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From a Distance: Library Services for Distance Learners
Joseph DobbsUniversity of Texas at Austin
Common DE Selling Points…
“Earn a degree online from your home or office, at your convenience.”
“Never have to step foot on campus…”
“100 percent online college degrees”
“Earn a MBA degree online -- without interrupting your current career”
Our Challenge:
Librarians must develop methods of providing traditional services in thisnon-traditional, distributed environment
Trends in Distance Education…
Rapid growth in enrollment in distance education classes
Online courses and hybrid courses are becoming more common
Substantial increases in on-site students taking DE courses
Proliferation of virtual universities
ACRL Guidelines for Distance Learning Library Services
“Members of the distance learning community are entitled to library services and resources equivalent to those provided for students and faculty in traditional campus settings.”
Designing an Effective Library Service for Distance Learners
Define “distance learner”
Identify distance learners, their information needs and potential barriers to access and services
Formulate a plan for providing access to resources and services
Market and promote distance library services
Definitional Challenges
Who are “distance learners” ?
• Students who are geographically separated from a physical campus
• Students enrolled in a technologically mediated classroom
Distance - vs. - Distributed
• The notion of “distance” may become irrelevant
• What we now call DE library services may become a model for
library services in the future
Characteristics of Distance Learners
* Extremely independent and self-motivated
* Are often busy with conflicting demands
* May be confined to their homes - disability or illness
* Are often re-entering education after a hiatus
Identifying users, their needs and barriers
* Determining the number of distance learners can be difficult
* Knowing the mode of distance education instruction is important
* What kinds of classes and programs are offered will affect service
Needs Assessment
Best achieved through surveying …
Should be formulated in a written profile
Surveying User Needs
“survey regularly distance learning library users”
Distance learners are busy – keep surveys short
Surveys can be distributed to students
* by email
* directly at point of service
* via DE course
What to ask students…
Determine past patterns of information use
* Use of research materials other than textbooks
* Where they accessed these resources
* Use of existing DE library and information service
What to ask students…
* Approximate distance in miles from “campus”
* Access to the Web – home, office, connection type
* Use of computers and information technology
Questions about technology skills and access:
What to ask students…
* Confidence level in their ability to locate information
* Satisfaction with current info/library services
* How the library can serve them better
* Factors that prevent students from using the library
Questions about info skills and satisfaction:
What DE Students Want…
* Integration of the library into DE infrastructure
* Full-text and/or expedited document delivery
* Responsive services with single contact points
* Kazmer, 2002
Solicit Input of DE Instructors
* Have they had to adapt their curriculum around DE ILS
* Where they refer their students for library/info materials
* Attempts to integrate research skills into courses ???
* What kind of training they think students need
* Willingness to work with the library
Formulating a resources and service plan
“The requirements and desired outcomes of academic programs should guide the library’s responses to defined needs. Innovative approaches to the design and evaluation of special procedures or systems to meet these needs is encouraged.”
Formulating a resources and service plan
* Clear and succinct statement of mission and purpose
* Set achievable and measurable goals
* Timeline for reaching benchmarks
* Plan for measuring success
Library Services
Two types:
* Traditional Services and Resources
Our core services are still necessary but must be adapted
* New services resulting from technology & new info needs Technological environment blurs line between library & tech
support
Resource Planning – Electronic
* Develop a method of providing off-campus access
* Identify and prioritize resources for purchase/license
* Formulate a support services plan
* Anticipate use of resources and promotion
Resources & Service Planning – Print
How will the library provide access to print resources?
* Cooperative arrangements with other libraries
* Mailing books, sending/faxing photocopies
* Image capture and electronic delivery
Emailing files
Desktop delivery software – ex. Prospero
* Outsourcing to document exchange service
Reference Services
Provide as many options as possible
* Telephone
* Chat
* Face-to-face
FAQs, subject guides, citation guides and tutorials
Information Literacy
* ILS incorporation in distance education courses
* Enable students to request and appointment
* Web-based research guides
* Interactive Web Tutorials – GO TILT!
* Information literacy short courses
Marketing & Promotion
Marketing is more difficult than brick & mortar libraries
Lack of building recognition must be accounted for…
* Web presence
* Institutional brochures and handbooks
* Mass electronic mailings
* Incorporation into DE courses
Going the Distance
Have more of our users become remote,
or have libraries become more remote from our
users?
Additional Information
ACRL Guidelines for Distance Learning Library Services
* http://www.ala.org/acrl/guides/distlrng.html
Copies of this presentation will be accessible at:
* http://www.lib.utsystem.edu/offcamp/
Joseph Dobbs, UT Austin
