This document discusses embedding librarians in virtual communities. It provides contact information for six librarians who presented on this topic at the 2014 ALA Conference. The document also includes slides from their presentations which discuss embedding librarians both physically and virtually through online guides, tutorials, virtual worlds and social media. The librarians emphasize the importance of information literacy in all formats and embedding services wherever patrons need assistance.

1. Embedding Librarians
in Virtual Communities
Valerie Hill, PhD
Texas Woman’s University
Doug Campbell
Mayborn School of Journalism
Angela Colmenares
Lone Star College
Lilly Ramin
University of North Texas
Elizabeth Parang
Pepperdine University
Rhonda Super
University of California
ALA Conference 2014

2. ALA Conference 2014
Contact Information
Valerie Hill, PhD
Texas Woman’s University
Email vhilledu@gmail.com
Twitter @valibrarian
Blog Valibrarian http://vhill.edublogs.org/
Doug Campbell
Mayborn School of Journalism
Email Douglas.Campbell@unt.edu
Angela Colmenares
Lone Star College
Email angela.n.colmenares@lonestar.edu
Lilly Ramin
University of North Texas
Email lilly.ramin@unt.edu
lillylibrarian@gmail.com
Twitter @lillylibrarian
Elizabeth Parang
Pepperdine University
Email elizabeth.parang@pepperdine.edu
Rhonda Super
University of California
Email rasuper@earthlink.net

3. Physical World Librarian
Print is no longer king of the information hierarchy.
Information literacy includes
all formats: print, digital,
audio, video, logos, images,
social media, apps, 3D worlds
and “transmedia.”

4. The way we search has changed.
Our first “go-to” places are:
David Ferriero, Archivist
of the US stated,
“Students believe if it
isn’t online, it doesn’t
exist.” ALISE 2012

5. Integrating Information Literacy:
the challenge of the embedded librarian
The game has quickly changed.

6. Time to make your move, strategically
balancing tradition and innovation.

7. Serving Patrons
wherever they are
“What we’re trying to do is have the library be wherever you
are.” Nancy Roderer, John Hopkins Welch Medical Library
http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2010/06/09/hopkins

8. Embedded Where They Live:
Collaborating with Residence Life Staff
to Meet the Library Needs of Resident
Students at a Large Public University

9. Faculty-in-Residence
2012-2013

10. Kerr Coffee Club

11. Free Comic Book Day!

12. Homework Help

13. Homework Help

14. Homework Help

15. Doug Campbell - Embedded Librarianship
15

16. Dr. Elisabeth (Betsy) Warren
Senior Director of Housing

17. Library Anxiety
• Students:
– are intimidated by size of the library
– lack knowledge about where everything is located
– lack knowledge about how to begin the research
process
– lack knowledge about what to do and where to
begin
Library anxiety, From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Library_anxiety .
Mellon, Constance (1986), "Library anxiety: A grounded theory and its development", College & Research Libraries 47 (2): 160–
165

18. Library Anxiety

19. What do we do?

24. Librarian on Location
Bumper/Commercial
• https://www.dropbox.com/s/mqvx03wxwecv
dob/LibrarianonLocation.mp4

27. Clark Hall

33. General Academic Building (GAB)

34. Questions?
ASK DOUG

35. Embedded Librarians:
The Basics of Getting Started
Angela Colmenares
Lone Star College-Montgomery

36. What level of embed service can you
offer?
Globe, from Microsoft Office Online
Gallery, 2014.

37. What other technology do you need
for the program?
Technology, from Microsoft Office Online
Gallery, 2014.

38. How will you plan for assessment?
Test, from Microsoft Office Online
Gallery, 2014.

39. Contact Me:
Angela Colmenares
Associate Professor/Reference Librarian
Lone Star College-Montgomery Library
Angela.N.Colmenares@Lonestar.edu
936-273-7091

40. On Embedded Librarianship
Lilly Ramin
University of North Texas
Email lilly.ramin@unt.edu
Twitter @lillylibrarian

41. Librarian Squared (TWU and UNT librarians
at a downtown “Denton Square” cafe)
Events at Banter
Virtual: Meebo IM service provided
Goal to answer student questions and emphasize joint
services at Denton university libraries
@lillylibrarian

42. Events at UNT and
TWU
Virtual: Meebo IM
service provided by
both universities.
Goal to answer
student questions and
emphasize joint
services at both
university libraries
Librarian on Location (TWU and UNT librarians at UNT and TWU events and locations)
On Location at: UNT service
center during registration
@lillylibrarian

43. Embedded “one-shot”
or office hours
@lillylibrarian

44. Embedded in semester long course
• Created and provided guidance on final
project e-Portfolio
• online instruction was provided and archived
using web conferencing software
• Discussion boards designated for librarian
@lillylibrarian

45. Embedded - librarian as tech help
• For faculty: Knowing when to contact the
instructional consultant instead of subject
librarian/liaison varies (i.e. article access)
• Professor may add you to a course (role varies) to
trouble shoot an article issue.
• Tip: know basic trouble-shooting & ADA issues

46. The library in your course management system
• Created a custom library tab for Blackboard
• Created modules (admin access granted)
• Created handouts, linked to website content
and Subject Guides (LibGuides)
• Edits when CMS and website changes
@lillylibrarian

47. Pepperdine University Libraries

48. Home - InfoGuides at Pepperdine University

49. Search - InfoGuides at Pepperdine University

53. Assignment One: Biography planning sheet requires person’s name,
birthdate, and place; personal background; personality traits; significance
(major works); obstacles; important quotes

54. Screenshots show first year students how to conduct simple searches.

56. Closed caption videos help students review tasks covered during
instruction sessions or learn at their own pace

57. The International Studies Librarian
creates an InfoGuide listing useful
resources for this Listening Summit

58. LibGuide for each overseas location and for each class taught overseas

60. Research Help for Your Classes - International Programs:
Shanghai, China - InfoGuides at Pepperdine University

66. Programs

67. Home - Online ACCT 652: Accounting (Simon) -
InfoGuides at Pepperdine University
Specific courses

68. Assignment Resources - Online DESC 656: Quantitative
Analysis for Business Operations (Hall) - InfoGuides at
Pepperdine University

69. Passport - Online FINC 667 (Mari) - InfoGuides at
Pepperdine University

71. Resources for Publishing - InfoGuides at Pepperdine
University
Topics of interest to graduate students and faculty

72. Topics of interest to researchers at all levels

73. The Invisible Embedded Librarian:
Using Name Authority Records to embed library information into
the Semantic Web
Rhonda Super
Serials Specialist, UCLA
rasuper1@library.ucla.edu

92. So, the invisible technical services/cataloging librarian can become an
Embedded Librarian!

93. Web 3.0 & the Rise of a Networked
Generation
We all live in virtual worlds, whether or not we have avatars.

94. Information Literacy is like breathing.
Information Inhalation
• Literature
appreciation
• Listening &
viewing
• Reading
• Collecting &
curating
• Evaluating
sources
Information Exhalation
• Writing
• Podcasting &
recording
• Web 2.0
• Filming Videos
• Building 3D
content
• Reflection on
personal
growth
photo credit: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dklimke/6732980387/">dklimke</a> via <a href="http://photopin.com">photopin</a> <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/">cc</a>

95. Information Literacy includes all formats:
physical, virtual, and augmented.
•Digital literacy
•Media literacy
•Traditional literacy
•Transliteracy
•Audio-Visual literacy
•Web literacy
•Print literacy
•Balanced literacy
•Metaliteracy

97. Information Literacy
and Digital Citizenship
An embedded librarian shares
resources and information literacy
in numerous formats: both
synchronous and asynchronous-
both physical and digital.
Examples: Media Mondays, Wiki
Wednesdays, online resources,
tutorials, content curation,
makerspaces, live chat, or virtual
worlds.

98. Social Media & PLNs

99. Virtual World Embedded Librarian

100. MOOCs & Information Literacy
“…one can readily see overlap between the
MOOC‘s opportunity to provide global
learning environments and the kindred
opportunity for librarians to investigate and
incorporate metaliteracies into the MOOC
curriculum in collaboration with MOOC faculty
(Cantrell, 2013)

101. Global Information Literacy Panel

102. Virtual World Librarianship Examples
• Exhibits, Museums, Displays
• Immersive Learning Environments
• Historical Simulations
• Reference Work
• Information Literacy in new formats
• Professional Development
• Global Professional Networking

103. Embedded Librarians
can be Physical or Virtual
“The embedded librarian combines proactivity
and energy with strong working relationships,
close alignment with team goals and objectives,
shared responsibility for outcomes, and full
membership in the team.”
Shumaker, D. (2012). The Embedded Librarians. Online, 36(4), 24-27.

107. The library and the librarian
are not synonymous.
Take a risk and go where no
librarian has gone before!
“It may be that the great age of libraries is waning, but I am
here to tell you that the great age of librarians is just
beginning. It’s up to you to decide if you want to be a part
of it.”
~T. Scott Plutchak

108. Bibliography
ALA. (2013). Standards for the 21st Century Learner. http://www.ala.org/aasl/guidelinesandstandards/learningstandards/standards
Cantrell, L. (2013). “MOOL” in a MOOC: Opportunities for Librarianship in the Expanding Galaxy of Massive Open Online Course Design
and Execution. (in press) Internet Learning.
Gant, Scott. (2007). We’re All Journalists Now. New York: Free Press.
Gleick, J. (2011). The information: A history, a theory, a flood. Pantheon.
Grassian, Esther. (2012). Teach Information Literacy & Critical Thinking. https://sites.google.com/site/teachinfolit/ (accessed January 15,
2014).
Hill, Valerie, and Hyuk-Jin Lee. (2009). Libraries and immersive learning environments unite in second life. Library Hi Tech 27, (3): 338-56.
Howard, H. (2012). Looking to the future: Developing an academic skills strategy to ensure information literacy thrives in a changing
higher education world. Journal Of Information Literacy, 6(1), 71-81.
Kenton, J. and Blummer, B. (2010). Promoting Digital Literacy Skills: Examples from the Literature and Implications for Academic
Librarians. Community & Junior College Libraries, 16(2), 84-99.
Kolowich, Steve. (2010). Embedded Librarians. Inside HigherEd. http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2010/06/09/hopkins (accessed
March 22, 2014).
McCluskey, C. (2013). Being an embedded research librarian: supporting research by being a researcher. Journal Of Information Literacy,
7(2), 4-14
Plutchak, T. Scott. (2007). The Librarian: Fantastic Adventures in the Digital World. Serials, 20(2), 87-91.
Shumaker, D. (2012). The Embedded Librarians. Online, 36(4), 24-27.
Webber, Sheila and Diane Nahl. (2011). Sustaining Learning for LIS through use of a Virtual World. IFLA Journal (37)(1): 5-15.

109. ALA Conference 2014
Contact Information
Valerie Hill, PhD
Texas Woman’s University
Email vhilledu@gmail.com
Twitter @valibrarian
Blog Valibrarian http://vhill.edublogs.org/
Doug Campbell
Mayborn School of Journalism
Email Douglas.Campbell@unt.edu
Angela Colmenares
Lone Star College
Email angela.n.colmenares@lonestar.edu
Lilly Ramin
University of North Texas
Email lilly.ramin@unt.edu
Twitter @lillylibrarian
Elizabeth Parang
Pepperdine University
Email elizabeth.parang@pepperdine.edu
Rhonda Super
University of California
Email rasuper@earthlink.net