholarly communication practices.

Her scholarly output demonstrates consistent contributions to understanding how academic librarians can better support students as creators of knowledge. Recent publications examine peer review training, visual arts competitions for undergraduate research dissemination, ungrading practices, and copyright knowledge among STEM students. Her research consistently addresses practical applications for information literacy instruction within evolving scholarly communication ecosystems.

As a leader in her field, Hensley has served in significant professional roles including ACRL Instruction Section Chair (2017-2018), ACRL NSSE IL Module Review Task Force Chair (2020-2022), and membership on multiple ACRL task forces related to information literacy standards and scholarly communication. She also serves on the Office of Undergraduate Research Faculty Advisory Board.

Her professional activities include coordinating the Savvy Researcher workshop series (60+ unique titles per semester reaching ~2400 students annually) and leading the Scholarly Commons educational initiatives focused on digital scholarship resources and methods. She has been deeply involved with the Ethnography of the University Initiative as both Executive Committee member and Co-Director (2013-2015).