Students generally found the Online Course Librarian to be very helpful, even if it was just to know where to go to ask questions. Several also commented that they appreciated the availability and response times of the OCL and that the OCL helped them find resources that they would have otherwise missed. Students mentioned the librarian they worked with by name 26 times when commenting on their experiences, which shows that the Online Course Librarian made an impact on the students.
Some students mentioned technical issues in reaching their Online Course Librarian and that it was easier to look up information on their own; however, these students were in a vast minority. Several students responded that while they did not contact the OCL directly, they still benefitted from the tutorials or librarian emails. Most students also talked about how they benefitted from being taught how to research and find information on their own.
The Online Course Librarian should stay embedded in classes and ensure that students know about the services offered. Since majority of students have extremely positive responses to the OCL, this program should be integrated into more online and hybrid courses at SVSU. While students loved that the librarian offered quick responses, it may be helpful for the Online Course Librarian to further advertise the quick-links page that answers basic student questions. This could alleviate the need for staff time and students would still get timely responses.
Since most students responded that they used library databases in their online or hybrid course, the Online Course Librarian should send out instructional materials that teach students how to use these databases and focus instruction on research tips. Also, since most students are accessing the library material from the library link on the main SVSU Web page, the librarians should ensure that there are instructional materials clearly linked from the main page.
In order to improve the Assessment of the Online and Hybrid Support, the library should include and analyze student success on either assignments or in the course in order to determine how interactions with the OCL affect student success. Librarians should create a partnership with faculty members to track student grades that contacted the Online Course Librarians in order to measure student success after interacting with the librarians. Librarians should also share assessment results with faculty that participated in the Online Course Librarian Program in order to create stronger partnerships and as a means of marketing the program.
In order to enhance the survey, librarians should ask more specific questions to avoid the generic "the librarian was helpful" responses. One suggestion is to change to open-ended questions at the end of the survey to:
These questions would further distinguish the last three questions and help the library avoid getting similar answers in all three questions.
The library should also give students a place to explain some of the answers to their multiple choice questions, especially "If you contacted the online course librarian, please indicate your level of agreement with the following statement; Working with the online course librarian improved my research skills and my understanding of available library resources and services". There should be a place after to explain why the OCL was or was not helpful in this task. It may also be beneficial to ask students to respond if they have ever taken a course with an OCL before, received help from a librarian or attended a library instruction session. The answers to these questions may give insight as to why the students feel more confident about their research skills. Several students mentioned that they were enrolled in several classes with the OCL and this was not their first encounter.
It is also recommended that the Online Course Librarian Survey be moved to SurveyGizmo. Here is a link to an example survey created for this assessment.
Overall, the Online Course Librarian Program was successful and resulted in students learning more about library resources and services.