Where is academia headed? How did the extraordinary events of 2020 reshape higher education’s futures? What does it all mean for academic libraries? In this session we look forward to the future with a close eye on the present, starting by examining the major forces reshaping higher education before COVID-19 struck. These include demographics, macroeconomics, geopolitics, and enrollment. Next we summarize the pandemic’s impact on colleges and universities, forecasting long-term changes. Then we advance farther ahead to anticipate the ways climate change might transform academia.

Learning management systems (LMS) are designed to create, distribute, and manage the delivery of educational content. Integrating library resources and research assistance directly within the LMS allows students to access library materials directly through their course and reimagines the use of e-reserves. Allowing students access via the LMS reduces access barriers and places the library within the academic context of the course.Hannah McKelvey & Meghan Salsbury share their project to use LTI applications to promote library materials in the classroom.

Christina Trunnell will present a quick guide to understanding the Creative Commons licenses, how they interact with Fair Use Doctrine, and their role in furthering education and librarianship.

Our patrons need research and reference assistance at all hours of the day, not only when the physical library building is open. Providing high-quality, accessible online performance support (or point-of-need) tools for students, faculty, and staff can help them successfully complete their work even when the library is closed. We will present on MSU Library’s work in the area of performance support including the updating of LibGuides, providing quick and easy tutorials through the library’s website, and integrating into the campus LMS (Brightspace).

The presentation will focus on the impact of stress on our daily lives and simple ways to build mindfulness and wellness through presence, breathing, and body techniques. Participants will have an opportunity to practice a few techniques that can be cultivated in daily activities.

The Montana Historical Society offers a wealth of content and services to academic researchers. Join State Archivist, Rich Aarstad; Photograph Archives Manager, Jeff Malcomson; and Library Manager, Laura Tretter for highlights and gems from the Research Center collections as we explore digital and physical resources from all three sections. You will learn how researchers can access and use our collections both remotely and in person this summer and into the upcoming academic year. You will also hear a brief update on renovation plans for the Research Center and the Historical Society.