Development and Implementation of Library Modules in a 100% Online Nursing Program

Objectives: With more and more of our students enrolling in online degree programs and attending class virtually we as librarians must ensure that we are providing the same level of education, content, and service to these online students as we do to our in-person students. This poster will describe the development and implementation of multiple library modules across a 100% online RN-BSN nursing program at a large public institution.

Methods: The librarian met with and worked with instructors across three courses in the online RN-BSN program to discuss and examine current library content and instruction that already existed in these classes, as well as the need for new content and modules. An instructional scaffolding approach was settled on, where new content would be introduced progressively to students over the course of three semesters in three separate consecutive courses. In previous semesters, many faculty simply chose their own library content, linked only to the general tutorials page, or lacked any library content at all, making a new structured approach even more necessary. This poster will describe the development of these library modules in more detail, including software used and best practices, and will also focus on the implementation and lessons learned.

Results: A total of five new modules were implemented in the first two classes, while current library tutorials were kept in the third class in the sequence. The modules focused on teaching the students information literacy and database searching skills.

Conclusion: Sequencing library modules over the course of multiple semesters allowed students to build upon core knowledge that is necessary to successfully complete increasingly advanced assignments and gain research skills that can be applied in their future careers as nurses.