The term came about from the “embedded journalists� who cover news stories with troops, and is indicative of the librarians who are right in the middle of online learning, having become totally immersed in assisting students whenever and wherever help is needed. The term developed a few years ago because the librarians have transitioned from just being a service provider to becoming part of their customers’ community.

Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ has about 40 faculty librarians at the main and 10 regional campuses, many of whom are involved in online-instruction modes, but a majority of the fully embedded duties are handled by regional librarians.

There currently are five full-time regional librarians who are assigned to specific online classes, along with another one at Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½â€™s Rosen College of Hospitality Management. At the main-campus library, two librarians are embedded in classes. Most of the other main-campus librarians are more active meeting the needs of face-to-face help for students.

In the 2015-16 fiscal year, Regional Campus librarians provided help to 68 face-to-face classes compared with 80 online classes. In terms of students, that is 1,550 face-to-face, and 2,272 online. One reason for those online numbers is the convenience and growth of those classes.

“Regional librarians were the early adapters and started serving online faculty and students as soon as the need was recognized,� said Cynthia M. Kisby, head of Regional Campus libraries. “Of course, we could only do that because all of the regional and Orlando [main campus] librarians and IT staff together had already created a virtual library with access to online resources and services…We provide assistance via phone, chat and now Skype.�

Kisby said Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½â€™s embedded librarians are assigned to completely online classes and those that are mixed-mode or hybrid courses that require some face-to-face class time. They also have privileges as teaching assistants.

“They are virtual librarians embedded in the class who post to a discussion board or answer questions at any time,� she said. “In some classes, embedded librarians also create and grade quizzes that measure subject-specific information-literacy skills. Also, being embedded is usually very discipline-specific.�

Kisby credits Barbara Alderman at the Cocoa and Palm Bay campuses as being Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½â€™s first embedded librarian.

Alderman said that while working online from home for her master’s degree at Florida State University she discovered many times she wasn’t able to find research help at the library.

“You had to call someone and hope they would call back,� she said. “I thought that librarians ought to be in the research classes students take to help and teach them how to use the many resources.

“We all understand the need to help students on their degree paths and to minimize the frustration when it’s possible. The online library is rich in resources and we all like to share that information.

In recent years the number of online students served by the regional librarians has exceeded face-to-face assistance, Kisby said.

“With Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ Online coming into the foreground, it shows how libraries continue to adapt as student needs change,â€� she said.

Kelvin Thompson, director of online design and development strategy for Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½â€™s Center for Distributed Learning, welcomes the embedded librarians bringing the skills and knowledge of professional librarians right into the midst of online courses.

“Embedded librarians can be ‘present’ in the online course to assist students with preparations for papers or other course assignments that draw on scholarly literature,â€� Thompson said. “This is a powerful service offered by the Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ Libraries that provides value for students.â€�

The new offering, “,� is a free massive online open course (MOOC) that will focus on the merits and methods of blended learning, the strategic combination of face-to-face and online learning experiences. The system is growing in popularity in K-12 and higher education.

The new five-week course was designed by faculty at Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ to provide key issues related to blended learning and a practical step-by-step guidance in producing materials for a blended-learning course. Educators and instructional designers will be taught best practices for developing design documents, content pages and peer-review feedback tools.

The course was developed and will be taught by two staff members from the Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ Center for Distributed Learning: associate director Kelvin Thompson and department head Linda Futch.

“As blended learning continues to grow across higher education, we are very pleased to partner with EDUCAUSE to deliver BlendKit 2014,â€� said Tom Cavanagh, Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½â€™s associate vice president of distributed learning. “With Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½â€™s extensive experience in blended learning and EDUCAUSE’s national IT leadership, we hope that the content and available credential will be of value to the higher-education community. By offering this course to educators and administrators across the country, we will be able to share the valuable tools, information, and methods that we, along with other participants in the course, have developed over the years.” The university has been a pioneer in online education more than two decades.

The new course amplifies EDUCAUSE’s role in micro-credentialing and online digital badging, said Julie Little, vice president over teaching, learning, and professional development. “EDUCAUSE continues its tradition of collaboration and excellence in delivering creative and convenient career-development opportunities as we build the profession within higher-education IT,” she said.

Participants in the course will have the option of paying for an official certificate and badge from Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ and EDUCAUSE.

Melissa Loble, senior director of Canvas Network, said: “This is a great opportunity for the education space to investigate new ways to most effectively reach students, and how to best organize learning experiences beyond the confines of a classroom. Education practices continue to evolve, and Instructure is proud to be providing a means of improving accessibility and outcomes for learners across the globe.”

Registration for BlendKit 2014 is open on Canvas Network for the class that begins April 21. Details can be found at and on Twitter at #BlendKit2014.