1. Teaching Music Librarianship Online
MLA 2015 Conference
Dr. Sonia Archer-Capuzzo
Lecturer, Cataloger, Librarian
Greensboro, NC
Teaching Music Librarianship Online
Hello and thank you for coming.
Next, some background.

2. Music Librarianship Courses
Taught as part of Library Sciences programs for years
2008- University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) course offered online
This “increased participation considerably.” (John Wagstaff)
Online courses so far: UIUC, University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG), University of South Carolina, Kent State University, San Jose State University
Many courses taught out there, but until recently you could only take them face-to-face.
As online education becomes more popular, it’s inevitable that music librarianship courses go online, however well or not they are suited for the online environment.
Next: methodology

3. Research Methodology Personal experience Teaching evaluations
Surveys of students
Other professors’ syllabi
Questionnaires filled out by other professors
Quick.
Next: student participation

4. Challenge: Gauging student involvement and interest
“Online classes are isolating. More active involvement as a class [is] advantageous.” (UNCG student)
What works: more interaction
Weekly online meetings (that can be recorded for those who can’t attend)
Frequent use of the discussion board
Weekly meetings build class community, teacher-student comfort level. Utilize interactive features of your learning platform to keep students involved, like chat, polling, screen sharing, simultaneous microphones, etc.
Discussion boards provide an opportunity for students to interact with one another, but you need to provide structure. While they don’t need to be weekly, discussions should be regular. Using grades and due dates can help keep all students involved and on track. Having a different student take charge of leading each discussion can be a great way to encourage leadership and participation. Creative uses of discussion can keep students interested: “It can be especially helpful...to work through virtual reference transactions over the course of the week, and with time for meta-commentary and reflection on the process.” (Timothy Dickey, Kent State, San Jose State, others)
Next: guest speakers

5. Benefit: Guest speakers
“I always liked the guest lecturers. Having someone talk about how they do their job is always helpful I think. It gives the student perspective on what potential jobs will be like.” (UNCG student)
A favorite of students, professors, and guest speakers!
Next: access to physical materials

6. Challenge: Access to physical materials
“Not being able to share the physical library and research environment with students in a meaningful way,” and “Not being assured students all have the same access to non-electronic resources to consult.” (Kirstin Dougan, UIUC)
Give students a choice between two possible assignments, one heavy on online sources, and the other with more print resources
This can be a challenge in many areas of music librarianships instruction, but the one that comes up again and again with professors and students in reference. We use so many important print-only reference resources. You can work around this challenge to a certain extent with scans, screenshots, pictures, videos, and other ways to share images of materials with students, but nothing can replace the actual experience of exploring the anthologies or rooting through Duckles.
Next: customizable instruction

7. Challenge: Providing customizable instruction
Two favorite assignments:
Annotated bibliography wiki
Why it works: collaboration, structure, consistent but not heavy work-load, something to use after class
Final project
Why it works: independence (or collaboration), creativity, a chance to explore a special interest in depth, mentoring possibilities
Along those same lines, providing readings, lectures, discussions, and assignments that will be rewarding for a diverse body of students with varying career interests can be quite challenging, especially in an environment where you can’t interact with them face-to-face. I found two assignments that were especially well-liked by the students and by me because they gave students a chance to customize their education based on their interests.
Explain bibliography assignment briefly
Bibliography: “I especially enjoyed being able to compile other readings we found as supplement material in the bibliography assignment.” (UNCG student)
Bibliography: “Maybe a small bibliography of non-required readings in each area would be nice, for those of us who want to explore particular subjects further.” (UIUC student)
Explain final project briefly.
Final project: “The final project was extremely helpful for me. Given the freedom to pursue an aspect of music librarianship I was extremely interested [in], I was able to develop a project that increased my knowledge exponentially in that area, which I believe helped me land an internship and then my current fulltime job in this area of music librarianship.” (UNCG student)
Next: student suggestion

8. One student’s recommendation
“Would it be possible to collaborate with other music librarianship course at other institutions? Maybe provide an option to work on a project with a participant at another institution to gain additional insight into what others are learning and contributing to the field. After all, these are the same people who may become future colleagues.” (UNCG students)
One big benefit of online education is that it allows students from all over the country, and possibly all over the world, to interact with one another and learn from one another in a meaningful way. Even if you don’t teach a course that serves a university consortium, thus bringing in students from a number of different institutions under one roof, so to speak, you can use the online environment to connect one class with another. Students who wish to could potentially do group projects with other students based thousands of miles away. Students can compare notes, experiences, knowledge, and questions with one another, building networks that they can draw upon for support well into their professional careers.
Next: conclusions

9. Concluding thoughts
Music librarianship courses online provide an amazing opportunity for students and professors
Challenges can be met with creativity, flexibility, and determination
This can be a valuable way to reach out to and educate the next generation of music librarians.
More people can take part in music librarianship education. More networking, connections with professors, students, mentors, future colleagues
Challenges can seem difficult (perhaps impossible) to overcome, but there are usually creative solutions or work-arounds.
At least for now, online education is here to stay. As it becomes more en vogue in our colleges and universities, we must embrace it rather than avoid it. Music Librarianship can be a challenging course to teach online, but it can also be deeply rewarding.

10. Thank you! Teaching Music Librarianship Online
Dr. Sonia Archer-Capuzzo