Abstract:
The authors conducted a study concerning student and instructor attitudes toward accessing library resources and services from within course management systems (CMS). In spring 2008, the authors held semi-structured interviews with a small population of students and instructors at the University of California, Berkeley (UCB) and at Colorado State University (CSU). They asked participants to respond to examples of library integrations in course management systems at other institutions and to report their local experiences with both the campus CMS and library services. Participant responses frequently challenged and altered the authors’ preconceptions about best practices in integrating a library presence and library services in CMS. The interview findings are discussed thematically, in relation to higher education and library literature, and can help librarians to integrate an effective library presence in a campus course management system. This study can be readily adapted for implementation at other institutions.
