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Online Resources & Canvas Integrations

Learn more about accessing VCU Libraries collections remotely and how they can be integrated in course sites.

Why have librarians in course sites?

Librarian at information desk logo paired with Canvas logo

Adding your designated librarian (for Focused Inquiry) or your subject area librarian, allows them to interact with you, your students, and course content. They are able to participate in discussions and respond to questions, collaborate with you on instruction, integrate research guides or learning modules, and more. Good examples of embedded librarianship include adding a Research Q&A discussion forum that librarians can respond to, librarians providing feedback on assignments like annotated bibliographies, or  librarian generated quizzes on topics like citation formats and mining.

How to add a librarian to your course site

To add your librarian in Canvas, open the intended course site and navigate to the People tool in the left hand navigation menu. Here, select Add People. In the Add People window, follow the steps outlined below and in the image that follows:

  1. Under Add user(s) by, ensure that the Email Address radio button is selected, and enter your Librarian’s email address.

  2. Click on the Role drop-down menu, and select Librarian.

  3. Click Next to confirm your role selection.

  4. Canvas will verify that the email address is accurate in the next window and confirm if the user is ready to be added to your course. If you receive an error, be sure to go back and verify that you have entered the email address correctly before proceeding. Once Canvas confirms that you can add the user to the course site, click Add Users to complete the process.

Your librarian will receive an email invitation to your Canvas site, and once they accept it, they are added to the course.

"Add people” window in the Canvas Learning Management System. Image demonstrates adding a librarian to a course by entering email and selecting the “Librarian” role in the drop down menu."

Librarian Role Permissions 

The Librarian role clearly identifies librarians to students and the permissions associated with this role are unique. This role allows a librarian to view, add, and modify content, as well as interact with your students, but it does not provide them access to the course Gradebook. 

If you do need to provide Gradebook access to your librarian (to assist with library assignments and quizzes, for example), you can assign them additional roles in Canvas, such as TA.