C&RL News December 2019 616

At the University of North Carolina-Charlotte, instructional designers and 
research and instruction librarians have 
similar goals yet unique roles and distinct 
responsibilities. There are eight instructional 
designers at the Center for Teaching & Learn-
ing (CTL) who use learning theory and design 
knowledge to work with faculty to plan and 
create online courses. At the university’s 
Atkins Library, 16 instruction librarians, in-
cluding subject liaisons and first-year writing 
specialists, connect with faculty and students 
to further understanding of information lit-
eracy and research resources. Recognizing 
the groups’ common goals of partnering with 
faculty in course development and creating 
high-quality online learning resources, group 
administrators have launched an initiative to 
introduce the designers and librarians to each 
other and to their work. 

In the summer of 2018, the two groups 
met in the first of a series of opportunities to 
get to know each other and to better under-
stand their professional roles. The goals of 
the collaboration were for the instructional 
designers and the instruction librarians to 
meet, to learn about each other’s work and 
approaches to instruction, and to consider 
opportunities for connection and collabora-
tion. The meeting attendees were assigned 
a pre-reading, “Comparisons and Collabora-
tions between the Professions,” a chapter in 
the book, Librarians and Instructional De-

signers: Collaboration and Innovation.1 After 
a series of introductions and an icebreaker, 
each group provided an overview of its roles. 
The instructional designers discussed their 
work with distance education development 
and instructional alignment, and the instruc-
tion librarians talked about information 
literacy, the ACRL Framework for Informa-
tion Literacy for Higher Education, and their 
instructional initiatives. The main activity 
for the session focused on an analysis of the 
instructional designers’ planning materials 
for a course in progress and input from the 
instruction librarians for library involvement 
in that planning process. After sharing ideas 
among all of the group members, the meet-
ing attendees considered next steps for the 
collaboration.

In response to prompts, the meeting par-
ticipants provided feedback. Table 1 contains 
a sample of the responses.

Throughout the fall semester, members of 
the two groups met for lunch on a monthly 
basis to continue getting to know one an-
other, to further understand their work, and 

Catherine Tingelstad and Heather McCullough

Instruction librarians and 
instructional designers
A natural collaboration 

Catherine Tingelstad is instruction and curriculum 
engagement coordinator at Atkins Library, email: 
ctingels@uncc.edu, Heather McCullough is associate 
director in the Center for Teaching and Learning at 
the University of North Carolina-Charlotte, email: 
heathermccullough@uncc.edu

© 2019 Catherine Tingelstad and Heather McCullough

mailto:ctingels%40uncc.edu?subject=
mailto:heathermccullough%40uncc.edu?subject=


December 2019 617 C&RL News

to develop ideas for collaborating on both 
small initiatives and large projects.

As planning progressed for meetings be-
tween the two groups, it became increasingly 
clear that while the goals of the two groups 
were similar—well-designed instruction with 
clear learning objectives and opportunities 
for assessment—the form of that instruction 
differed. Instruction librarians collaborate 
with faculty members to teach one or more 
research and information literacy sessions in 
their classes, while the instructional design-
ers partner with faculty to plan course de-
sign and 
d e l i v e r y 
for cours-
es. Leslee 
S h e l l , 
S t e v e n 
Crawford, 
and Patri-
c i a  H a r -
r i s  c o n -
cur that, 
“ l i b r a r y 
m o d u l e s 
a r e  d i f -
f e r e n t 
than the 
s e m e s -
t e r - l o n g 
c o u r s e s 
t h e  i n -
struction-
al design-
ers tradi-
t i o n a l l y 
support.”2 This realization was instrumental 
in influencing the direction and design of 
the next group session.

The second meeting of the two groups 
occurred at the end of the Fall 2017 semester 
and focused on the ACRL Framework for 
Information Literacy for Higher Education. 

The goals for the session were similar 
to those of the first meeting: 1) continue to 
learn about each other’s approach to instruc-
tion, 2) discuss the ACRL Framework and 
practice applying it, and 3) find opportuni-

ties for connection. The pre-readings for the 
meeting were the ACRL Framework along 
with several short articles discussing the 
frames conceptually and practically. 

After a short overview of the library’s digi-
tal learning objects and its goals for integrating 
services and resources into the university’s 
learning management system, Canvas, the 
group focused on the ACRL Framework, 
reviewing each of the six frames. The partici-
pants divided into teams comprised of both 
librarians and instructional designers, and 
each group was tasked with building a library 

instruction 
l e s s o n 
plan based 
o n  o n e 
o r  m o r e 
o f  t h e 
f r a m e s . 
Six post-
ers were 
c r e a t e d , 
e a c h  f o -
cusing on 
one of the 
frames, its 
d e s c r i p -
tion, and 
associated 
k n o w l -
e d g e 
practices. 
The post-
ers were 
p l a c e d 
around the 

work space so that they could be easily ac-
cessed by the participants. The activity proved 
to be both timely and educational for all of the 
participants, as higher education organizations 
are continuing to emphasize the importance 
of information literacy in course content in the 
academic disciplines.3 The groups shared their 
lesson plans and discussed potential next steps 
for this ongoing collaboration.

Once again, the meeting participants 
provided feedback in response to three 
prompts (see Table 2).



C&RL News December 2019 618

As a result of the meetings between these 
two groups, several instruction librarians ini-
tiated collaborative efforts with instructional 
designers and technical managers from CTL 
to introduce library services into the univer-
sity’s Canvas learning management system. 
Librarians were interested in developing a 
library presence in Canvas to meet and work 
with students at their point of need. Because 
CTL administers, develops, and provides 
training on Canvas, their buy-in and expertise 
were es-
sential to 
m a k i n g 
this hap-
pen. So, 
members 
of the two 
g r o u p s , 
h a v i n g 
t a l k e d 
about li-
brary in-
struction 
d u r i n g 
the group 
meetings, 
w o r k e d 
t o g e t h e r 
t o  d e -
t e r m i n e 
h o w  t o 
integrate 
l i b r a r y 
services and resources into the learning 
management system.

Working with the CTL technical team 
manager, instructional librarians were also 
able to develop a “librarian” role in Canvas 
with specific permissions so that faculty 
could add a librarian to their online courses. 
This customized role allows faculty to in-
clude librarians in courses without having 
to add them as an instructor with full rights 
to course permissions. The librarian instead 
has the ability to perform specific functions 
within Canvas. For example, the librarian can 
moderate a discussion among students in a 
class but does not have permission to edit 

grades. During the first year since the de-
velopment of the librarian role, faculty have 
added instructional librarians to 124 courses 
in this capacity.

To further integrate the library resources into 
Canvas, instruction librarians and instructional 
designers have worked together to implement 
the LibGuides LTI (learning tools interoper-
ability) in the learning management system. 
LTI allows Canvas users to access a custom-
ized LibGuide through a link in their courses. 

The exper-
t i s e  a n d 
s u p p o r t 
of the in-
structional 
designers 
a n d  t e c h 
manager at 
CTL were 
integral to 
m a k i n g 
this hap-
pen. The 
two groups 
a r e  c u r -
rently col-
laborating 
to promote 
faculty use 
of library 
videos and 
tutorials in 
their Can-

vas courses. In an effort to increase awareness 
and usage of these resources, instruction 
librarians have partnered with an instructional 
designer to outline and document the process 
for incorporating this content. The groups 
also highlighted this initiative in training and 
educational opportunities for faculty this fall.

Instructional designers have increasingly 
reached out to librarians to support or partner 
on initiatives and have expanded their use 
and referrals to the library’s Makerspace, 
Visualization Lab, and EZ Video Studio. In 
particular, they have worked with library 
colleagues to reserve and host activities and 
meetings in the Visualization Lab. They have 



December 2019 619 C&RL News

also begun referring faculty to use the EZ 
Video Studio in course development. Finally, 
they are reaching out more to instruction 
librarians as they work with faculty to design 
and develop online courses. In particular, they 
are now regularly consulting with librarians 
about locating and using high-quality OER 
and library-sourced content. One of CTL’s 
high-priority projects, an adaptive learning 
program for general education math, has an 
OER dimension and the Engineering/STEM 
librarian has been a part of planning meetings 
for that program.

Anecdotally, the authors have observed 
that their team members are reaching out to 
each other in event planning and with general 
questions with more frequency than before 
the meetings. As this collaboration continues 
to develop, the instructional designers will 
elaborate on their process for online course 
design so that the librarians have a clearer 
understanding of their work. The partnership 
between the two groups will continue both 
formally and informally to meet the goals 
established at the onset of the project—net-
working, an understanding and appreciation 

of each group’s work, and opportunities for 
connection and collaboration. The fact that 
there are numerous methods for achieving 
these goals guarantees a long and lasting 
association.

Notes
1. Joe Eshleman, Richard Moniz, Karen 

Mann, and Kristen Eshleman, “Comparisons 
and Collaborations between the Professions,” 
in Librarians and Instructional Designers: 
Collaboration and Innovation (Chicago: ALA 
Editions, 2016).

2. Leslee Shell, Steven Crawford, and 
Patricia Harris, “Aided and Embedded: 
The Team Approach to Instructional De-
sign,” Journal of Library & Information 
Services in Distance Learning 7, no. 1-2 
(2013): 143–155, https://doi.org/10.1080 
/1533290X.2012.705627.

3. Kimberly Mullins, “Good IDEA: In-
structional Design Model for Integrat-
ing Information Literacy,” The Journal of 
Academic Librarianship 40, no. 3-4 (May 
2014): 339–349, https://doi.org/10.1016 
/j.acalib.2014.04.012. 

“Big Read” across the Hampton Roads re-
gion. The book selected by the NEA Big 
Read: Hampton Roads was Citizen: An 
American Lyric by Claudia Rankine, which 
focuses on issues around race.3 Hofheimer 
Library seized this opportunity to partner 
with faculty again, and the library director 
moderated a panel of faculty from a variety 
of disciplines who reflected on the book. 
Thanks to panelists offering their students 
extra credit or incorporating the book into 
their course, this was another well-attended 
event. In addition, the library’s Faculty-Staff 
Book Club also chose to read the book and 
attend the author event hosted by another 
university in the area.

Future directions
Although the Hofheimer Library Diversity 
Team is currently only using the newsletter 

internally, the director is considering the 
possibility of sharing the “Drops of Diversi-
ty” site more broadly. VWU’s Center for the 
Study of Religious Freedom has expressed 
interest in having access to the site and 
possibly authoring content. What’s more, 
the Virginia Center for Inclusive Communi-
ties (VCIC) has opened a location on the 
Virginia Wesleyan campus, and the library 
is interested in exploring how they may 
learn and partner with this organization. 
As part of the campus partnership, VCIC 
will provide training sessions for VWU 
each year. The library and the Center for 
the Study of Religious Freedom will part-
ner this summer on engaging VCIC to of-
fer training sessions for VWU faculty, staff, 
and students on topics that are of greatest 

(“‘Drops of Diversity,’” cont. from page 610)

(continues on page 626)

https://doi.org/10.1080/1533290X.2012.705627
https://doi.org/10.1080/1533290X.2012.705627
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.acalib.2014.04.012
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.acalib.2014.04.012