This is the second in a series of posts about being an embedded librarian with reflections by Lori Lysiak, a reference and instruction librarian at Penn State Altoona. Lori has spent the past few months preparing for and being embedded in Political Science 412. One of the unique things Lori does for the course is post weekly information relevant to the library.

by Lori Lysiak, Penn State Altoona reference and instruction librarian

I jumped at the chance to be an embedded librarian this semester in PL SC 412 for World Campus students. It’s a pleasure to work with Torrie [Raish], the instructor Tamar London Palmer, and the designer Lisa Byrnes to pull everything together to launch an effective online presence. All of our planning and technical work were front-loaded over the summer before the course began. I found that our partnership in determining what level of support the students need and how best to deliver it works well, although there is a small measure of trial and error since Torrie’s embedded librarian program with World Campus is brand new.

There is a temptation on my part to perhaps be “too involved,” but the instructor ably identifies where and when I’m most needed. Zoom is a wonderful online tool to create a quick biography, and Camtasia is perfect for screen-casting teaching content. I used it as a video introduction to the Library Course Guide I created. Torrie and the instructional designer are great time-saving resources in adding the bells and whistles to Camtasia videos. They took care of editing mistakes, adding closed captioning, and inserting title slides and fun call-outs for extra pizzazz. The designer also advised on where all of the library content would be most discoverable in the Canvas environment.

Now that the course is in full swing, I manage a librarian chat forum. Each week I post FYI library information relevant to the current assignment and encourage questions and discussion. The traffic has been light, but I expect it to pick up when the students begin to focus on their research papers. A typical query is, “I want to identify 1-5 key domestic policy changes made over the last 100 years, and correlate them with international economic markers. What I need help with is finding a source to help me identify those key domestic policy changes.”

It’s my goal to make sure online students receive a personalized academic experience in their library interactions, so when students reach out, I encourage virtual consultations via Zoom so we can talk through their needs, just as if we were having a face-to-face consultation in my office. Aside from student consultations, I block out an hour or two every Thursday afternoon to make sure I’m keeping a consistent online presence. This is also a great time to catch up on evaluative metrics. Being an embedded librarian fits perfectly with my research interests in online learning. It’s an exciting time to mold best practices in equal access to library instruction, services, and resources for distance learners at Penn State; I’m fortunate to be a part of it.