EMBEDDED LIBRARIAN POLICY FOR YOUNG LIBRARY
Purpose:
- To help online students access library resources to complete online course assignments and develop information literacy skills.
- To help online faculty locate resources to enhance their instruction and improve results for research assignments.
The Embedded Librarian will:
- Provide explanations/instruction on information literacy issues
- Provide explanations/instruction on accessing and using library resources
- Provide access to resources for distance learners
- Provide library assistance to the faculty member/course instructor
Instructors for online courses will:
- State the level of involvement of librarians in their syllabus for the benefit of the students
- Provide a copy of the syllabus to the embedded librarian
- Discuss expectations of the librarian prior to the start of the course
- Contact the Library Director to have an embedded librarian added to the course
General Embedded Librarian responsibilities:
- The librarian’s contact information will be provided on the home page of the course. Office phone number and e-mail address will be provided.
- The librarian will monitor syllabus assignments for potential assistance with research and library resources.
- The librarian will monitor course forums for research/library issues
- The librarian will post in a course forum only after contacting/consulting with the instructor. Participation is restricted to library content.
- The librarian will set up a library forum in each course that allows students to ask questions and receive answers on library topics. It will also contain contact information for the librarian, hours of availability, a photo of the librarian, the library URL and relevant how-to content such as assignment specific tutorials
- The librarian will respond to students within 24 hours
- The librarian will be embedded for the entire length of the course.
American Library Association Compliance
The American Library Association has established Standards for Distance Library Services (http://www.ala.org/acrl/standards/guidelinesdistancelearning). This document contains a philosophy as well as definitive requirements. The Young Library embedded librarian policy targets three of the philosophical principles:
- Direct Human Access: Direct human access must be made available to the distance learning community through instruction, interaction, and intervention from library personnel in the provision of library services and in facilitating successful use of library resources, particularly electronic resources requiring computer literacy and information literacy skills.
- Meeting Needs, the Primary Responsibility: The library has primary responsibility for making its resources and services available to its users regardless of physical location. Therefore, the library identifies, develops, coordinates, implements, and assesses these resources and services. The library's programs must be designed to meet not only standard informational and skills development needs but also the unique needs of the distance learning community. The requirements and desired outcomes of academic programs should guide the library’s responses to defined needs. Innovative approaches to the design and evaluation of special procedures or systems to meet these needs, both current and anticipated, are encouraged.
- Information Literacy: The library must provide information literacy instruction programs to the distance learning community in accordance with the ACRL Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education. The attainment of lifelong learning skills through general bibliographic and information literacy instruction in academic libraries is a primary outcome of higher education, and as such, must be provided to all distance learning students.
Focusing on these principles allows the embedded librarian program to meet and KCU student and faculty needs and implement the ALA distance learning standards.
