Your embedded librarian is available to assist your course in a variety of synchronous, asynchronous, virtual and in-person ways, depending on your class structure and timing.
Communicate with your librarian about how you see their role in the class and ask them if they have suggestions. Embedding in Canvas allows the librarian to keep up with all class content in real time; they will be able to view all announcements and have access to assigned materials.
Introduce the librarian to your class! If you have regularly scheduled online meetings, ask your librarian to pop in to discuss their role and how to best contact them. If your course is asynchronous, ask your librarian to record a quick introductory video that they (or you) can post to Canvas.
Available/Optional tasks for your librarian:
- Announcements - Librarians may send class Announcements, reminding students of upcoming library workshops, adding relevant commentary to current class topics, or providing links to suggested/recommended videos.
- Discussions - Creation of a library-specific Discussion group allows students to get their research questions answered quickly. Questions may range from concept clarification to citation practices. By posting the questions/answers in a public space, students may utilize the Discussion group as a public resource.
- Supplemental Materials - Awareness of current topics/projects allows your librarian to preemptively prep and provide library resources, additional literacy content and research guides. This content may be added by the librarian to page modules, sent via Announcements or may be delivered to you to disseminate.
- Instruction - Librarians may provide workshops to your students at your discretion. These workshops may be given via zoom or in-person (the L-building computer room is available for this). Additionally, your librarian may prepare short, recorded mini-workshop videos to your class on topics relevant to the course (for example, how to format a hanging indent or how to do a quick source evaluation of a website). Although your librarian is not responsible for grading you may use them as a resource for information literacy content to be used in formative and summative assessments.
- Office Hours - Your students may appreciate virtual librarian office hours as a way to efficiently get their research questions answered by a familiar face.
Consider the Location of Library Materials Within Canvas
Embedded librarians encourage student engagement; the key to engagement is findability. Students will engage with the librarian more frequently and consistently if their Canvas presence is obvious. You are the best judge of how you want your Canvas environment to operate. Think about where you would like information from the librarian to be kept.
Some options:
- A Library Module - This module would be a one-stop shop for all of the librarian's content. It might include Discussion groups, FAQs, library resources, etc. Ideally this module would be pinned near the top of the other class modules for easy accessibility.
- A Class Resources Page - Some instructors create modules allocated for semester-long class resources. Library resource pages may be collected and included with the other class resources within this module.
- Dispersed Within Modules and Discussions - Some instructors prefer that library content be presented within Canvas modules chronologically or thematically (for example, resources on MLA citation practices being kept near the first assignment in which MLA format was used). Note that this format may make it more challenging for students to go back and refer to the resources in later modules and therefore the content may need to be repeated in later modules.
