Bringing the Librarian to Online Courses

This chapter explores the way one librarian is bringing real-time, personalized instruction to students in online classes to engage them dynamically with their library and provide the best possible learning experiences. The discussion is grounded in the Community of Inquiry (CoI) framework, perhaps the most widely accepted model of online learning, and suggests that learning online is supported by three "presences": cognitive, social, and teaching. The model and each presence are discussed first, followed by virtual library instruction being introduced. Virtual library instruction is seen as the way to ensure equity in providing library services for fully online students and, specifically, information literacy instruction. The authors discuss how virtual librarians can use cognitive, social, and teaching presence to make their instruction more effective. Specific tools, strategies, and best practices are presented, as are general recommendations for similar development.