The second librarian to be featured in this series on embedded librarianship in a World Campus course is Emily Mross, a business and public administration liaison librarian who is located at the Penn State Harrisburg campus. She is embedded in PLSC 439: The Politics of Terrorism taught by Christopher Cook and designed by The Filipelli Institute for e-Education and Outreach. Emily has had a lot of interest in getting embedded in other courses as an off-shoot of this course and she shares her reflections of what it is like to be embedded below.
by Emily Mross, business and public administration liaison librarian
I am new to Penn State and new to embedded librarianship. A program within my liaison duties, Homeland Security, is a World Campus program. Because I knew that many of my students might be solely online, I jumped at the chance to be a part of the embedded librarianship pilot in Spring 2016, soon after starting my position at the Penn State Harrisburg campus.
I am currently embedded in two sections of PLSC 439: The Politics of Terrorism. This course has many undergraduate students in the Homeland Security minor and a number of Homeland Security graduate students. My primary activities for the course have involved creating a video about library resources with the instructor prior to the start of term, building a course guide, and managing a message board throughout the semester to help students with their research for a term paper.
The first thing I noticed about my students is how far flung they are–located in numerous states, countries, and time zones. I originally had ideas about providing online office hours, but it quickly became clear that could be a distinct challenge due to timing. They are also incredibly varied in terms of academic and career experience. Some are traditional college students, but those students are divided between non-residential online students and residential students taking an online course. A majority of the students are non-traditional. Many are older than 25 and have significant work experience, much of which is military-related.
PLSC 439 is an upper-level class, and these students, in addition to their work and life experience, are nearly finished with their degrees. However, it seems like many students still struggle with the research process and writing advanced academic research papers, which is the primary reason the course instructor requested an embedded librarian.
What I have enjoyed most is becoming very familiar with the course, the instructor, and the students. I spend some time each week checking up on student assignments for the week and browsing through some discussions to stay up to date on the course and any questions that may arise from the students as they work. I do not have to feel blindsided by requests for assistance with an assignment, because I have access to the course and a good line of communication with the instructor.
The preliminary work for the research paper was recently assigned, so I do expect an uptick in my interaction with the students as they really dig into their research in the coming weeks. The interaction with PLSC 439 students has largely been online via email or message board, and has been manageable. Due to their global locations, many do not expect an immediate answer, though I do make sure to respond as soon as possible.
I really enjoy being embedded. I feel that it allows me to grow more in my liaison duties and build relationships with students and faculty. Since the start of this course, I have received several requests to embed in future courses, and I am looking forward to new opportunities in this area of librarianship.