The experiences of two librarians at King University (Bristol, TN) and Lenoir-Rhyne University (Hickory, NC) with developing an embedded librarian presence in online courses at their respective institutions. Includes best practices for developing, implementing, and assessing a program.

1. EMBEDDED
LIBRARIANSHIP IN
ONLINE COURSES
OUR EXPERIENCE
Seth Allen
King University
Patrice Hall
Lenoir-Rhyne University

2. About Us
We are NOT experts, but….
Seth Allen and Patrice Hall are
instructional librarians who serve
growing online student bodies at
King University and Lenoir-Rhyne
University, respectively. We took a
continuing ed course, “Online
Embedded Librarianship”, in
January 2015 through Library Juice
Academy and wanted to share
what we learned!

3. COURSE DESCRIPTION
“This course will discuss ways librarians
may embed their skills in the virtual campus
through its learning management system
through the use of portal tabs, blocks,
eReserves, knowledge bases, and
student/faculty orientations... An
examination of the librarian as both a
subject matter liaison and copyright point
person during the design and development
of online courses is explored. The course
concludes with an analysis of assessing
embedded librarian efforts.”

4. WHY EMBED LIBRARIANS IN
ONLINE CLASSES?
ONLINE STUDENTS
NEED EQUIVALENT
INSTRUCTION
Most libraries have
well established
strategies for
teaching face-to-
face students, but
lack a strategy for
reaching online
students with
comparable
instruction!
IT PROMOTES THE
LIBRARY’S
RESOURCES
Most of the library’s
resources are now
available online, yet
many online
students assume
that the library is
only a brick and
mortar building with
print collections.
THE LIBRARIAN IS
SEEN AS AN
INSTRUCTOR
Librarians are
thought to be
guardians of info
resources, not
instructors.
Embedded library
instruction helps
students & faculty
to see the librarian
as a partner in
teaching and
learning.

5. “Embedded librarianship is a powerful way to show the
impact that librarians can and do have beyond the
traditional functions of the library, and why librarians
are needed now more than ever.”
Carlson, J. and Kneale, R., “Embedded Librarianship in the Research Context: Navigating New Waters,” College & Research Libraries News 72, no. 3
(March 2011): 167, Retrieved on May 5, 2015 from, http://crln.acrl.org/content/72/3/167.full.pdf+html

6. BARRIERS TO
BECOMING AN
ONLINE EMBEDDED
LIBRARIAN

7. ➜ Faculty “buy-in”
➜ Time commitment
○ Growing the program with your institution’
s growth
➜ Access to LMS & technology
BARRIERS TO BECOMING AN
ONLINE EMBEDDED LIBRARIAN

8. SOLUTION #1
Planning
Consider ways to embed
library services and select
some strategies that met the
needs of the class/program.

9. ➜ How much time can you invest in
each embedded class?
○ Differentiated level of involvement by
class?
➜ How will you make your
embedded efforts scalable and
sustainable? (See Appendix 2)
➜ How will you get access to your
campus LMS system?
➜ How will you assess student
learning?
PLANNING

10. INCLUDE LEVELS OF
EMBEDDEDNESS
Workload for
Librarian
Level 1
Minimal
Level 2
Minimal-Moderate
Level 3
Moderate-Extensive
Methods of
Embedding Library
Services
-Link to Library in
Course Shell
-Library chat widget(?)
-Posting Librarian
Contact Info
-Librarian-hosted discussion
forum
-Link to discipline libguide
-Link to tutorials pertinent to the
class
-Librarian leaves an
announcement offering help in
Blackboard
-Creating a custom Libguide for the
course
-Create a custom tutorial for the
course
-Host a synchronous online workshop
Appropriate for
What Courses?
All courses Courses in which instructors
solicit librarians for help
Targeted courses (ideally 2) in each
online program identified by program
chairs & librarians
How to Assess
Effectiveness/Use
-No. of clicks to library
page from Blackboard
course shell
-No. of chats originating
from Blacboard
-No. of students contacting
librarian
-No. of students responding to
discussion board prompts
-No. of page visits to LibGuides
-No. of views to YouTube
channel
-Use instruction evaluation forms for
online workshops
-Customized tutorials should have a
short quiz at the end (or some quick
form of assessment) – strongly
encourage to faculty to count quiz as a
participation grade for the coursePlan your level of involvement in each course

11. SOLUTION #2
Communication
Communicate your vision clearly
and succinctly to faculty
members & LMS administrators
and keep them updated!

12. With LMS Admins
➜ Know your admins
- their cooperation
is crucial to your
success!
➜ Discuss levels of
access in LMS - use
a level that permits
you to accomplish
your goals
COMMUNICATION
With Faculty
➜ Prepare an ‘elevator
speech’ about the
embedded librarian
program
➜ Explain what you plan
to do in their classes
in concrete terms
➜ Tailor your services to
the need of a class
➜ Communicate any
challenges with
student engagement

13. Market
Your
Embedded
Librarian
Program
Infographic embedded on a LibGuide

14. Practice Your Elevator
Speech on Embedded
Librarianship
Faculty need to grasp the ‘big picture’ - you can share the
details later!
● How will it benefit them? Save them time?
● What are you doing? Why are you doing this?
● Why is the worth the effort?
Be able to give your speech In 3 minutes….or less.

15. Ask Your
LMS Admin
for a
‘Librarian’
Role

16. SOLUTION #3
Pick an Embedded
Librarianship that
Works for You
There is no one-size-fits-all
model!

17. Embedded Librarian CSE Model
Evaluate Support
Collaborate
student
centered
Adapted from: Donaldson, A., & Valenti, A. (2014). Embedded librarians: evolving and expanding in higher education. In E. Leonard (Ed.) and E. McCaffrey (Ed.), Virtually embedded: the
librarian in an online environment (pp.17- 36). Chicago: The Association of College & Research Libraries.

18. ➜ Understand instructor’s goals and
intended student outcomes
➜ Know planned assignments and
due dates
➜ Deliver resources to support
outcomes
➜ Evaluate program through
instructor and student feedback
CSE Model

19. COURSE
TITLE
TUTORIAL LEARNING
OBJECTIVES
2000 INFO LIT
STANDARD(S)
COVERED
2014
FRAMEWORK
FRAME(S)
COVERED
CRJU3300
RESEARCH
METHODS IN
CRIMINAL
JUSTICE
-Distinguish between quantitative vs. qualitative research
studies
-Distinguish peer-reviewed from popular articles
-Recognize parts of a peer-reviewed articles (i.e. abstract,
methods)
-Introduce APA
1, 2, 3, 4, 5 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
CRJU3600
THEORIES OF
CRIMINOLOGY
-Identify tertiary sources for criminal justice research – to
research a theory or theorist
-How to use phrase Searching in Databases for Theory
-Reinforce APA style
2, 3 1,2,4,5
CRJU4550
CRIMINAL
JUSTICE POLICY
-Introduce Opposing Viewpoints in Context, Issues and
Controversies
-Use phrasing search and topic searching to do research on
criminal justice debates (i.e. community policing, gun control)
-Reinforce APA style
2, 3 5,6
King develops its program by meeting with each department that offers online degrees and select courses
for a strategic embedded presence. Seth creates a tutorial and quiz for the selected classes that align with
ACRL Info Lit Standards/Frames, the tutorial + quiz is embedded in all sections of these courses offered.

20. SOLUTION #4
Develop a Winning
Strategy
How can you practically engage
with students in online classes?

21. EMBEDDED
STRATEGY #1
Create a custom
tutorial for the class
● Use research
assignments indicated
in syllabus or other
course docs to
demonstrate info lit
skills in context

22. EMBEDDED
STRATEGY #2
Host a discussion
forum on students’
needs
● Don’t ask open-ended
questions!
● Request that instructor
participate in discussion
● Ask if instructor would
offer credit for student
participation

23. EMBEDDED
STRATEGY #3
Ask your LMS Admins
to create strategic
links
● Blackboard has e-
reserves
● Consider adding a chat
box in course shell or
link to the library
website

24. EMBEDDED
STRATEGY #4
Ask instructors to add
announcement about
library services
● Consider asking profs
to announce library
workshops in their
course shells

25. SOLUTION #5
Assess Your Efforts
Can you prove that students have
learned? Are instructors satisfied
with the embedded program?

26. ASSESSMENT
➜ Tailor embedded librarian
instruction to course learning
objective - see next slide
➜ Use formative and summative
assessments
○ Pre-tests/Post-tests (Summative)
Sample Pre-Test/Post-Test
○ Discussion Forum (Formative)
○ Citation Analysis (Summative)
Sample Citation Analysis

27. COURSE
TITLE
TUTORIAL LEARNING
OBJECTIVES
2000 INFO LIT
STANDARD(S)
COVERED
2014
FRAMEWORK
FRAME(S)
COVERED
CRJU3300
RESEARCH
METHODS IN
CRIMINAL
JUSTICE
-Distinguish between quantitative vs. qualitative research
studies
-Distinguish peer-reviewed from popular articles
-Recognize parts of a peer-reviewed articles (i.e. abstract,
methods)
-Introduce APA
1, 2, 3, 4, 5 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
CRJU3600
THEORIES OF
CRIMINOLOGY
-Identify tertiary sources for criminal justice research – to
research a theory or theorist
-How to use phrase Searching in Databases for Theory
-Reinforce APA style
2, 3 1,2,4,5
CRJU4550
CRIMINAL
JUSTICE POLICY
-Introduce Opposing Viewpoints in Context, Issues and
Controversies
-Use phrasing search and topic searching to do research on
criminal justice debates (i.e. community policing, gun control)
-Reinforce APA style
2, 3 5,6
Tailor learning objectives to the needs of the course and
align them with ACRL Info Lit Standards and Frames.

28. HOW WE
DO WHAT
WE DO

29. King University
➜ Dedicated Online
Instruction Librarian
as of 2014
➜ 6 full-time librarians
for student body of
~3,000 students
➜ Good relationship
with LMS admins &
dept. chairs (ie
strong buy-in for
embedded program)
NO ONE-SIZE-FITS-ALL MODEL OF
EMBEDDED LIBRARIANSHIP
Lenoir-Rhyne University
➜ Liaison model to serve
62 undergraduate/
graduate programs
➜ 3 campuses, 4 full-
time, 6 part-time
librarians for a student
body of ~2100
students
➜ New Center for
Teaching & Learning
and a new LMS
providing support and
opportunities for
growth of program

30. Seth at King:
➜ Met with dept.
chairs of all online
programs - built
embedded program
dept. by dept.
➜ Built reusable
tutorials/quizzes in
Google Forms to
embed in unlimited
no. of course
sections
START SMALL AND BUILD YOUR EMBEDDED
PROGRAM
Patrice at Lenoir-Rhyne:
➜ Previously embedded
in 2 classes, one
summer, one spring
semester
➜ Currently embedded in
EBP nursing summer
session
➜ Plan to use this
experience to build and
improve service

31. Thanks!
Any questions? Contact Us!
Seth Allen
Online Instruction Librarian
King University
swallen@king.edu
Patrice Hall
Instruction & Reference Librarian
Lenoir-Rhyne University
Patrice.Hall@lr.edu

32. Tumbleson, B., & Burke, J. (2013). Embedding librarianship in learning management systems: A
how-to-do-it manual for librarians (p. 157). Chicago: Neal-Shuman.
Appendix 1: Article on Best Practices for Online Embedded Librarianship

33. Appendix 2: Tips for a Scalable, Sustainable Online Embedded Program
Re-use tutorials/ assessments Instead of creating custom tutorials for a Level 3 course, use existing tutorials and assessments
Browse the web for existing information literacy tutorials, particularly items that have been licensed under
Creative Commons for re-use, to show in online classes
Consider re-using/adapting national information literacy tests (ie TRAILS) to assess students’ learning
Divide embedded service
responsibilities by discipline
As the embedded program expands, instructional librarians could divide the workload by collection
development or libguide maintenance responsibility – thus faculty can develop a relationship with a single
librarian for acquisitions and instructional services.
Use existing lesson plans to build
tutorials
Since library instruction in online courses should mirror face to face courses, tutorials for targeted classes in
online programs should be created using lesson plans for face-to-face instruction sessions (if they exist)
Keep notes of content covered in
tutorials/workshops and learning
objectives for targeted courses
Shifts in technology and accessibility to free tools might render existing tutorials obsolete. Therefore, the
Online Instruction Librarian and other librarians who create tutorials or host workshops should keep an
outline of their activities and how they relate to the learning objectives in a particular course. This might
prove helpful to re-create tutorials in future mediums and assist librarians from needlessly creating new
content for workshops.
Offer Level 3 Support sparingly Level 3 services involves value-added services that can easily siphon work time. For the embedded program
to be sustainable, the librarian needs to offer Level 3 support to courses that are research-intensive, upper
level, and have few sections offered per semester or small class sizes. As the ‘portfolio’ of tutorial grow, this
should be less problematic.

34. Bibliography
Carlson, J. and Kneale, R., “Embedded Librarianship in the Research Context:
Navigating New Waters,” College & Research Libraries News 72, no. 3 (March
2011): 167, Retrieved on May 5, 2015 from, http://crln.acrl.
org/content/72/3/167.full.pdf+html
De Rosa, C., Cantrell, J., Hawk, J., & Wilson, A. (2006). College students’
perceptions of libraries and information resources: A report to the OCLC
membership. Dublin, OH: OCLC. Retrieved on January 1, 2008, from http://www.
oclc.org/reports/pdfs/studentperceptions.pdf
Donaldson, A., & Valenti, A. (2014). Embedded librarians: evolving and expanding
in higher education. In E. Leonard (Ed.) and E. McCaffrey (Ed.), Virtually
embedded: the librarian in an online environment (pp.17- 36). Chicago: The
Association of College & Research Libraries.
Hamilton, B. (2012). Embedded Librarianship : Tools and Practices. Chicago, Ill:
ALA TechSource.

35. Bibliography
Hoffman, Starr & Ramin, Lilly. Best Practices for Librarians Embedded in Online
Courses. [New York, New York]. UNT Digital Library. http://digital.library.unt.
edu/ark:/67531/metadc67620/
Leonard, E., and McCaffrey, E. (Eds.), (2014). Virtually embedded: the librarian in
an online environment. Chicago: The Association of College & Research Libraries.
Mackey, T. P., and Jacobson, T. (Eds.). (2011), Teaching Information Literacy
Online Chicago, Illinois: Neal-Schuman
Shumaker, D. (2012). The Embedded Librarian : Innovative Strategies for Taking
Knowledge Where It's Needed. Medford, N.J.: Information Today.
Tumbleson, B. E., and Burke, J. (2013). Embedding Librarianship in Learning
Management Systems : A How-to-do-it Manual for Librarians. Chicago, Neal-
Schuman.
York, A. C., & Vance, J. M. (2009). Taking Library Instruction into the Online
Classroom: Best Practices for Embedded Librarians. Journal Of Library
Administration, 49(1/2), 197-209. doi:10.1080/01930820802312995

36. CREDITS
Special thanks to all the people who made and
released these awesome resources for free:
➜ Presentation template by SlidesCarnival
➜ Photographs by Death to the Stock Photo
(license)