This document summarizes an ALA webinar about best practices for integrating academic library services into course management systems (CMS). The webinar covered why libraries should be involved in CMS, designing a library approach, project management tips, and assessment. Speakers discussed keeping integration simple, building relationships on campus, and ensuring scalability. Assessment examples included analytics of library resource usage in CMS and surveys of faculty and students. The webinar provided an opportunity for questions and discussion of challenges and opportunities in CMS integration.

1. ALA Webinar
Getting Started with the
Course Management
System
Best practices for academic libraries

2. Lily Todorinova, Undergraduate
Experience Librarian, Rutgers
University
lily.todorinova@rutgers.edu
Lindsay Johnson, Public
Services Manager & Subject
Librarian, HSS & Law Libraries,
University of Alberta
lindsay.johnston@ualberta.ca
ALA Webinar

3. Overview
๏ Why the CMS?
๏ Designing your library’s approach to
the CMS
๏ Project management tips & lessons
๏ Assessment
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4. Overview
๏ 2 Question Breaks
๏ Polls
๏ Discussion & Q&A
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5. Background
๏ ALA Annual in Las Vegas, 2014: “Libraries in
the Course Management System”
๏ ALA Midwinter in Chicago, 2015: “Assessing
Integration of Library Services into Course
Management Systems"
๏ ALA Annual in San Francisco, 2015: “Lessons
Learned: Libraries, Course Management
Systems, and Future Directions"
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6. Why the CMS?
51%
11
%
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+
Source: http://www.educationdive.com/news/12-learning-
management-system-providers-and-what-they-bring-to-
classrooms/97613/
7%

7. The CMS International Market
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8. POLL
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9. Which CMS platform does your
institution use?
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A. Blackboard/Moodle
A. Blackboard/Moodle
B. Canvas
C. Sakai
D. Pearson
E. Other or homegrown

10. A. Yes
B. No
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Has your institution gone through
the process of reevaluating (or
changing) their CMS?

11. “ Embedded librarianship occurs in the online space familiar to students who log in
daily for course work...it delivers relevant library resources and services needed by
students grappling with course-specific research assignments in the campus LMS.
Undergraduates associate this familiar online environment with the academic world.
They may conveniently log in 24/7.” - Tumbleson & Burke, 2013
Why the CMS?
“Blended learning is generally defined as, “an instructional approach that substitutes
online learning for a portion of the traditional face-to-face instructional time”.
- Owston, York & Murtha (2013)

12. ALA Webinar

13. Educause Report, The Current
Ecosystem of Learning Management
Systems in Higher Education:
Student, Faculty, and IT Perspectives
https://net.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/ers1414.
pdf
ALA Webinar

14. FINDINGS
๏ 15% of higher learning institutions will replace their CMS
in the next 8 years
๏ Faculty and students value the CMS, but rarely use any of
its advanced features and full capacity
๏ User satisfaction is highest for the most basic of CMS
features and lowest for features that involve collaboration
and engagement
๏ Although students’ general digital skills may be strong,
they do not transfer to a proficiency in the use of the CMS
๏ 86 % of faculty and 83 % of students use the CMS
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15. “To meet users’ needs and expectations, the
next-generation LMS should be mobile
friendly, personalized, customizable,
adaptive, intuitive, integrated, and
designed to enhance student learning.”
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16. QUESTION BREAK
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17. Designing your
approach
Creative Commons
Image
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18. LESSON 1: Keep it
simple
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19. Project name
๏ Students and faculty value traditional
functionality
๏ Avoid flash, as well as page crowding
๏ Users do not want extraneous features.
The more seamless the library content is,
the less likely it is for users to view it as
unnecessary
๏ Available by default is ideal. Opt-in works
as a compromise

20. Project name
Example 1: Link to course guides
(libguides)
Example 2: Simple
“library block”

21. LESSON 2:
Relationship Building
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22. Important Questions
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What is the organizational, political, and technological context?
๏ Who maintains the CMS at your institution?
๏ What is your existing relationship with that group?
๏ What is the best way to establish contact with them?
๏ Buy-in from library administration & CMS administration. Who
should present a proposal on collaborating with the library?
๏ What CMS platform(s) does your institution use?
๏ Find your community of practice. Explore possibilities for
integration of library services.
๏ What can you bring to the table?

23. Proposal Example

25. Poll
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26. Does your institution use more
than one CMS platform?
a. Yes.
b. No.
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27. LESSON 3:
Scalability
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28. Scalability: Staffing & Technical
Considerations
๏ Build on existing infrastructure - link to existing services (ex. Embed a chat
widget. Is using a third party software inside CMS a problem for CMS
developers?)
๏ Direct contact with librarians, service points, or both?
๏ Features that instructors can add themselves (ex. customizable block) OR
librarian added to class OR option for both.
๏ How can instructor “enroll” a librarian in the course - librarian role available?
๏ Mapping to library guides to push content (ex. Canvas) -- guides must be of
constant excellent quality
๏buy-in from all staff
๏ What does the mobile interface look like?
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29. Scalability: Examples
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30. Scalability: Examples
Automatic library modules in every
newly created CMS course
(University of Chicago)
Introduction to the Libraries CMS course for all
students (Nova Southeastern University)
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31. QUESTION BREAK
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32. ALA Webinar
Assessment

33. Assessment
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๏ Work with the course instructor to assess
the impact of your presence in the course
๏ Analytics: Counting clicks, using LibGuide
or Google Analytics
๏ Surveys
๏ Case Study: University of Alberta

34. U of A Libraries: Current Stats on
use of the Library Block in Moodle
๏ Total uses of block in all credit courses: 730
๏ Total number of eClass credit courses Fall 2015:
2231
๏ Library block is in ~30%
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35. Google Analytics:
CMS to Library Website

36. Google Analytics:
CMS to Library Ask Us page

37. Surveys
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38. What to Include in the Block?

39. Design update: new look!
2013-2015 Current

40. Assessment: Use Study Survey
What
Kinds
of
Questions
Did We
Ask?

41. General Survey Responses Small Classes Visited by Librarian
31%
68%

42. General Survey Responses Small Classes Visited by Librarian
50%
95%

43. DISCUSSION
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44. Questions
๏ How do you plan to approach this project? What
information do you need to start?
๏ What are the pros/cons of a wide-scale integration of
library resources for all CMS courses?
๏ How will faculty on your campus respond to this
initiative?
๏ Is there a librarian at your institution who works with
user experience issues, including the CMS? What
expertise do you need to get this project on board?
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45. Questions
๏ How do you plan to deal with scalability?
๏ What are your library’s measures of success for this
project?
๏ Is the role of the library in the CMS worth assessing? In
what ways can it contribute to showing the effectiveness
of the library?
๏ What innovations in CMS design do you wish to see in
the future?
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46. Resources
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UAlberta Libraries Bibliograpy and Examples:
๏ Bibliography
Credit: Carlene Slobodian
๏ One-pager proposal
Credits: Debbie Feisst, Angie Mandeville, and Lindsay Johnston
๏ Tips sheet for faculty/instructors
Credits: Kim Frail and Debbie Feisst
๏ Eclass promotional slide
Credit: Hanne Pearce

47. Join the CMS Google
Group!
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48. Q & A
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49. THANK YOU
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Lily Todorinova (lily.todorinova@rutgers.edu)
Lindsay Johnson (lindsay.johnston@ualberta.ca)