Embedded Librarian Ideas: Best Practices Explored and Redefined
This paper explores the multitude of ways in which embedded librarianship can be implemented. Although the paper is primarily targeted to academic librarians in higher education settings, the literature examined and the ideas presented can support secondary and college level inter-disciplinary teaching initiatives. The ideas presented are sourced from scholarly journal articles, monographs, and best practices implemented by the author. Attention is given to programs where Information Literacy is infused into a school’s General Education curriculum. Academic librarian pedagogy, outreach, and networking strategies are also highlighted. The author is especially interested in projects that address student academic success after an embedded program is put into effect. Non-traditional embedded endeavors are especially of interest; programs where academic librarians embed themselves with high schools to support college preparation and readiness are discussed.
Introduction to Learning Management Systems
Formal university-based distance education has been around for over 100 years. For example, Cornell University established the Correspondence University in 1882, and Chautauqua College of Liberal Arts in New York was awarding degrees via correspondence courses in 1883 (Nasseh, 1997). Soon many other educational institutions, including the University of Chicago, Penn State University, Yale University, and Johns Hopkins University were offering these non-traditional learning options for their students. With the entry of the personal computer into homes and workplaces in the 1980s, learning started to become more technologydriven. However, it was not until the 1990s, with the proliferation of the World Wide Web, that the concept of technology-enhanced education began to change drastically. E-learning has become the most recent trend in technology-enhanced education. Learning program and materials are hosted and available online, allowing students to learn, interact, and even earn degrees in the comfort of their own homes. Learning materials are being made available electronically not only by educational institutions, but by employers, businesses, and individuals. A Learning Circuits survey found that 81.7% organizations use some sort of learning management system (Ellis, 2005). However, e-learning is not just for distance education. Just-in-time access (or anytime access) to learning materials for both formal and informal learning is transforming the training and educational fields. Anyone with Web space can now make learning materials available to a worldwide audience.
Integrating RSS feeds of new books into the campus course management system
If you think RSS feeds are for the birds, look what these authors did with them. By integrating the feeds into their campus' course management system, they simplified initial research and spotlighted the library's collections. Faculty members are flocking to this award-winning project.