Embedding the Framework: Using Embedded Librarian Techniques to Facilitate Music Information Literacy

Abstract

Embedded librarianship moves librarians beyond the traditional confines of library spaces and into user spaces. Initial forays into embedded librarianship focused on moving librarians into their users’ physical spaces such as classrooms and departments, but the practice has evolved to include the Internet and social media as mechanisms for embedding. While music librarians often enjoy closer proximity to their users by virtue of divisional libraries located within their schools of music, embedded librarianship offers another way to better integrate information literacy into music curricula. Indeed, as we begin the process of adapting to the new ACRL Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education (Framework),1 embedded librarianship can facilitate the faculty-librarian collaboration necessary for students to effectively engage with “the core ideas about information and scholarship within their disciplines.” This chapter will discuss various techniques for embedding as a music librarian, including physical embedding into a course, studio instruction, Twitter, virtual reference, and mobile apps for education. Successful embedded music librarian initiatives will be detailed, as will the specific challenges posed by this technique.