Category Archives: library services

Blog Post #5: Embedded Librarians – Best Practices in the Online Classroom

01 Sunday Jun 2014

Posted by in Blog posts, embedded librarians, ENGL 824, library services, online courses

≈ 3 Comments


York, Amy C., and Jason M. Vance. “Taking Library Instruction into the Online Classroom: Best Practices for Embedded Librarians.” Journal of Library Administration 49.1/2 (2009): 197-209.
Online class numbers continue to proliferate within higher education, with reports pointing to the need for libraries to take note as it translates to fewer students on campuses and in physical libraries.  Already, we see students turn to the web or their friends before they turn to the library website or a librarian for help. The authors use the phrase embedded librarianship to describe “any librarian who takes an active role inside the online CMS classroom” (199), as they outline best practices for librarians to follow to expand services within a CMS using a review of the literature and an online survey.
As classes are developed within a CMS, York and Vance expect that fewer students will explore library websites and instead continue to access web search tools. From hybrid courses to all online classrooms, the authors point to new avenues of instruction for librarians, especially on campuses where online enrollment is expanding and a library’s staff remains the same. Writing that in 2000 the professional literature had little mention of library involvement in online learning environments and none in reviews for individual systems, they point to a number of more recent articles often “bemoaning” the lack of librarian integration or involvement in CMS development.  Those that do are from individual sites, describing the successes, challenges and “dreams” of librarians as they move face-to-face services to the web.
The consistent theme from the literature is the ongoing mantra for librarians — collaboration with faculty and administrators is essential.  Finally, results from York and Vance’s online study provide the following best practices for librarians working to embed in a CMS (202-207):
  1. Know your campus CMS and administrators
  2. Include a library link in the CMS
  3. Go beyond just a link to the library – embed in individual courses.
  4. Don’t overextend – learn about the CMS and provide online learning modules.
  5. Think strategically about courses to focus on, selecting courses that have research assignments.
  6. Actively participate in the class.
  7. Market library services and embedded librarian offerings.
There are many articles offering best practices, with “imperatives for librarians to get on board” (207), yet in perusing the research, I am once again struck by disconnects between the literature in composition/rhetoric and librarianship.  For example, to further explore the topic of “embedded librarianship” in the literature for composition and rhetoric, searching MLA International instead of databases focusing on library literature, with the following search 150+ results are returned – a good base set to review.

((Distance OR online) AND learning) AND (“rhetoric and composition” OR “first year”) 

When AND library*is added, there is 1 result, the PhD dissertation of the Dean of Library Services at Southeastern University, Grace Veach, whose research I have used in previous papers.  

Search for “embedded librarian” in any context in MLAand no results are returned. 

All of these searches return results in library literature. As I noted in other blog posts, I have discovered plenty of room for research exploration and collaborative opportunities!

Blog Post #3 – Library Resources and Global Access

01 Sunday Jun 2014

Posted by in Blog posts, ENGL 824, international students, library services, online courses

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Wang, Zhonghong and Paul Tremblay. “Going Global: Providing Library Resources and Services to International Sites.” Journal of Library Administration 49 (2009): 171-185.
Providing access to resources for students and faculty via distance or off-campus is part of a library’s basic service mission.  Libraries are being challenged to rethink how to promote and implement resources, instruction and access to meet the needs of a global audience. Wang and Tremblay outline how library services are provided after a Global College is relocated to their campus. A growing international population on campuses offers opportunities and challenges for libraries to serve a more diverse student body.
Library services are provided 24/7 in most academic libraries through proxy servers on campus networks. However, providing library instruction off-campus is one area that can be challenging.  Software solutions exist, such as videoconferencing, chat and email that make connectivity functionally easier, but libraries are also exploring how to customize options to better meet the different cultural and diverse needs of international populations. Wang and Tremblay provide a literature review that draws from research written about how international populations are served on U.S. campuses, but note that there is little research exploring how U.S. campuses in other countries impact an academic library’s services and mission. Australia, recognized as a leader in providing education to a global audience has moved librarians from thinking “in the parochial to the global” (175).
Supporting online library offerings via the Global College is a priority with the Dean, which makes it easier to engage faculty and librarians. While each Global College site has local offerings for library services and campuses, there is a need for centralized resources available through the Brooklyn campus, insuring that all students had access to databases, inter-library loan, library instruction, and research assistance. A group of librarians at the central campus are dedicated providers of services to the Global Campus and the authors list their best practices for providing services to a global audience. They stress the need to be proactive and work with faculty involved in distance learning, noting that collaboration and “working toward a common goal” are essential for success.
While little in the article comes as new information in terms of library services and off-campus offerings to an academic librarian, it does provide an overview of the benefits and challenges a campus faces when having a large global presence change how they can meet the needs of their new audience.  Scalability of offerings is one point that is good for all librarians to remember, as it is tempting to want to individualize offerings, both in-person and online, but meeting the overall needs of a campus is most important. The offering of online modules for individual classes that are more customized for research topics than individual students is one way to meet this need and yet put a face and presence on the library’s resources and available help for the students in any location.  There is growing research exploring online library services, but little focused on international students, or unique needs of student populations, so I am interested in continuing this avenue of research beyond this term.

Blog Post #2 – Student Motivation in an Online ESL Writing Classroom

29 Thursday May 2014

Posted by in Blog posts, ENGL 824, international students, library services, online courses

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Zhang, Jie. “Learner Agency, Motive, and Self-Regulated Learning in an Online ESL Writing
          Class.” IALLT Journal 43.2 (2013): 57-81.

Framing a case study through Vygotsky and Leont-ev’s activity theory, Zhang examines computer-mediated communication (CMC) in ESL online writing classrooms.  He provides a literature review comparing face-to-face and CMC, ESL classrooms, determining that student-focused responses to online classes are lacking.  He interviews two students from his online ESL writing class, asking how much of a student’s experience in an online class is dependent on individual behavior as viewed through activity theory. Using activity, action and operation as ways to examine students’ class performance, he defines these by looking at activity as the motive, action as the process, and operation as the “doing” or moving toward the goal (63). He sees a student’s motivation as being connected to how he/she makes decisions as to investment in a class – in this case, the online environment.

In Zhang’s approach, by using self-regulated learning (SRL), students make decisions in a learning environment based on choices and/or goals they set during the class term. This is a “dialectical relationship” as learning contexts change, students lack full control, and thus outcomes are not stable.  In classrooms using CMC, “online learning requires more learner control and self-discipline than traditional classroom-based instruction” and while more opportunities are available online, these may also result in students who are less disciplined, lose interest, or do not participate as they might in a face-to-face classroom (63).

From Zhang’s results looking at learner agency, motivation affecting performance and achievement, he finds that these factors are very different for the two students and impact their success in the class. Zheng concludes that “computer technology contextualize[s] learning for different people in different ways by empowering some and handicapping others” (73). He stresses that not all students are ready for the “autonomy and flexibility of computer-mediated learning,” especially ESL and first-year students who benefit from increased support and closer direction from classmates and faculty during their initial enrollment term. The article concludes with a list of suggestions to minimize student anxiety in an online course.

This article was useful in introducing activity theory to me; however I did expect it to be more focused on the specific writing challenges of ESL students in an online classroom. It was not evident from Zhang’s argument how ESL students were differentiated by activity theory from any other students. However, gaining insight into the different and sometimes unfathomable reasons why students sign up for classes and how motivation and learner agency can affect student performance in a class was worthwhile.  Remembering that student success or failure in a class may have nothing to do with the class itself, online or face-to-face is somewhat comforting to keep in mind for future classes, rather than internalizing the reasons why some students disappear from a class, or choose not to succeed.

Blog Post #1: ENG 824. Embedded Librarians in Online Classrooms

25 Sunday May 2014

Posted by in Blog posts, embedded librarians, ENGL 824, library services, online courses

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Kadavy, Casey, and Kim Chuppa-Cornell. “A Personal Touch: Embedding Library Faculty  
        into Online English 102.” TETYC  39.1 (2011): 63-77. 
In an online English 102 classroom, Kadavy and Chuppa-Cornell point to the benefits of teaching online, but also view the challenges and increased feelings of isolation, both for students and faculty. Pointing specifically to the teaching of research, while also acclimating students to an online classroom, The authors note that students often resort to open web sources, unaware that library resources are readily available, as students are distanced from both physical and personal library presence.  To remedy this, they collaborated on embedding a librarian in their course through a “Personal Librarian” model. Studies examining students’ online search behavior explain that there is a “need for greater, not less, library instruction in the online environment” (64). Beginning researchers are “easily overwhelmed and confused” by the amount of information available to them as Alison Head, Director of Project Literacy stresses that while students may use and be familiar with the online environment, this “does not mean college-aged students are natural-born researchers” (quoted in Kadavy, 64).
An embedded librarian can provide research support to students, while offering point of need instruction through tutorials, discussion forums, and assignment feedback.  Kadavy and Chuppa-Cornell posit that students’ research needs are best served through personal contact within an online course.  By stressing that the Personal Librarian was “an ally in the researching process,” they were able to build personal librarian attention and library support into the online class that they felt was lacking from what students experienced in face-to-face classes (65). Modules of information literacy directly tied to the class content and assignments were created, while a Personal Librarian provided a consistent presence, offering feedback and support to the students. Short videos provided navigation and research help, depending on class needs. Student feedback was positive for this model as students learned about resources and gained skills that would help them in other classes. The students also showed a dramatic rise in their research abilities after implementing the Personal Embedded Librarian model, with a 24% increase in their knowledge of source quality and use of resources in their writing.
A personal or embedded librarian within a class is a familiar, but underutilized model. As the authors note, it relies on cooperation and collaboration between teaching faculty and librarians. This model can benefit students and faculty, as beginning courses often require research, but students do not always have these skills in their first year of college. My concern is that only brief mention is given in the article to the difficulty in making these connections with faculty and convincing them that embedding a librarian in a classroom is of direct benefit to the students. Problems in planning time, concerns about loss of authority, content coverage or even library staff available can be possible concerns.  However, none of these outweigh the potential benefits for students. Personal approaches using embedded librarians, with tiered information literacy skill-building and direct ties to the curriculum offer students the most opportunities for success, especially important in an online classroom where distance can often be isolating.