Connector Kim Duckett once planned to teach art history but found that as an academic librarian she was equally “connected to student learning and faculty support.”
She had become well known among faculty and IT and instructional design staff while working with the NCSU library's Distance Learning and Educational Technology Services to develop online workshops for distance learners and provide workshops on Blackboard, blogs, and wikis.
When librarians wanted a way to streamline the creation of online course resource guides and integrate them into the university's CMS [content management system], Duckett was, says colleague Josh Boyer, the ideal Project Lead (2006 Mover & Shaker Tito Sierra was the Technical Lead). “Kim's a connector, bringing together librarians, programmers, instructional designers, and faculty,” Boyer says, as well as tapping students for feedback throughout.
The resulting system, Library Tools, allowed librarians to create web guides rapidly for all 6000-plus NCSU courses. It serves students, who love its convenience, and faculty and subject specialist librarians, who are now fully connected to students' course work.
No wonder Duckett thinks she's got the “best job in the world.”
