Finding Our Way as “Embedded Librarians”

ABSTRACT Librarians at the University of Central Missouri were invited to provide research assistance for an online history course delivered through the Blackboard course management system. In consultation with the course instructor, it was decided that we would serve as “embedded librarians,” offering online tutorials on library resources and providing research assistance to students as they worked on a short research paper assignment. Our experiences with the course instructor and with students have provided us with some clear insights into the particular challenges that librarians face in an online course environment.