Michael LaMagna

Professor of Library Services

Ed.D.

MLS

M.A.

B.A.

Learning Commons, Marple Campus, Rm 4554 901 S. Media Line Road, Media, PA 19063

Phone 610-355-7158

Email mlamagna@dccc.edu

Education

Ed.D. – Higher Education Administration, Northeastern University

MLS – Library Science, St. John’s University

M.A. – History, Villanova University

B.A. – History, Susquehanna University

Academic Biography

Dr. Michael LaMagna is a Professor of Library Services in the Learning Commons at Delaware County Community College and serves as the Information Literacy Program & Library Services Coordinator. Previously, he was the Coordinator of Electronic Resources at a small liberal arts college.

Dr. LaMagna applies strategic foresight to his understanding of the possible and plausible futures for academic libraries and higher education. This helps to inform his research which centered on information access (collection development and open educational resources) and information literacy instructional program (digital badges & microcredentials and synchronous instruction). Dr. LaMagna was a guest editor for a special issue on digital badging and microcredentials for the Journal of Electronic Resources Librarianship and his work has appeared in such publications as Computers and Libraries, Collection & Curation, Journal of Access Services, Journal of Electronic Resources Librarianship, and Reference Services Review.

Dr. LaMagna serves as a host on the New Books Network. His interviews can be heard primarily on the New Books in Library Science podcast channel, but he also contributes to the New Books in Higher Education and New Books in Science, Technology, and Society podcast channels.

On campus, Dr. LaMagna has served as Faculty Delegate and chaired a range of committees including the Academic Affairs Committee, the Academic Renewal Committee, the General Education Committee, and the Tenure & Promotions Committee. Currently, he serves on the AI Policy Committee and Sabbatical Committee.

Dr. LaMagna currently serves on the Executive Council for the Community College Consortium for Open Educational Resources (CCCOER) and co-chairs the Research & Impact Committee. In addition, he serves on the Steering Committee for Affordable Learning Pennsylvania and chairs the Annual Summit working group. Dr. LaMagna serves as a panelist for Educause Horizon Report: Teaching and Learning Edition and served on the 2025 Educause Horizon Action Plan: Building Skills and Literacy for Teaching with GenAI. Previously, he served on the LOEX Advisory Council and co-chaired the LOEX Fall Focus 2023 online conference.

Dr. LaMagna attended Susquehanna University (B.A. with honors History, minor Religious Studies), Villanova University (M.A., History), St. John’s University (MLS Library Science), and Northeastern University (Ed.D. Higher Education Administration). Currently, he is completing a Graduate Certificate in Foresight through the University of Houston. Additionally, Dr. LaMagna is a Certified Foresight Practitioner through TFSX and earned a Creative Commons Certificate for Librarians and Copyright Leadership Certificate through Copyright Laws.

Dr. LaMagna is a member of the American Library Association, Association of College and Research Libraries, Association of Professional Futurists, and the Heterodox Academy.

Scholarly Interests

Strategic foresight & futures studies; Adoption and advocacy of open educational resources and affordable course content; Collection development; Synchronous learning; copyright education; and digital badges and micro-credentials.

Scholarly Papers

Articles (Select)

LaMagna, M. & Rodgers, A. (2024). The future of print: Rightsizing the physical collection to meet the research, learning, and teaching needs in a community college. Reference Services Review (Special Issue: Beyond Downsizing: Rightsizing the Academic Library) 52(4), 486-95.

LaMagna, M. (2021, December 16). What is First Sale Doctrine? Video Librarian.

LaMagna, M. (2021, November 3). Your guide to public performance rights. Video Librarian.

LaMagna, M., Swenson Danowitz, E., & Rodgers, A. (2021, April). Unexpected eBook usage during unexpected times: A community college experience. Computers in Libraries, 41(3), 15-19.

Feldmann, L. M. & LaMagna, M. (2021). Open educational resources: An OER refresh. The Journal of Innovations, Teaching & Digital Learning Excellent (Internal Publication), 1(1), 14-17.

Kowalsky, M. & LaMagna, M. (2020). Accessing and integrating primary source documents: Providing professional development opportunities. Journal of Electronic Resources Librarianship,32(2), 110-115.

LaMagna, M., Swenson Danowitz, E., & Rodgers, A. (2019). Competing eBook acquisition models: Which model best serves a community college library? Collection & Curation 39(2), 33-40.

LaMagna, M. (2017). JERL special issue introductory remarks: Digital badges & micro-credentials. Journal of Electronic Resources Librarianship, 29(4), 205.

LaMagna, M. (2017). Placing digital badges and micro-credentials in context. Journal of Electronic Resources Librarianship, 29(4), 206-210.

LaMagna, M., Hartman-Caverly, S., & Marchetti, L. (2016). Redefining roles and responsibilities: Implementing a triage reference model at a single service point. Journal of Access Services 13(2), 53-65.

LaMagna, M., Hartman-Caverly, S., & Danowitz, E. S. (2015). Integrating e-books into academic libraries: A literature review. Internet Reference Services Quarterly 20(1/2), 19-32.

Hartman-Caverly, S., Knapp, C., LaMagna, M., & Perzchowski, R. (2013, October). Using qualitative assessment protocols to evaluate a new library discovery service. Computers in Libraries 33(8), 4-9.

Goldberg, E. J. & LaMagna, M. (2012, June). Open educational resources in higher education: A guide to online resources. College and Research Libraries News 73(6), 334-337.

LaMagna, M. & Schwelm, A. (2009, May/June) Wikis and information literacy: Using web 2.0 to enhance library instruction -- Rationale & Evolution. PaLA Bulletin 64(3), 19-20.

Book Chapters (Select)

Danowitz, E. S. & LaMagna, M. (2024). Bridging the staff/faculty librarian divide: Reducing toxicity in a learning commons environment. In R. Michalak, T. Dawes, & J. Cawthorne (Eds.). Toxic dynamics: Disrupting, dismantling, and transforming academic library culture. (pp. 49-67). Association of College and Research Libraries.

LaMagna, M. (2022). Synchronizing with online learners: Incorporating online workshops into an existing information literacy program. In K. Casey & J. Pinkley (Eds.). The community college library: Instruction and reference (pp. 109-120). Association of College and Research Libraries.

LaMagna, M. (2020). Delaware County Community College: An information literacy program designed for a diverse student population. In E. Galoozis, C. C. Gardner, & R. Halpern (Eds.). Hidden architectures of information literacy programs: Structures, practices, and contexts (pp. 135-145). Association of College and Research Libraries.

LaMagna, M. (2019). Case study: Engaging students during synchronous library instruction. In J. Pitts, L. Bonella, J. Coleman, & A. Wathen (Eds.), Library services for online patrons: A manual for facilitating access, learning, and engagement (pp. 90-92). Libraries Unlimited.

LaMagna, M. (2018). Making the connections: The role of professional development in advocating for open educational resources. In A. Wesolek, J. Lashley, & A. Langley (Eds.), OER: A field guide for academic librarians (pp. 273-289). Pacific University Press.

Presentations (Select)

LaMagna, M. & Feldmann, L. (2024, April 17). Course marking: Making OER and student cost savings transparent. [Presentation]. Technology, Colleges & Community (TCC Hawaii) 2023, Virtual Conference.

LaMagna, M. & Rodgers, A. (2024, March 13). Knowledgebases: Improving content for answers. [Presentation]. Computers in Libraries 2024 Conference, Crystal City, VA, United States.

LaMagna, M. & Di Battista, A. (2024, March 5). Building an open education research community. [Presentation]. Community College Consortium for OER (CCCOER), Open Education Week, Online.

LaMagna, M. & Rodgers, A. (2023, October 2). Understanding Student Perception of LibGuides and LibAnswers FAQ Design and Content. [Presentation]. Pennsylvania Library Association Annual Conference, Pocono Manor, PA, United States.

LaMagna, M. (2023, April). Designing a copyright learning community to meet the needs of online faculty. [Presentation]. Technology, Colleges & Community (TCC Hawaii) 2023, Virtual Conference.

Bloom, M., LaMagna, M, Michniewicz, P., Oshiro, W., Scott, A., Sebesta, J., & Shoemate, J. (2023, March 6). Celebrate open ed, come on! [Panel discussion]. Community College Consortium for OER (CCCOER), Online.

Bloom, M., Korstange, R, LaMagna, M, & Vasquez Ortiz, R. (2022, December 7). Measuring the impact of open education [Panel discussion]. Community College Consortium for OER (CCCOER), Online.

LaMagna, M. (2021, April). Support the move to remote instruction: Rethinking information literacy instruction during the pandemic [Presentation]. Technology, Colleges & Community (TCC Hawaii) 2021, Virtual Conference.

LaMagna, M. & Feldmann, L. (2021, February). Faculty select: Finding affordable course content & OER [Academic Technology Lightening Round presentation]. Staying the Course: Where Do We Go from Here, Virtual Conference.

LaMagna, M., Danowitz, E., & Rodgers, A. (2020, September). When eBooks are the only option. [Paper presentation]. Computers in Libraries (CIL) and Internet Librarian IL Connect 2020, Virtual Conference.

LaMagna, M. & Feldmann, L. (2020, September). Meeting immediate needs through OER advocacy during a pandemic. [Paper Presentation]. 2nd Annual Affordable Learning Summit: Advocate PA: Getting the Word Out About OER, Virtual Conference.

Douglas, V. A., Meulemans, Y. N., LaMagna, M., & Gardner, C. C. (2020, July 28). Hidden architectures in information literacy: A three-part webcast series [Part II: Leading & managing information literacy programs]. [Webcast presentation]. Association of College & Research Libraries (ACRL), Online.

Kowalsky, M. & LaMagna, M. (2019, April). Training in primary sources using Library of Congress’ digital objects. [Poster presentation]. Association of College & Research Libraries (ACRL) Conference, Cleveland, OH, United States.

LaMagna, M., Danowitz, E., & Rodgers, A. (2019, March). Competing eBook acquisition models: Which model best serves your community? [Collections: Georeferencing, Audio, Ebooks, & Tech]. [Paper Presentation]. Computers in Libraries Conference, Crystal City, VA, United States.

LaMagna, M. & Puterbaugh, M. (2015, Nov.). Connecting digital badges with information literacy instruction. [Presentation]. Tri-State College Library Cooperative (TCLC), Eastern University, Radnor, PA, United States.

LaMagna, M., Hartman-Caverly, S., & Danowitz, E. S. (2015, Nov.). Student preference for eBook collections. [Presentation]. E-Books in Libraries: As Update Conference, Amigos Library Services, Online.

Hartman-Caverly, S., LaMagna, M., & Perzchowski, R. (2014, Nov.). Strategies for inclusive library discovery service evaluation. [Presentation]. Discovery Tools Now and in the Future Conference, Amigos Library Services, Online.

LaMagna, M. & Hartman-Caverly, S. (2014, October). Video tutorials: Instruction at the point of need. [Presentation]. Community College Partner Conference VI, Albright College, Reading, PA, United States.

LaMagna, M. (2014, April). Synchronous opportunities: Developing an information literacy webinar program. [Presentation]. Association of College and Research Libraries – Delaware Valley Chapter (ACRL/DVC) Spring Program, Great Valley, PA, United States.

LaMagna, M., Hartman-Caverly, S., & Danowitz, E. S. (2014, April). Students & eBooks. [Presentation]. Computers in Libraries 2014, Washington, D.C., United States.

LaMagna, M. (2013, June). E-Books: Implications for collection development and information literacy. Presentation at SNRG 2013: SirsiDynix Northeast Regional Users Group, Cabrini College, Radnor, PA.

McMullin, R., Drew, S., & LaMagna, M. (2011, April). Using clickers in library instruction. Roundtable discussion at the Association of College & Research Libraries (ACRL) Conference 2011, Philadelphia, PA.