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Faculty Services

A guide for ways to enhance your courses with the help of UMA Libraries.

What's an embedded librarian?

embedded librarian definition

A librarian's role in your course can be flexible and adaptable to your course needs and your students needs. Embedded librarians are typically integrated into your Brightspace course so they can add relevant learning materials, be familiar with course assignments, and be an established support person for your students. 

Embedded Librarian Services

Embedded librarians are able to access courses in Brightspace. What does this mean for faculty?

  • Add E-Reserves (course reserves) and/or streaming videos that are copyright compliant
  • Direct student access for librarians
  • Allows for faculty/librarian collaboration on assignments
  • Librarians can host class discussions and forums
  • Add course guides and learning objects to Brightspace course

Introduce your course librarian early in the semester via a meet and greet session.

"Even one face-to-face meeting with students can help establish a bridge in the relationship between the physical class meetings and the librarian’s virtual participation (Hamilton, 10)".

Embedded librarians can offer open office hours specifically for your students' research needs. 

Students may not feel comfortable asking for research help during class sessions, so office hours may help!

Librarians are happy to offer instructional sessions on a variety of topics including:

  • General UMA Libraries research overview
  • Research in a specific database
  • How to choose a research topic
  • Evaluating sources
  • Citations

Typical sessions last anywhere from 30 min to 1 hour.

Librarians can create customized course guides that contain specific information for your class.
Consider it a smaller version of our resources!

The example below is a guide that was created for English 102 courses at UMA. 

 

Librarians are able to create learning objects including specific videos for your courses! 

  • Videos or tutorials could be on any subject that makes sense for your purposes.
  • We can also create customized non-video tutorials (left).

►Here's a video that was created for a dental class on how to use the Medline database:

►Here's a shorter video version on how to find a dental article:

 

One-on-one or small group research appointments with your students. 

Tie research appointments into an assignment by:

  • Requiring them for assignments
  • Encouraging them for assignments
  • Offer as extra credit for an assignment or course

Collaborate with a librarian to integrate research into your assignments!

  • Integrate UMA Libraries resources and research into an assignment
  • Require research appointments for an assignment
  • Vary assignments - have students use podcasts, infographics, case studies, etc.
  • Currency check - are your assignments relative to research today in your field of study?

"Develop new activities and assignments that require students to critically analyze, evaluate, and apply information (Mellon, 2020)."

Accessibility Statement
The University provides reasonable accommodations to individuals with disabilities upon request. Any person with a disability who needs accommodations for a workshop should contact UMA Libraries at uma.library@maine.edu to submit a request. Due to the lead-time needed to arrange certain accommodations, individuals should submit their request no later 1 week before the event.