In Bed with the Library: A Critical Exploration of Embedded Librarianship at the City University of New York

Abstract

This project considers the efficacy and scalability of embedded librarianship initiatives within the City University of New York (CUNY) library system and presents findings of an original research study conducted in 2015. Through an analysis of recent LIS literature on embedment, response data from a survey of librarians, and a selection of library position descriptions, this article examines the implications of embedment practices for librarians and libraries. By shedding light on the extent and context of embedment, the platforms used in virtual embedment scenarios, and obstacles that librarians presently face, this study aims to pinpoint strategies for embedded librarianship initiatives and begin a productive dialogue about the future of library integration in classrooms and educational technology platforms.

Embedded librarianship and Greek academic libraries

“…Such a finding is also supported by Shumaker and Talley’s (2009) research, in which 90% agree that a reference desk service should be offered, while the same proportion believe that training and in-depth field research are equally necessary. In contrast, Almeida and Pollak’s (2017) survey results suggest that information literacy is acknowledged by 77% of respondents and resource identification by 61%. It should also be emphasized that regarding the services provided to remote users, half of the academic librarians believe user support to be very important.Regarding the popularity of software , the most popular are Open e-class and Moodle.…”

“…Additionally, according to the specific research, it seems that embedded librarians are not employing the tools provided with LMSs, mainly because they are unaware of them.Regarding the role of the librarian in the LMS , users logging into the software rarely have a specific role. On the contrary, the results of Almeida and Pollak’s (2017) survey deviate significantly, since 25% of librarians enter as instructors, 62% as assistant instructors and only 15% as guests.Regarding the usage of evaluation tools , it seems that the participants do not employ them. As a consequence, the results of the embedded librarianship are not evaluated.…”

“…As a consequence, the results of the embedded librarianship are not evaluated. However, in Almeida and Pollak’s (2017) survey, the percentage of embedded librarians who evaluated embedded librarianship programs was 49%. Such a result can heavily impact the dissemination and further usage of LMS embeddedness.…”

“…Such a result is validated by York and Vance’s (2009) survey, in which 62% of participants preferred e-mail.Regarding communication tools , e-mail remains one of the most popular options. However, in York and Vance’s (2009) and Almeida and Pollak’s (2017) surveys, 33% and 45% of users, respectively, use mainly the forum (discussion board).Regarding the services provided by the LMS , this survey found that the most significant service was the reference desk service, although participants also considered the provision of information literacy and resource identification as vital. Such a finding is also supported by Shumaker and Talley’s (2009) research, in which 90% agree that a reference desk service should be offered, while the same proportion believe that training and in-depth field research are equally necessary.…”

Reflections on an Embedded Librarianship Approach: The Challenge of Developing Disciplinary Expertise in a New Subject Area

“…While there has been much scholarly activity around the characteristics of 'embeddedness' (Andrews, 2015;Drewes & Hoffman, 2010) and numerous case studies illustrating examples of faculty-librarian collaboration (Inuwa & Abrizah, 2018;Almeida & Pollack, 2017;Feiburger, Martin & Nuñez, 2016;Booth et al, 2015), few identify systematic ways of addressing the perceived divide between librarians and academic staff. This paper details the author's experiences in situating as an embedded librarian within a specific discipline area and discusses some of the challenges of this approach around the scale and sustainability of such specialised support.…”