Abstract
The emerging practice of embedding librarians in online tertiary classes creates new opportunities for the delivery of learner support. This research sought to identify how this new form of embedded librarian learner support was practiced in the New Zealand context and what made it effective as a form of learner support. A multiple case study was conducted to investigate this contemporary phenomenon. Six online classes from two New Zealand tertiary education institutions formed the case studies for this research. These classes were observed for a semester, sixty-nine students completed a questionnaire, and interviews were conducted with seventeen students, six faculty, and six embedded librarians across the online classes. In three of the online classrooms, learner support was provided primarily through an interactive discussion forum led by the assigned embedded librarian. In the other three online classrooms, the primary form of learner support was Reusable Learning Objects embedded into the course at strategic points to deliver mini-tutorials of targeted support at the point of need. Results showed that six factors affecting the effectiveness of the embedded librarian learner support were present in all six case study classrooms, namely, relationality, immediacy, relevancy, interactivity, parity, and faculty-librarian collaboration. An Embedded Librarian Support Model, based on the findings of this study, was introduced, conceptualising the key factors of support provided by and involving the embedded librarian. This model, derived from this multiple case study, fills a gap in the literature of embedded library service as a form of learner support and contributes toward a pathway for maximising the effectiveness of embedded librarians in online tertiary classrooms in the New Zealand context.