Embedded Librarianship: Why Getting Out of the Library Made Me a Better Librarian

Abstract

2023: Every morning, I walk across my campus—past the library—and head to my office in our school of nursing. I greet my colleagues—none of whom are librarians—and we chit-chat about our work and our lives while we pour coffee or alert one another that someone brought doughnuts.

These morning chats are never about who’s on the reference desk or last-minute instruction requests from demanding faculty. They are instead about our nursing students’ participation in our campus flu shot clinics, or about an upcoming nursing licensure exam. These conversations are about what is happening in the school of nursing.

Naturally, I share a few things. I excitedly share my news of getting another essay published in C&RL News, or my nervousness about presenting at an upcoming library conference. My nursing school colleagues absorb these tidbits about my work, gleaning a little more information about librarianship each time we talk.