Instruction
We believe it is important to teach Thrift Library users how to access, evaluate, analyze, and use information so that they will be equipped with the skills needed to function as true lifelong learners.
A foundational set of online instructional tutorials called Library DIY is available for the AU community. We ask that you encourage your students to view these in conjunction with any research or writing assignment you might give them. Subject Specialists will utilize these tutorials when working with your classes, and will be able to provide more advanced instruction if students view them prior to participating in a live presentation. You are welcome to copy the links for individual pages or the entire set of tutorials into your Canvas course(s). Please note that AU users must be logged in to view the multimedia content on the Library DIY pages.
Each AU academic unit is assigned one or more librarians as a subject specialist. Your designated subject specialist is able to:
- Locate existing or new subject-specific resources to add to support your course curriculum
- Help you navigate our subject-specific databases
- Locate permalinks for you to post in Canvas
- Investigate copyright restrictions
- Design research guides for specific assignments
- Give a presentation to your class*
- Help your students with their research projects*
Subject Specialists
Please invite your subject specialist to your department's faculty meetings and ask them to share what's new in the library that can benefit you and your students.
| Subject Area | Subject Specialist |
| Art | Kenzie Barnett |
| Business | Whitney Rice** |
| Christian Studies | Joni Addis** |
| Communication | Whitney Rice |
| Education | Dana Whelchel** |
| English | Kenzie Barnett** |
| Government & Law | Kenzie Barnett |
| Health Professions | Whitney Rice |
| History | Kenzie Barnett |
| Interior Design | Kenzie Barnett |
| Mathematics & Engineering | Whitney Rice |
| Modern Languages/Cultures | Kenzie Barnett** |
| Music | Kenzie Barnett |
| Sciences, Behavioral | Whitney Rice |
| Sciences, Natural | Whitney Rice |
| Technology | Whitney Rice |
| Theater & Dance | Kenzie Barnett |
**These assignments are temporary as we are currently searching for new librarians for these subject areas.
Resources for your Courses
Instructions for how to locate articles, news sources, online videos, and other resources to share in your courses are available in Library DIY.
A note about digital resources: Just like the video streaming platforms, our database vendors sometimes stop providing access to resources. This can happen for a number of reasons, from expired licensing agreements to the publisher no longer making the title available in digital format. Unfortunately, these changes often occur without any warning. Should this happen to a resource you are using for a course, we will work with you to try to replace it as quickly as possible. Please be aware that it may not be possible to obtain access to the same resource; an alternative may be needed.
Thrift Library does not generally purchase or provide physical copies of traditional course textbooks (the large, expensive, hardbound kind). The library is sometimes able to purchase and provide unlimited access to the digital version of books that instructors require or recommend within their courses. If your courses are not eligible to participate in the Trojan Textbook Program or you wish to locate supplemental resources to enhance your courses, consider adopting open access (OA) resources and/or Open Educational Resources (OERs).
You may place physical resources on course reserve for limited use (3-hours, in-library only) by your students.
The library has a new resource management program available for you to use in managing and circulating items such as equipment, curricular materials, etc., from your own location. Contact Dana Whelchel for more information.
Regarding the use of copyrighted resources, please review the AU Copyright Policies located in section 6.1 of the Employee Handbook.
Photocopied, scanned, or digitized materials may need copyright clearance before they can be made available to students.
- For articles that must be scanned and saved as PDF, it may be necessary to seek copyright clearance before uploading them to Canvas. Please contact Whitney Rice for assistance with this.
- For articles that are available in full text in one of the library's databases and for ebooks, it is best practice to provide access via permalink in Canvas rather than by an uploaded PDF or printed copy. This is generally sufficient to provide access and satisfy copyright and fair use constraints since it requires each user to log in to the database to access the resource (and are thus covered by our licensing agreements).
Permalinks (or persistent link, or URL, or just "link") are usually provided within the detailed records in each database:
