Rethinking library service to distance education students: Analyzing the embedded librarian model

Authors

Elaine Sullo, George Washington UniversityFollow
Thomas Harrod, George Washington UniversityFollow
Gisela Butera, George Washington UniversityFollow
Alexandra Gomes, George Washington UniversityFollow

Document Type

Journal Article

Publication Date

1-30-2012

Journal

Medical Reference Services Quarterly

Volume

Volume 31, Issue 1

Inclusive Pages

25-33

DOI

10.1080/02763869.2012.641822

Keywords

Blackboard; Distance Education; Embedded Librarian; Synchronous Instruction

Abstract

Since fall 2009, reference librarians at The George Washington University's Himmelfarb Health Sciences Library have been embedded in online classes through Blackboard within the School of Nursing and School of Medicine and Health Sciences. The authors sought to determine the types of questions asked of the librarian, with the goal of informing future interactions with distance education classes to help develop a standard "protocol" for working with this population of students. Eighty-two questions were categorized and qualitatively analyzed. The findings have prompted librarians to explore tools such as Elluminate Live!, a tool that allows librarians to provide synchronous instruction within the Blackboard environment.

Comments

DOI: 10.1080/02763869.2012.641822

APA Citation

Sullo, E., Harrod, T., Butera, G., & Gomes, A. (2012). Rethinking library service to distance education students: Analyzing the embedded librarian model. Medical Reference Services Quarterly, 31(1), 25-33.