Instructional Support
Liaison Librarians
Liaison Librarians are the primary connection between academic departments/programs and the University Library. They promote information, digital, and media literacy across campus, play a key role in supporting and assessing student learning and success through course instruction, and support faculty in their scholarly pursuits.
Liaisons provide individual research consultations for students and faculty in person, via phone, email, and online chat. They are experts on information literacy and can advise and teach students on defining research topics, discovering and locating resources, creating bibliographies, evaluating sources, managing citations, and more.
Request New Material
Send requests to your liaison librarian for the University Library to purchase new books and/or subscriptions.
Information Literacy Instruction
Our liaison team works with the teaching faculty to develop course-integrated information literacy instruction sessions based on the Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education defined by the Association of College and Research Libraries. Use the Instruction Request Form to request a Library Information Literacy Session or contact your Liaison Librarian directly.
Course Reserves and Reading list
Course reserves are class materials (e.g., textbooks, videos) available through the library (physical and online) that students can borrow. Course reserves are created upon the instructor's request to support a particular course. Electronic articles, eBooks and eBook chapters, streaming videos, and other electronic resources can be placed on reserve and embedded in the Canvas Reading List. Print or physical media reserve materials are available at the Library Service Desk and may be embedded in the Canvas Reading List. For more information on reserves and placing a reserve item, visit the Faculty Reserves page. For more information on the Reading List in Canvas, visit the Canvas Reading List Tool Guide. For guidance on copyright, fair use, and intellectual property rights, visit this page's Copyright and Fair Use section.
Subject and Course Guides
Each liaison librarian creates subject and/or course-specific online research guides for student and faculty use. These guides include research strategies and curated resources, such as recommended databases and key readings, to help students and other researchers explore a specific topic, subject, or course. Liaison librarians tailor these guides to provide quick access to credible scholarly sources, making them valuable for developing research skills, conducting in-depth studies, and completing assignments. Go to the Research Guides page to find all guides by discipline. We encourage you to link the guides from your Canvas Courses.
Library Online Tutorials
The Library Research Tutorial is an online course for first-year students enrolled in Introduction to Higher Education courses. This tutorial offers a structured introduction to using the library for academic research, with step-by-step modules on accessing resources, finding credible information, and navigating library research tools. The course is accessible through Canvas, and it includes five interactive modules, each taking about 10 minutes to complete, plus quizzes. Students can earn course credit by following enrollment instructions and submitting a completion screenshot or PDF to their instructors.
Affordable Course Materials & Open Educational Resources (OER)
The Library supports the utilization of Open Educational Resources (OER) and helps faculty choose and provide quality educational content that is more affordable for students. Our Affordable Learning Solution(AL$) of the CSU system-wide Affordable Learning Solutions (ALS) initiative supports and honors faculty committed to affordable learning.
In collaboration with Associated Students Inc., the University Library’s Scholarly Communication Open Resources eLearning (SCORE) stipend program encourages faculty to use zero-cost course materials and open educational resources for their courses. The primary goal of this program is to provide students with greater access to high-quality, affordable learning materials and make education more affordable for all Cal State LA students.