Information Literacy: Embedded Librarian Program

The Embedded Librarian Program at the Providence Campus at Johnson & Wales University supports 98 courses in all majors both online and face-to-face. A librarian assists students through their Ulearn course sites, providing targeted help with research, online resources and information literacy topics. Embedding in Ulearn allows librarians to focus on the needs of one specific class, building relationships with the students, developing a deep understanding of their work, and providing information services that are highly customized to current assignments.

Research shows that library use increases student success. Faculty can bring the “library” to Ulearn by embedding a librarian in a course. Librarians will add links to academic resources including articles, eBooks, databases and websites; create course-specific online guides to reinforce important concepts; create tutorials demonstrating use of online resources and information literacy topics; answer students’ questions via email or chat; and host discussion forums on research topics.

The list of benefits to students is extensive:

• Direct help for students
• Best links to academic sources
• Check ins during trimester
• Discussion forum
• IL exercise and lesson
• Individualized tutorials
• Variety of material for different learning styles – video, PDF, discussions
• Supplemental sources to support content – video, articles, eBooks
• Citation assistance
• Help to narrow topics and brainstorm ideas for research
• Identify keywords and help to develop search terms for a topic

A study entitled Documented Library Contributions to Student Learning and Success conducted by the Association of College and Research Libraries shows that “library use increases student success.

Several studies point to increased academic success when students use the library. The analysis of multiple data points (e.g., circulation, library instruction session attendance, online databases access, study room use, interlibrary loan) shows that students who use the library in some way achieve higher levels of academic success (e.g., GPA, course grades, retention) than students who did not use the library.”

The JWU Embedded Librarian Program ensures that students in the College of Online Education are granted the same services and resources as traditional students and provides an additional access point to library services for all students in hybrid and face-to-face classes.

Contact Sarah Naomi Campbell for more information.