Embedding Library Resources in Canvas: Library Guides & Workshops

If a librarian has created a custom, online Course Guide for your class, you can embed it directly inside your Canvas shell -- no need to send your students to the Library's website! In addition to custom guides, you can also embed any of the Library's selection of topical/subject guides.

The Library also manages its list of A-Z databases through the LibGuides platform. Using the Library Guides app inside Canvas, you can link your students directly to a Library database.

See the 2 videos below for examples of embedding LibGuides and linking Library databases in Canvas.

The Library Research Toolkit (LRT) is a stand-alone Canvas shell comprised of 7 individual modules, each designed to support essential learning outcomes related to the research process – everything from coming up with a research topic, to using Library databases to find relevant sources, to citing your sources correctly in MLA/APA style (see attachment for module-by-module breakdown). All of the modules within the Toolkit are asynchronous lessons composed of readings, videos, interactive activities, and quizzes.  

Students and instructors can easily self-enroll in the Research Toolkit from the Library website. While the order that the modules appear in is intentional, we encourage instructors to mix-and-match the modules however they see fit – you can assign as many (or as little) of them to your students as you like, and in any order that you think makes the most sense. Students will have the option to receive a “completion email” at the end of each module that they can email to you as proof of their work. 

If the LRT sounds like something you might be interested in, please take a look at the PDF below for details about each module and how to assign them to your students. We’re confident that our Research Toolkit will help guide them through the research process and improve their research and information literacy skills.

The Online Library Workshop (OLW) is interactive, asynchronous, and available for all sections of English 101! This workshop was designed to support learning outcomes for English 101 students and provide additional support under AB-705.

The OLW is a stand-alone Canvas shell that your students can easily self-enroll in. It is no longer embedded in English 101 Canvas shells, or connected to your gradebook. When your students complete the Workshop, the Library will reach out to you and let you know.

 If you'd like to use the Online Library Workshop in your English 101 section, here's how:

• Consider how this will fit within your overall English 101 curriculum:
  • What incentive will you provide for students to complete the Workshop? Will it count for a grade?
  • What time of semester would make the most sense to offer the Workshop? Because the Workshop is designed to prepare students for their research papers, students will receive the most benefit if they complete the Workshop before a final paper is due. 
  • Will you assign it all at once, or in pieces? (We estimate that the entire Workshop should take students 2 hours to complete. Please see attached content outline for a reminder of how the Workshop is organized.)
  • Please give your students a deadline before the Library closes for the semester. Tracking and reporting completions is a manual process done by human Library staff.
    • For Fall 2024, the Library's last open day is 12/13, so please set a deadline of no later than 12/12/24.
    • For Winter 2025, the Library's last open day is 2/6, so please set a deadline of no later than 2/5/25.
    • For Spring 2025, the Library's last open day is 6/9, so please set a deadline of no later than 6/8/25.
• Direct your students to the Online Library Workshop, using this link: https://lib.lavc.edu/online-workshops
  (Note: Students can also navigate from the top of the Library homepage, under "Get Research Help")
• Tell your students that, in order to get credit for completing the OLW, they must work through the units, complete the two quizzes, and submit a survey at the very end. (The quizzes test their Workshop knowledge, and the end-survey tells us who their professor is.)

English 101 instructors with questions about this Workshop can email us at ref@lavc.libanswers.com.