Scholarly Work - Library

Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://scholarworks.montana.edu/handle/1/320

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Embedded Librarians: Delivering Synchronous Library Instruction and Research Assistance to Meet Needs of Distance Students and Faculty
(IGI Global, 2012) Bonnand, Sheila; Hansen, Mary Anne
This chapter reports on one academic library’s experiences with expanding instructional services by adding synchronous library instruction to better serve its online students and faculty located across the globe. Web conferencing software allows librarians to provide interactive, high-touch library instruction for online students equivalent to the experience of students in traditional face-to-face courses. While providing this real-time instruction on library resources and research skills, librarians are embedding themselves in online programs, becoming more readily accessible to online and distance students. By meeting the changing needs of academic library users wherever they are, librarians are reaffirming their integral role and relevance as partners in the educational endeavor.
From Two Dot to Turkey: Reaching Online Library Users via Web Conferencing
(City University of New York, 2012) Bonnand, Sheila; Hansen, Mary Anne
Librarians at Montana State University (MSU) find themselves in a dual role with respect to urban versus rural distance students. MSU librarians serve students at a distance in both metropolitan communities much larger than MSU’s home, Bozeman, and in tiny rural towns of a couple hundred people or fewer, such as Two Dot, Montana. Regardless of where they reside, students and faculty want access to the full spectrum of the institution’s resources and services, including the library, and MSU librarians strive to provide equivalent services to all. For the past two and a half years, librarians at MSU have utilized Adobe Connect web conferencing software to teach research skills to online students in real–time. This article will describe the MSU library’s services to all library users including the successful implementation of synchronous library instruction. The discovery of best practices, the use of assessment involving both students and faculty, and institutional support were integral components of this project. After several years of using web conferencing, MSU librarians realized the need for marketing to grow support for the program.