8 Ways We Can Help Faculty Prepare for Fall

As you gear up for the fall, remember that we are here to support your teaching and research.

Here are 8 things we’re eager to help you with:

Designing courses and assignments: Our instructional designers are here for you, whether you’re creating a new assignment, seeking advice on technology-supported teaching strategies, or planning a new course.

Improving the digital accessibility of your course materials: Visit our Supporting Digital Accessibility at JMU page to find out how we can help you prepare to meet the April 24, 2026 deadline for campus compliance with updated regulations in Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Fine-tuning your Canvas courses: We can help you optimize your courses for Canvas. Take one of our newest Canvas workshops, request a consultation, or contact our Learning Innovations & Design Desk.

Making your course materials more affordable: Whether you want to assign free or low-cost online textbook options or place high-demand library items on course reserve, we’ve got you covered. We can also help you find video content for your courses.

Helping your students develop strong research skills: Your liaison librarian can help your students develop their research and information-seeking skills. Consider promoting our one-on-one research consultations to your students, or even collaborating with one of our expert librarians to deliver an in-class research skills workshop tailored to specific assignments in your course. Email your department’s liaison librarian to start the conversation.

Creating digital projects and assignments: We can help you and your students create websites, blogs, podcasts, maps, data visualizations, and other innovative digital projects to promote engaged learning.

Getting set up with classroom equipment and technology: Contact our Learning Innovations & Design Desk for help with classroom technology including microphones and projectors.

Advancing your research: We can help advance your research by consulting with you on topics such as avoiding predatory publishers, creating data management plans, understanding copyright, increasing the visibility of your research by depositing it in our open-access institutional repository, and more. We also support a limited open access fund that provides some funding for article processing charges (APC) for articles by JMU authors that have been accepted for publication in peer-reviewed open access (OA) journals.

Ready to get started? Visit Get Help from JMU Libraries to get connected with expert staff and faculty who are eager to help.

Learn more: Visit our Faculty Services page for more ways we can help you this semester!