AI@Colby - NotebookLM Resources

Accessing NotebookLM

🔺To access NotebookLM, please sign in with your Colby credentials. NotebookLM is a component of Colby's existing Google Workspace and employ the same privacy and security already built into the platform. The models are not trained on-- nor used to train--any models or data outside of Colby's data environment.

🔺NotebookLM is approved for Medium Risk and Low Risk data in Colby's Data Classification Policy.

Please review the Colby College Data Classification Policy for full descriptions and examples of each data classification level.
Contact the ITS Support Center or support@colby.edu with any questions about secure data handling or sharing.
Contact the Office of Information Security in Information Technology Services, informationsecurity@colby.edu, in the event of any unauthorized disclosure or breach, whether known or suspected.

Visit NotebookLM now

Visit Google’s NotebookLM Help Center for official documentation and latest updates.

Key Features

1. Source-grounded AI

NotebookLM only generate output based on specific data sources uploaded by users, reducing the chances of inventing content.

2. Multi-document Analysis
NotebookLM can process up to 50 sources per notebook in a variety of formats. Each source can contain up to 500,000 words, or up to 200MB for uploaded files.

3. Inline Citation
During a conversation, NotebookLM will respond with an answer and inline citations. These citations show you where in the sources the answer is based on.

4. Three-panel Navigation
NotebookLM's interface has three key panels. The Source panel allows you to upload and manage sources. In the Chat panel, you can engage in conversational AI and receive instant, cited answers. The Studio panel transforms your sources into various helpful formats.

5. Studio Panel
NotebookLM's Studio Panel can transform your source documents into a range of generative media.

6. Real-time Collaboration
Users can share and collaborate on notebooks with others in different levels of access. Users using Colby credentials can only share notebooks within the institution.

Glossary

Notebook is the way NotebookLM organizes projects. Notebooks are similar to how folders organize the files on your computer. Each notebook is totally separate, so NotebookLM can’t access information from multiple notebooks at the same time.

A source document is a static copy of a file that is uploaded into the platform. When using NotebookLM, the model will use the sources to answer your questions or complete your requests.

Right now, NotebookLM can process up to 50 sources per notebook in a variety of formats: Google Docs, Google Slides, PDF, Text and Markdown files, Web URLs, Copy-pasted text, Youtube URLs of public videos, and Audio files.

Notes are a way to capture and organize saved information within NotebookLM that can be revisited later.

Studio is where you can transform your source documents into mind maps, detailed reports, and a narrated video with AI-generated slides that include images and quotes. The tool also offers podcast-style conversations via Audio Overview in 50+ languages, and you can join these conversations through an interactive mode.

Asking NotebookLM for Instructions

To get started with NotebookLM, click on the "Introduction to NotebookLM" notebook on your dashboard. This official Google guide provides a practical way to learn about NotebookLM's features as you use them. We recommend reading it completely to make the most of it.

NBLM Source.mov

Upon opening the notebook, head to the Source panel where you'll find a collection of NotebookLM-specific sources. These provide comprehensive, visually guided instructions, showing you various ways to engage with NotebookLM.

Chat demo.mov

Overwhelmed by the content in your sources? Just head to the Chat panel and ask this notebook questions about NotebookLM.

The responses you get will include in-line citations that link directly back to the original sources when you click them.

Plus, you can easily control which sources the notebook uses to answer your questions by checking or unchecking the box next to each one.

While you can ask questions to learn about the Studio panel, please note that this is a shared, public notebook. This means you won't have full interactive capabilities within the Studio panel here (such as generating your own podcasts or mind maps). For that, you'll want to work within your own notebook.

With the basics of NotebookLM now understood through its official notebook, you're ready to create your very first notebook!

More on getting started with NotebookLM:

LinkedIn Learning course: Learning NotebookLM – Your AI-Powered Research Assistant
Google blog: 8 expert tips for getting started with NotebookLM
Other online courses, blogs, and guides:

Colby ATS does our best to link to only the best external sites. However, this content is out of our control and subject to external changes. If you have any questions, feedback, or corrections regarding the information provided, please contact Academic Technology Services at teched@colby.edu to get in touch.

Page updated

Report abuse