Serve it up! Embedded Librarians and Faculty Collaborate to Dish Out Information Literacy Skills The Distance Education Campus at Mohave Community College in Mohave County, AZ, created a unique partnership with Academic Library Services to provide online students with "point of need" information literacy skills in a classroom without walls environment. The presenters will talk about their collaborative experience with the embedded librarian pilot. Tips for a successful collaboration will be included. . --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

1. EMBEDDED LIBRARIANS & FACULTY
COLLABORATE TO DISH OUT
INFORMATION LITERACY SKILLS

2. Objectives
CURRENT
MISSION PILOT
SITUATION
EMBEDDED PILOT
LIBRARIAN SUCCESS & NEXT STEPS
EXPERIENCE OUTCOMES
Tips for
Successful Wrap Up
Collaborations

3. THE MISSION

4. The mission of Mohave Community College is to be a learning-
centered college, serving all constituencies, inspiring excellence
through innovative learning methodologies and empowering
students to succeed.

5. Information Literacy
Professional
Association of
Academic Librarians
ACRL
Dedicated to Serving
Higher Education Dedicated to improving
Information Needs Learning, Teaching, and
Research

6. Information Literacy
MCC as a learning-centered organization
Why Information Literacy?
What does Information Literacy mean
to students?

7. What is Information Literacy?
Find Retrieve Analyze Use

8. THE SITUATION

9. MCC LIBRARIES
Computers
MCC LIBRARIES
Media
Services
MCC LIBRARIES
Journals

10. Campus-Based
Librarian & Staff
Personalized
F2F
Assistance

11. Library
Website
Point of
Access to
Portal of
Information
Need Equitable
Services
Services
Personal
Assistance

12. Quality Resources
Nursing, Allied
Health, & English Multidisciplinary Research Tools
Medicine

13. Library-Centered Information Literacy
• “…distance learning students need library resources just
as much as traditional students…”
• “…discerning quality information and resources on the
Internet is not an innate skill…”
• “…the closer the link between course assignments and
library resources to help these assignments, the greater
the likelihood that students will access library
information…”

14. Point of Need Services
Ask A Librarian
Point of Need
Personal Contact
Resources with library staff
Research Portal What’s missing?

15. Stakeholder Support
AACC
MCC
President
Governing
Board

16. THE PILOT

17. Buy In Through Collaboration
Faculty EL Coordinator
Specialty and expertise in the Worked with ELs in
past positions &
socialization of online was chosen to
learners spearhead the pilot
Included faculty in Clarified the role of Constant
the decision- the ELs within communication
making process ANGEL courses with online faculty

18. EL Initiative Strategy

19. Expected Outcomes of
Collaboration

20. Learning Activities & Course
Objectives

21. Pre and Post Test
58% Average 94% Average

22. Communication via Forums

23. Communication via Forums
I am having amazing luck with the searches on my topic! The only real
problem I am now facing is that of which ones are appropriate. I have
found so many results that relate to my topic, but I do not feel that
they will actually support my stance in the essay. I have found several
Student non-professional pieces, and there in lies the problem. The info in the
non-professional articles and books are just that, non-professional. I
feel to back my instance I need the expertise of the professional
pieces. Due to this I tend to stick more to the scholarly journals, and
books being written or in conjunction with licensed professionals!
You've got the right idea. There are lots of sources out there and you
have to make a determination which are the best sources to use to
support your argument paper -- thus, you must engage in
EL research. For books, you can find out something about the author on
the back cover of the book or Google him/her and find out something
about them, their affiliations and credibility in their field or subject of
study . For scholarly journals, you would want to use the EBSCO
databases and click on peer reviewed journals and full-text so you can
retrieve only those journals that are scholarly.

24. Target:
English 101
Ask A Library
Librarian Activities
Reinforcement
of EL Initiative

25. THE EMBEDDED LIBRARIAN
EXPERIENCE

26. Embedded Librarians in the Online
Classroom
Oakland, CA Bullhead City
Online Student
Columbus, Ohio
Dover, Arkansas Lake Havasu City

27. Variety of Online Services in Fall
Semester 2010

28. Services in the Online Classroom
Assisting Students with Library Basics
Sample Question:
“This may be a stupid question, but could you tell me what OPAC stands for and
where I can find it?”
The OPAC (Online Public Access Catalog) is the Library’s catalog.
You can use it to search for materials that the Library owns. Go to
mohave.edu/library and type in one or more keywords to find books on your
topic.

29. Services in the Online Classroom
Sample Question:
“My teacher said I can’t use Google to research my topic. Where else
can I find information?”
You can find a great deal of trustworthy information through the
Library’s online databases. Go to mohave.edu/library and then
click on the “Library Online Databases” link. Click on the link for
“Academic Search Premier” and then you can type in your key
word(s). If you click on the box next to “full text” on the left side
of the screen, your results will only include full-text articles.

30. Services in the Online Classroom
Throughout the Semester
Students Learn:
How to use the Library’s How to search the Library’s
online databases in order to
catalog to locate both
find reputable articles from
print and electronic legitimate journals and
books. magazines.
Skills that lead
How to evaluate How to brainstorm The importance
for key words that up to research
websites to of proper that is
will help them find
determine if the
information
the information that citations and focused, credible
they need (and not the cost of and credited
presented is just give up after one
trustworthy. plagiarism. using MLA
or two tries).
format.

31. Resources that Specifically
Help the Online Student
Students who can’t visit MCC provides many In addition to calling or
an MCC campus can sign emailing an Embedded
ebooks that are
up quickly for a “virtual” Librarian, students can
library card through our available through the now “Text-A-Librarian”
webpage. OPAC. for help.
MCC provides access to Librarians are working to
many of the EBSCO develop additional
databases and has recently
instructional
added Gale Virtual
Reference Library and materials, such as
Opposing Viewpoints in LibGuides, screencasts
context. and video tutorials.

32. Helpful Links and Video Resources

33. Students are Actively Utilizing the
Resources

34. Problems and Solutions
Students need completion deadlines
for the Library assignments
The assignments are designed to
lead the student through different
researching skills.
Since the assignments are Some students waited until
based on having the the last week to finish all of The skills that
student use their skills to their assignments at
find information for their once, sometimes long after they develop in
final essay, it makes sense they have researched their
for the student to complete paper’s topic, and so they
one lesson will
the assignments did not benefit from lead to the next.
throughout the class. building research skills.

35. Problems and Solutions
Faculty need to assign grades to the EL assignments soon after each
completion deadlines.
When the teacher assigns a grade to the completed assignment it sends a message that
the assignments are an important aspect of the course and should be taken seriously.
Faculty need to read the students’ assignments and the Librarians’
responses before they assign a grade. If the teacher also provides a
comment, the student benefits even more.
If the teacher does not take the time to read the assignments and responses, then he/she
has no idea if the student actually completed the assignment correctly.
If the student sees that he/she will receive full credit for each assignment, regardless of
how well or poorly they did, then they will feel that there is no real reason to complete
the assignment properly.
We saw many shoddy assignments that we responded to in order to get the student on
the right track, only to realize that the students either never read our responses or didn’t
take them seriously.

36. Problems and Solutions
The assignments need to be
designed so that the student
can’t progress to the next one
before the teacher has had a
chance to grade and/or
comment on the previous one.
Librarians sometimes need
more than a one day We encountered a number
turnaround when responding
of students who completed
to students. Although we aim
for a quick response, we can’t multiple assignments in one
always accommodate the sitting.
timetable.
The student has also wasted If they had problems with the
his/her time completing concepts in one, and didn’t take
assignments that do not time to read our suggestions
improve their research skills about how to improve, then the
and critical thinking abilities. time we put into our comments
was wasted.

37. Issues to address
The Librarian and What are the
Instructor need to assignments’ point
discuss: values?
Who will design the Library
assignments for the online class?
Are they informal posts or graded
The best design will come from a
assignments?
collaboration between the
instructor and librarian.
Does the instructor understand
Who is expected to grade the EL
the purpose behind each
assignments?
assignment?

38. PILOT SUCCESS & OUTCOMES

39. Student Feedback
“… it was nice to “…I [hope] that
have another other students
outlet to have take advantage
questions of this fantastic
answered…” idea…”
“…having a
librarian “…the
available for embedded
additional librarian was
assistance is a very helpful…”
great help!”

40. Online Faculty Feedback
“… I didn’t realize how much this was
truly needed…”
“…my students tell me they found the
activity helpful; they didn’t know the
electronic library existed…”
“…I am pleased it will be going into ENG
102 for the spring…”

41. What We Discovered
Students were initially Since there was some
Faculty supported the
confused and confusion between the
idea of involving an
overwhelmed by the instructors, librarians
Embedded
assignments. The and students regarding
Librarian, but many of
assignments were the purpose of the
them didn’t really
generally seen as assignments, we needed
understand how we
unnecessarily hard to be sure that the
could help the students
“busy work.” We faculty understood that
become critical thinkers
needed to simplify the treating the
and better researchers.
instructions and be assignments seriously
We had to do a better
clearer about why the was the first step in
job explaining how the
assignments would getting the students to
assignments would
actually improve their take the research
result in better essays.
research. process more seriously.

42. Partnership Experience
Resident • Providing a conduit between the e-librarians and
online faculty
DE • Leading the collaborative assignment
development process
faculty • Developing the pre- and post- tests for
assessment
has been • Hosting training webinars for all participants
• Ensuring that the collaboration is consistent and
key continuous throughout the semester

43. NEXT STEPS

44. Distance Education Collaboration
Teamwork
Sustainability
Active
Communication
Participation

45. Expansion
Broaden the reach • MCC’s resident campus librarians with Wendi
Birkhead and Matthew Pierce as
of the EL Initiative ELs, monitoring up to 5 courses per session.
English 101 and
102 all online • 500 to 600 students for spring 2011
sections
Include other • Psychology
courses, both on • Humanities
ground and online: • Sociology

46. Expansion
Continued Consistent
Modifications
Development Assessment

47. Tips for Successful Collaborations
Students Resources Faculty
• Provide • Develop FAQs • Communicate about how
instructional the EL Initiative will be
materials: research • Describe introduced to students
• Write a brief welcome
guides, web services statement for students
links, videos • Provide contact explaining role &
purpose in the course
• Communication information • Communicate weekly
• Explain purpose of • Explain how to with faculty to ensure
a ‘personal ‘same-page-ness’
librarian’ & obtain library • Include faculty on all
• How to access EL cards email communication
with students
assignments

48. Wrap Up
CONTACT US @
Mohave
Community
College
Claudia Wendi Matthew
Timmann, Director Birkhead, Campus Pierce, Campus
Librarian & Librarian &
of Library Services
Embedded Librarian Embedded Librarian
ctimmann@mohave.edu wbirkhead@mohave.edu mpierce@mohave.edu