Summer Support for Faculty

Posted May 7, 2025 in Carrier Renovation News, Educational Technology News, General Collections News, Instructional Design News, JMU Libraries News, Special Collections News

Congratulations—you’ve made it to the end of the academic year! As you take a breath or turn to what’s next, remember that we’re here to support your research and teaching.

You can connect with us online or in person—just be sure to check our summer hours if you’re planning a visit to one of our 4 locations.

Here are 7 things we can help you with this summer:

1. Getting the research materials you need: Use our online collections and resources from anywhere! If you’re in town this summer, you can request books for pickup at any library desk or for delivery to your campus mailbox. This includes items from from Interlibrary Loan as well as books in storage during construction on Carrier.
2. Improving the accessibility of your teaching content: We’re offering resources for digital accessibility, even though the deadline to make online learning materials more accessible (in compliance with Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act) isn’t until April 24, 2026.
3. Helping your students develop strong research skills: Contact your department’s liaison librarian to learn how we can help your students develop the skills required for research, including finding, evaluating, and citing sources.
4. Fine-tuning your Canvas courses: Our instructional designers can help you optimize your courses for Canvas, and our educational technologists can help with technical issues in Canvas. Visit the Learning Innovations & Design Desk online or in Rose Library to get started.
5. Making your course readings more affordable: You can place materials on course reserve to provide first-day-of-class access to learning materials for your students, free of charge. This is just one of 11 easy ways we can help you make your textbooks more affordable.
6. Advancing your scholarship: We can help advance your research by consulting with you on topics such as avoiding predatory publishers, creating data management plans, posting your research on our open-access institutional repository to increase its visibility, and more.
7. Finding the help you need: Request a consultation on data services, archives and special collections, creating videos and other media for your teaching, and much more.