Reynolds Libraries offers many resources and services for faculty. Take a moment to explore the resources below and discover how the library can help you integrate information literacy into your class. Each academic department has been assigned a library liaison to work collaboratively with its teaching faculty. Check out our Faculty FAQ, and if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to get in touch with us!
Useful Resources
Instruction/Workshop Request
If you would like to schedule library instruction, please submit a request via this online form.
Assignment Alert Form
If you are assigning a research project that will utilize library resources, please fill out this form to help us better prepare and assist the students.
Copyright
Questions about copyright? Start with this guide.
Handouts for Students
Teaching a lesson on research? These handouts could help!
Open Educational Resources (OER)
Access this guide to learn about Open Educational Resources at Reynolds
Textbook/Course Reserves
We encourage all faculty to provide a copy of their textbook to the library textbook reserves collection. Information about the process
Online Forms
Useful forms for Faculty & Staff
Student Expo
Information regarding the annual library sponsored Student Expo
VIVA Faculty Textbook Portal
Catalog to assist Virginia public college and university faculty in finding and selecting open and affordable textbooks for their courses in one place. On-campus access only
Workshops & Faculty PDOs
We offer student workshops throughout the semester on a range of topics. Encourage students that might benefit to attend. We will also post any Faculty/Staff PDO opportunities on this calendar
Embedded Librarian/Tutor
Request a librarian or tutor to be embedded in your course
Instruction/Workshop Request
Faculty are encouraged to schedule library instruction for their students. Instruction sessions are more successful when tailored to an assignment. Instructor attendance during library sessions is expected, and important for your students’ successful learning. Our librarians are more than happy to work with you to tailor these hands-on classes to specific topics, themes, or class research assignments. Simply complete the form below:
Instruction/Workshop Request Form
If you would like to review the various information literacy skills that can be covered in a session, please check our Research at Reynolds Libraries modules.
Please provide us one week’s notice if possible to prepare instruction. A librarian will contact you within two business days to further discuss the assignment.
Handouts for Students
- Library of Congress Call Numbers:
Handout | LC Outline | Worksheet - Online Search Strategies:
Handout | Worksheet - Obtain an Article or Book:
Handout | Article Worksheet | Book Worksheet - Off-Campus Access:
Handout | Worksheet - Library Databases vs. the Open Web:
Handout | Worksheet
Library Liaison Program
The purpose of this program is to facilitate communication between academic departments and the library in order to enhance collection development and the information literacy initiative. Each academic department has been assigned a library liaison to work collaboratively with its teaching faculty. The library liaison will serve as the academic department’s first point of contact for information about library resources and services. Librarians shall:
- Apprise faculty of library services and new information sources such as books, periodicals, databases, etc. Work with departments in meeting the educational mission of Reynolds, including identifying academic priorities, curricular development and accreditation.
- Build and develop the Library collection in all formats, including the selection of books, journals, electronic resources, audiovisual and digital media to ensure relevancy to the curriculum.
- Work with teaching faculty to learn about curriculum and course assignments. Support distance education that the department is offering by customizing library support services for those courses.
- Help faculty with specialized individual research, such as bibliographies and interlibrary loans.
Lynn Riggs
803.523.5297
lriggs@reynolds.edu
School of Business and Industrial Trades
School of Health Professions
Denise Woetzel
804.523.5325
mwoetzel@reynolds.edu
School of Humanities and Social Sciences
School of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics
Embedded Librarian or Tutor
Click here to request an embedded librarian or tutor
An embedded librarian or tutor can be a great resource for helping your students succeed. Read about both below and please also encourage your students to schedule a tutoring session!
An embedded librarian can answer questions related to Reynolds Libraries resources and services and assist students with the following research skills:
- Selecting appropriate databases and other resources to use for a specific research assignment
- Identifying appropriate keywords and incorporating search techniques to retrieve relevant resources that address specific research questions or topics
- Evaluating the credibility and relevance of a resource
- Citing resources and formatting papers in a particular citation style (e.g., APA, MLA)
Embedded librarians can:
- Meet one on one with students via Zoom.
- Monitor and answer questions about Reynolds Libraries and research via an “Ask a Librarian” Canvas discussion.
- Create a research guide (linked from Canvas) or module (copy module to Canvas) tailored to a specific set of research skills or research assignment. The guide or module can include content (images, links, text & videos) on specific research skills such as how to search a database to find relevant and scholarly articles or how to cite sources in APA or MLA style.
- Provide research guidance and collaborate with instructors to develop research skills worksheets that you can incorporate into your Canvas courses.
- Conduct live or recorded library instruction sessions on specific research skills tailored to a particular research assignment.
Embedded tutors can:
- Offer asynchronous assistance to students through discussion board
- Offer brief synchronous assistance to students through Zoom
- Offer clarification about assignments, course content and concepts
- Share learning strategies
Faculty Frequently Asked Questions
If your question is not answered below, please get in touch with us!
To request a library instruction session, please fill out the Instruction/Workshop Request form for your campus. At least one week’s notice is recommended, and make sure you provide an alternative date. Please send us information about the assignment or a copy of the assignment so that we can develop a more effective instruction session. We will confirm the instruction through email. Students can also register for open session workshops. Workshops are offered at each campus every semester. One option is to require students to attend one of these in lieu of classroom instruction.
Yes, we’ll be very happy to work with you to develop an assignment that would involve the use of library resources. We can review your assignment, recommend library resources, suggest modifications if necessary, and provide instruction to your class. Feel free to make an appointment with a reference librarian. In case the whole class needs the same books, we would also be happy to reserve a selection of library materials on a short-term basis for the duration of the assignment.
Yes, we strongly recommend that you contact a reference librarian in advance and provide us with a copy of the class assignment. This will give the librarians an opportunity to be better prepared to assist your students. We discourage classes from simply dropping in because we are generally very busy throughout the day and we may not be able to accommodate you or your students to the best of our ability.
Yes, the Reynolds librarians can assist faculty and students with citing sources and have compiled handouts and online guides for both APA and MLA citation styles. Our librarians can also show faculty and students how to use the automatic citation tools available in many of our library databases. Visit our Cite Sources page for more information.
As Reynolds faculty, you can use your ID to check out books from area Virginia school libraries. For more information on this procedure, visit our Lending Options page. Alternatively, you can fill out an Interlibrary Loan (ILL) form and we’ll borrow the item from another institution. This option is available to students as well, just be sure to advise them that it may take up to a couple weeks to get the item.
Use your My Reynolds username and password to access the library databases from off campus.
No. The wireless network on all campuses is not set up as a secure network and there is no password to login. Users who would like to use their mobile devices on any Reynolds campus will need select “JSRCCguest” from their network options. If users want to use a secure network on campus, we recommend using the computers in the labs or libraries. We recommend against conducting sensitive information, especially when conducting financial transactions (e.g., online banking, online store purchases).
Students are often confused about what “online sources” mean. There are two types of “online sources” of which students should be aware. The first type of sources are “open web” sources, those that students getting by searching Google and other search engines. Students need to carefully evaluate the authority and reliability of the information retrieved from search engines. It is advisable to set restrictions on the use of this type of information.
The other type of online sources are materials such as periodicals and books accessible through the library’s proprietary databases such as Academic Search Complete. Many of these online periodicals, especially scholarly journals, are only available through library databases. Reynolds Library subscribes to over 150 proprietary databases, with access to millions of full-text journal articles and hundreds of ebooks. Please make sure that your students understand these databases are different from the online sources and have the same authority as the printed original sources.
Go to the Journal Finder search located within the catalog.