Developing a strategy for embedding librarians in online courses can be challenging, but it is essential to demonstrate to accrediting agencies how libraries serve online students. A well-thought-out plan can be scalable and sustainable for rapidly growing online programs and can satisfy accreditation standards. This article examines how one…

Five years ago the Association of College and Research Libraries published "The Value of Academic Libraries" report, spurring academic libraries to action concerning assessment. Communicating library value is especially important when reaching distance learning populations outside the walls of the library. By employing marketing and…

As the costs of scholarly and educational publications skyrocket, open educational resources (OER) are becoming an important way to provide content and enhance the teaching and learning experience. Librarians have a key role to play in developing, advocating, and managing OER. For many librarians, however, championing OERs means adding an…

Open Educational Resources (OERs) are online classroom content that can be reused, modified, and shared freely. The University of Maryland University College (UMUC) undertook a project to redesign its undergraduate curriculum using OERs in place of traditional textbooks. UMUC librarians have played a critical role in this project, helping to find…

Massive Open Online Courses, or MOOCs, have recently emerged as a disruptive pedagogy gaining rapid momentum in higher education. In some states, proposed legislations would accredit MOOCs to provide college-credit courses in the name of cost saving, efficiency and access. While debates rage regarding the place of MOOCs in higher education, some…

In this case study we will examine the role of the library in Open Educational Resources through the lens of library value described in Megan Oakleaf's 2010 ACRL [Association of College and Research Libraries] report. While librarians in our organization have traditionally not played a role in textbook adoptions, the campus academic goal to…

This paper will look at the services presently offered to distance students by libraries within the categories of professional staff, access to resources, reference assistance, and library user instruction. It will then offer the argument that these services could be improved by developing embedded librarians within online academic courses as a…

The society relies on institutions of higher education to produce a literate workforce; one that is able to function in a dynamic, technological, information-overload environment. In support of this new thrust, most universities have incorporated the use of new media and ICTs in the teaching learning process resulting in a multi-modal approach…

The Excelsior College Library is turning fearful faculty members into empowered copyright role models. Geared towards institutions operating without a copyright policy or department, this article outlines a three-step process for fostering faculty collaboration surrounding copyright practices: (1) Give faculty and course developers the tools and…

Archived job advertisements from the "International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) LIBJOBS" mailing list (1996-2010) were examined using content analysis. Findings suggest that distance learning (DL) skillsets as job qualifications emerged in the late 1990's and continue to be relevant today. Jobs with DL…

Current trends in librarianship in higher education have indicated an increasing tutoring role for librarians in the online environment. This article examines how the role of the e-tutor is outlined in selected online learning literature before progressing to examine the implications for librarians of fulfilling the demanding e-tutoring role by…

This article examines the virtual pathfinder and its relationship with distance education students. Various topics are addressed in relation to virtual students, LibGuides and collaborative efforts between librarians and teaching faculty. A brief history of the subject guide is presented, advantages and disadvantages of LibGuides are discussed and…

Quality Matters™ (QM) is a nationally recognized organization that certifies online courses for effective design, using an evidenced-based set of standards and a structured peer review process. In this paper, the authors demonstrate how academic librarians involved with online courses can adopt Quality Matters to build capacity for designing…

Providing distance learners access to library services does not automatically translate into usage of those resources. The literature on information-seeking behaviour of distance learners has indicated that they prefer to use local resources, as well as Web-based resources. This study investigates perspectives on library services and available…

Even though distance education has a long and diverse history, dating back to 1840, in the last ten-to-fifteen years it has been completely transformed by the emergence of Web-based technology. This technology has had an enormous impact on all aspects of distance education (or distance learning as it is increasingly called). In addition to…