The Embedded Librarian

A Collaboration

Stephanie Brenenson - FIU

Elita Kalma - FAU

What is an embedded librarian?

A. A librarian traveling with troops in Iraq.

B. A librarian attached to a specific course.

C. A librarian that provides distance learners with a direct connection to the library.

D. A librarian that provides services directly to students in an online or

traditional course.

E. All of the above

Online Courses Middle Tennessee State University

Added to online course as teaching assistant, co-instructor or co-designer

Contacts class via course email Class contacts librarian via course email, outside email account or

telephone Some faculty set-up library discussion board in course Librarian checks course daily and once on weekend/during breaks Proactive for impending assignments

Ball State: Provide screencast orientation Respond to questions on discussion board Assisted professor in assignment creation on blogs and evaluating

resources.

Community College of Vermont Participated in students’ mid-term and end-of-semester paper discussion

forums Post tips independently from discussion board

Program works best with these elements:• The librarian works with students on specific research-focused

assignments• “Ask the Librarian” is built into the specific assignment• Faculty members reiterate to students the importance of asking the

librarian• An “Ask the Librarian” forum is set up in the discussion board

Librarian’s marketing efforts paid off since demand now exceeds staffing Alternative Methods

• Library courses for specific curricular areas Online shell with web links, RSS feeds, tutorials and database instructions Discussion forums

• IP Videoconferencing and NetMeeting

(Matthew and Schroeder)

University of Wisconsin- Eau Claire One librarian collaborated with faculty in 2 online courses.

Librarian’s title: Distance Education & Reference Librarian

Portion of library website dedicated to Distance Ed students.

Promotion of services to students very important. “You’re out of sight…but not out of mind.”

Got faculty buy-in via:• Scheduled one-on-one meetings• Attended campus cultural & social events• Joined campus-wide committees

Several issues arose:• 57% of contact with librarian was for technical issues• Pattern of questions• Students expect 24/7 access to librarian

Advantages to embedded librarian:• Increased collaboration with faculty• Librarian can follow up to questions easily, knows what students are discussing in

class• Question about library service part of course evaluation

www.uwec.edu/markgrjs/Presentation.ppt (Jill Markgraf)

Traditional, Hybrid and Online Courses

May co-teach and/or teach multiple sessions

Sessions should be timed to coincide with course research

May evaluate and grade assignments

Responsible for a percentage of the course grade

Time commitment far exceeds normal library instruction

• Librarian responsibilities need to be adjusted

The FIU Story

Chapter One

It started as a collaboration and before we knew it, we were embedded.

FIU Examples Economic Geography - GEO 3502

Worked with faculty member to design research assignment and course sequence

Librarians taught 5 sessions • Sessions timed to correspond with each impending part of

the semester-long assignment Provided annotated bibliography of online sources Offered consultations for individuals or groups Observe final presentations

Honors Seminar - IDH 3005 (Fall course)

Librarians taught 7 sessions Preparation for Spring course requirements Assignments were prepared, corrected and graded by librarians Library component is 20% of the total course grade

Library Marketing Examples:

Embedded librarian services available to faculty

Middle Tennessee State University http://ulibnet.mtsu.edu/distance/EmbeddedLibrarian.htm

Southern Connecticut State University http://home.southernct.edu/~hedreenr1/embedded.html

Workshops for Librarians University of Texas at Austin

“Be an Embedded Librarian”: Getting involved in a Blackboard course: Ideas for LibrariansHandout for workshop held on May 17, 2006

http://www.lib.utexas.edu/services/instruction/resources/handouts/EmbedLibrianIdeas.pdf

University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire“Lurking Librarian” Tells All Collaborating with

faculty in online coursesPowerpoint presentation by Jill Markgraf for workshop held at WAAL 2004

http://www.uwec.edu/markgrjs/

Articles of Interest Matthew, Victoria and Ann Schroeder. “The Embedded

Librarian Program.” Educause Quarterly, 29(4), 2006.http://www.educause.edu/apps/eq/eqm06/eqm06410.asp

• View a powerpoint presentation at NERCOMP 2006 http://www.educause.edu/content.asp?

page_id=666&ID=NCP0668&bhcp=1

York, Amy. “The Embedded Librarian Service at MTSU.” Tennessee Libraries, 56 (2), 2006.

http://www.tnla.org/displaycommon.cfm?an=1&subarticlenbr=65

Hearn, Michael R. “Embedding a librarian in the classroom: an intensive information literacy model” Reference Services Review, 33 (2), 2005.

Ramsay, Karen M. and Jim Kinnie. “The Embedded Librarian.” Library Journal, 131(6), April 1, 2006, p.34.

http://www.libraryjournal.com/article/CA6317224.html

Other Resources of Interest

Southwell, Karen and Judith Brook. “Embedded Assignment Guides: Point of Need Instruction on the Web” Georgia Library Quarterly, 41(1) , Spring 2004.

The Embedded Librarian: Making and Leading the Team.

http://www.loc.gov/flicc/video/cmwg/embedded/embedded.html

This video discusses librarian experiences in the health sciences.