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Overview
Google NotebookLM is an AI-powered research and note-taking tool that helps you work with specific source materials, such as Google Docs, PDFs, slides, websites, text, and other files. After sources are added to a notebook, you can ask questions, generate summaries, create study materials, build multimedia resources, and explore the content using AI-supported prompts. NotebookLM is available to Mines faculty, students, and staff using their Mines login.
Contents
- Before You Begin
- Create a Notebook in NotebookLM
- Add Sources to your Notebook
- How to Use NotebookLM
- Share a Notebook
- Best Practices
- Additional Resources
Before creating a notebook, make sure you:
- Have the files, links, or text you want to use as sources.
- Only upload materials you are authorized to use within your role At Mines.
- Avoid uploading copyrighted materials, such as full textbooks & chapters, unless you have permission or a clear legal basis to do so.
- While logged in with your Mines account, the data you enter into NotebookLM is protected and will not be used to train Google’s AI models.
- Do not log into NotebookLM or any other AI tools with a personal, non-Mines account if you are conducting Mines related business.
For questions about copyright, fair use, or course materials, contact the Mines Library at libcirc@mines.edu or 303-273-3698 .
Faculty who would like support designing NotebookLM activities for a course can contact the Trefny Center at trefnycenter@mines.edu.
Staff who would like help using NotebookLM for work-related tasks can attend an IT training session or submit a Technology Training Request.
- Go to NotebookLM.
- Sign in using your Mines email address and password.
- Select + Create New notebook.
- In the Sources window, click + Add Sources and then select the type of source you want to add.
- Choose the files, links, Google Drive materials, or text you want to include in the notebook.
- Wait for NotebookLM to finish processing the sources.
- Rename the notebook so it clearly describes the topic, project, course, or task.
- NotebookLM should create a default name for your notebook, based on the materials you have ingested.
- If you wish to change the name of your Notebook, click on the title in the upper-left corner.
- Review the source list to confirm the correct materials were added.
- Open the notebook.
- In the Sources panel, select + Add Sources.
- Choose the source type you want to add.
- Upload or paste the new source.
- Confirm that the new source appears in the Sources panel.
You can add, remove, select, or deselect sources to control what NotebookLM uses when answering questions.
Supported Source Types
NotebookLM supports several source types, including:
- Google Docs
- Google Slides
- Google Sheets
- PDFs
- Microsoft Word files
- PowerPoint files
- Text, Markdown, and CSV files
- Web URLs
- ePub files
- Audio files
- Images
- Pasted text
NotebookLM Studio provides several ways to turn your notebook sources into useful learning, review, and presentation materials. These tools use the sources you have added to NotebookLM, so the quality of the output depends on the quality, accuracy, and relevance of the materials included.
Note: As with all AI generated content, it is your responsibility to varify the accuracy of the content provided before distributing it to your audience.
To access Studio tools:
- Locate the Studio panel on the righthand side of NotebookLM.
- Select the type of output you want to create from the list of choices.
- Review the generated content carefully.
- Edit, revise, or regenerate the output as needed.
NotebookLM can support a wide variety of academic, administrative, research, and productivity workflows across campus.
Faculty and Academic Use Cases
- Upload lecture notes, research papers, and course readings to generate study guides, quizzes, and discussion questions for students.
- Create a notebook containing accreditation reports, curriculum documents, and assessment materials to quickly identify themes, action items, or gaps.
- Use NotebookLM to summarize research articles, compare methodologies, or organize literature reviews for grant proposals and publications.
- Build a notebook around a course topic and generate flashcards, mind maps, or audio overviews to support student learning.
- Organize advising resources, department policies, and onboarding documents into a searchable notebook for faculty or staff reference.
Administrative and Staff Use Cases
- Upload meeting notes, strategic plans, and project documentation to generate summaries, timelines, and action-item reports.
- Create notebooks for departmental procedures, HR documentation, or training materials to improve onboarding and knowledge sharing.
- Generate briefing documents or quick-reference summaries from large collections of institutional reports or operational documents.
- Compile survey responses, committee materials, or planning documents into a notebook to identify trends and recurring topics.
Student Use Cases
- Upload lecture slides, readings, and personal notes to generate practice quizzes, summaries, and flashcards before exams.
- Use Audio Overview to review course materials while commuting or studying away from a computer.
- Generate study guides from course readings, lab procedures, or project documentation.
- Build a notebook containing internship, career, or professional development resources to prepare for interviews or presentations.
Research and Collaboration Use Cases
- Combine papers, datasets, notes, and project documentation into a single notebook for collaborative research review.
- Use mind maps and reports to identify connections between research topics or summarize findings across multiple sources.
- Organize interdisciplinary project materials into a shared notebook for easier collaboration across departments or research groups.
- Open the notebook.
- Use the chat box to ask a question about the uploaded materials.
- Review NotebookLM’s response.
- You can check citations or references provided by NotebookLM.
- Ask follow-up questions to clarify, compare, summarize, or reformat the information.
Example prompts:
- Summarize the main points from these sources.
- Create a study guide based only on these materials.
- What are the key differences between these two documents?
- Turn this content into a checklist.
- Identify action items from these meeting notes.
Audio Overview
Audio Overview creates a conversational, podcast-style, audio summary of your notebook sources. This can be useful for reviewing material while away from the screen, preparing for a meeting, or getting a broad understanding of a topic.
Use Audio Overview to:
- Summarize complex materials in a spoken format.
- Review course or departmental content.
- Create a quick listening-based overview of source materials.
Slide Deck
Slide Deck creates a presentation-style summary of your notebook content. This can help organize source material into a visual format for review, instruction, meetings, or discussion.
Use Slide Deck to:
- Create a starting point for a presentation.
- Organize key ideas from multiple sources.
- Turn notes or documents into a structured visual outline.
You can download your Slide Deck as a PowerPoint file but note that you won't have the ability to edit the text within the file.
Video Overview
Video Overview creates a video-based summary of the materials in your notebook. This can be useful for quickly reviewing major ideas or creating a visual explanation of source content.
Use Video Overview to:
- Review source material in a visual format.
- Summarize major themes or concepts.
- Create a starting point for instructional or informational content.
Mind Map
Mind Map creates a visual map of the major topics, subtopics, and relationships found in your notebook sources. This can help users understand how ideas connect across materials.
Use Mind Map to:
- Explore relationships between concepts
- Organize complex topics
- Identify themes, categories, or gaps in the source materials
Reports
Reports create structured written outputs based on the notebook sources. These may include summaries, briefing documents, FAQs, timelines, or other organized formats depending on the available report options.
Use Reports to:
- Create a written summary of source materials.
- Generate a briefing document.
- Organize information into a more formal written format.
- Prepare content for review, planning, or discussion.
Flashcards
Flashcards create question-and-answer study cards based on the notebook content. These are useful for reviewing key terms, definitions, concepts, processes, or facts and can be an excellent study aid for students preparing for exams.
Use Flashcards to:
- Study course materials.
- Review terminology.
- Prepare for quizzes or exams.
- Reinforce key concepts from the sources.
Quiz
Quiz creates practice questions based on the notebook sources. This can help users test their understanding of the material and identify areas that need more review.
Use Quiz to:
- Check comprehension.
- Create practice questions.
- Review course or training content.
- Identify concepts that may need additional study.
Infographic
Infographic creates a visual summary of information from the notebook sources. This can help present key points, processes, comparisons, or data in a more visual format.
Use Infographic to:
- Summarize key information visually.
- Create a quick reference tool.
- Explain a process or concept.
- Support presentations, handouts, or training materials.
Data Table
Data Table organizes information from your notebook sources into a table format. This can be useful when comparing items, identifying patterns, organizing examples, or extracting structured details from source materials.
Use Data Table to:
- Compare information across sources
- Organize details into rows and columns
- Extract examples, dates, people, tasks, or key points
- Create a structured reference from unstructured materials
- Open the notebook.
- Select Share.
- Enter the email address of the person you want to share with.
- Choose the appropriate access level.
- Select Send.
Important! Only share notebooks with people who should have access to the included source materials.
- Create separate notebooks for separate projects, courses, or topics.
- Use clear notebook names.
- Upload only relevant sources.
- Review AI-generated responses for accuracy.
- Verify important information against the original source.
- Do not upload copyrighted, confidential, sensitive, or restricted information unless you are authorized to do so within your role on campus.
- Use NotebookLM as a support tool, not as the final authority. All decision making must be done by humans.
- Contact the Library for copyright questions.
- Contact the Trefny Center for faculty course-design support.
- Contact IT Training for staff productivity support.