Beyond Books

librarians as gatekeepers in the fight against plagiarism

Abstract

This article is focused in the potential of college librarians as agents in the fight against plagiarism and promotion of academic integrity in educational institutions. Librarians, with their deep understanding of information quality, authenticity, reliability, and relevance to the users along with providing resources and support for plagiarism prevention act as gatekeepers in the fight against plagiarism and promoting academic integrity in academia. The objective of the study was to analyse the crucial role academic librarians play in shaping academic integrity in the digital age. The data required for the study has been collected from 51 librarians working in professional and non-professional colleges in Goa state of India. Based on the review of literature it was realised that plagiarism has become a pervasive issue in academics fuelled by the ease of copy-pasting and readily available information on the Internet.The data was analysed using MS Excel and presented in the form of tables and graphs. Results revealed that librarians play a very crucial role in addressing plagiarism in academics. Study also suggests that collaborative efforts between librarian and teachers are required for the effective plagiarism prevention in academic system. The study's results validate that overcoming
obstacles is important for the successful execution of plagiarism prevention strategies within educational institutions.