Selecting Electronic Document Delivery Options to Provide Quality Service

Abstract

Providing electronic document delivery (EDD) services to off-campus students can be a challenge. Methods of delivery that work well for one group of users might not work at all for another group. Knowing and using the different EDD service options to accomplish the goal of providing quality service to students results in a win-win situation. Student expectations of timely delivery of material are met and the department develops a reputation of dependable quality service. Library users have raised expectations from the 24/7 services available through the World Wide Web. Providing EDD of information to the researcher's desktop helps the library meet these needs and expectations. However, the options for desktop delivery can also be overwhelming, so knowing how and why different software and delivery methods work enables the practitioner to control the outcome of the transaction. This control over the service also ensures that quality service expectations are met by the library since the practitioner has the ability to use a variety of delivery options to the user's desktop.     

The Ins and Outs of Providing Electronic Reserves for Distance Learning Classes

Abstract

Distance Learning Library Services at the University of Kentucky provided an electronic reserves service as a pilot project for distance learning courses in the 2000–01 academic year. Distance Learning Programs, which is a part of the Distance Learning Technology Center, funded the project. Policies and procedures were formulated, an account was set up with the Copyright Clearance Center, and the service was marketed. Our first electronic reserves were available for the Fall 2000 semester.     

How It's Done: Examining Distance Education Library Instruction and Assessment

ABSTRACT

While articles on individual studies, surveys, and programs abound, there is a lack of baseline data regarding what and how libraries provide instruction for their distant populations. Do libraries generally provide information literacy or library instruction to students at a distance? How is instruction usually provided? Is instruction generally assessed? If so, how is instruction assessed? These questions were asked of librarians in an online survey of 143 institutions offering distance programs, randomly sampled from the College Blue Book. With a 55% response rate, data about instruction offerings and assessment were correlated with information about library staff size, budget, and student enrollment. The expectation was that larger libraries with more money and students would provide more and better services, but interestingly these factors had far less influence than anticipated. It seems that the individual efforts of librarians were the major determinants for services offered by libraries at institutions with distant students.     

Learning to Teach in a New Medium

Abstract

The development of a new method of providing instruction involves many different issues. This paper examines a pilot project in which videoconferencing was used to provide library instruction to students at remote campuses. The librarians initiating this new service confronted the issues of training, adaptation of instruction techniques to the new format, and collaboration with faculty and administrative staff. They also dealt with administrative issues such as scheduling classes and facilities and staff scheduling. This paper examines how this cross-departmental project developed and was supported, how the initial training was conducted, and how existing class outlines were adapted. Also discussed are the lessons learned from the initial sessions. Varied administrative and collaborative challenges face the library, faculty, and departmental administrators as this project moves from pilot project status into a regular and required part of the curriculum.     

Using a Web-Based MOO for Library Instruction in Distance Education

Abstract

This institution is in the process of establishing a graphical interface, Web-based MOO [Multi-User Dungeon, Object-Oriented], both to create a forum for synchronous library instruction and to serve as an online meeting place for off-campus students, who are otherwise without a learning community. This paper describes the development of that service and outlines its strengths and weaknesses.     

A Study on Using Rubrics and Citation Analysis to Measure the Quality of Doctoral Dissertation Reference Lists from Traditional and Nontraditional Institutions

Abstract

As distance education programs continue to grow, so do the services offered by libraries to the communities created by such programs. However, for these programs to be successful, the people that they are intended to serve need to be aware of the support and services available to them. Without such awareness, the services will go unused. Through a survey, the librarians at Emporia State University learned that making distant students aware of services was essential to the success of distance learning library services. Librarians discovered that creating a marketing plan to guide the marketing process was essential. This tool serves as a road map to visually illustrate the path from the conception of ideas to the realization of the marketing goals and objectives. This paper examines the process of writing a marketing plan and intends to illustrate how it can assist the library in marketing its services to a distant population.     

Strategic Planning for Distance Learning Services

Abstract

The Web is often characterized as a universal information space, in the sense that the provision of and access to Web content is open to all. It is well known, however, that the majority of Web content originates from a small group of English-speaking countries, chiefly the United States. This paper examines trends in the internationalization of Web content, and in particular, whether the Web is becoming increasingly globalized as it matures, and to what segment of the world's countries and languages it currently extends. Sample data from 1998 and 1999 suggests that the Web's content is still far from a true global cross-section, but is slowly expanding both in terms of its geographical origins and the languages in which it is made available.     

图书馆拓展服务探析与案例研究

以康奈尔大学图书馆、清华大学图书馆为例,介绍图书馆拓展服务方面的探索与实践,涉及所采用的方法、合作对象、取得的成果等,并对两馆拓展服务之间的异同进行比较。拓展服务形式多样,一些形式与图书馆传统角色相匹配,而另一些则需要图书馆走出去,积极主动展示自己。拓展服务的成功关键在于要与学校的总体目标和发展方向保持一致,以使拓展服务保持新鲜与活力,最终达到真正改进图书馆读者服务的目的,甚至对读者的技能产生长期影响。     

All Aboard the eTrain

Abstract

As more and more library resources become available through the Internet, and as libraries move to 24/7 access to their collections and services, library instruction must move to this environment. The question is how to best move instruction to the Web while continuing to provide quality interactive sessions that are meaningful to the patron. While much of the literature dealing with developing online instruction focuses on for-credit courses, most librarians still reach the majority of their patrons through one-time instruction sessions. This paper looks at how one large urban university began moving its one-time instruction onto the Web, exploring the main developmental efforts in this area, including dedication to process, content quality, faculty input, and student feedback.     

External Funding for Library Education

No abstract available for this article.     

Jobs and Changes in the Technological Age

No abstract available for this article.     

Providing Off-Campus Library Services by “Team”

Abstract

In contrast to many large academic libraries, Kansas State University (K-State) does not have a distance librarian. As a result, the Library Services Project Team (Team) was formed to take a fresh look at current library services for distance learners. Although the Team has been in place for over two years, and has implemented many changes, there was no mechanism for receiving formal feedback from students and faculty about these services. Because it is important to know whether services are being used, two librarians on the Team developed a Web-based survey targeted at distance faculty and students. This paper discusses the assessment project including development of the survey, the university approval process, use of an electronic in-house survey system, administration of the survey, and compilation and analysis of results.     

Using Visualization to Understand Phrase Structure

Abstract

From a concern with helping users deal with information overload, we are developing suitable visual metaphors for representing the dispersion of information and developing tools for supporting the ability of users to interact with these metaphorical displays and to navigate the information landscapes that they represent. WordView, our initial application within the OverView project, was designed to be an easy-to-use tool to study naturally occurring phrases and to support the future design of intelligent text input systems. It embodies an easy to understand graphic summary and a user-controllable inspection facility.     

Assessing Minds Want to Know

Abstract

This paper discusses requirements for constructing balanced questions for surveys when assessing library services for off-campus learning programs, including criteria for creating good questions. After exploring research goal and objective setting, the discussion turns to defining research type, selecting research format, and constructing questions. The next section focuses on question structure and wording issues with attention given to characteristics of open-ended and closed-ended questions and their application, double negatives and stating questions in the negative, use of time, eliciting a summary judgment, and bias exhibited in questions. Finally, consideration is given to a list of issues to note and avoid in question formation.     

A Kaleidoscope of Learning Styles

Abstract

Our library intends to create a tutorial to assist students in library research. In preparation, we need to understand the diverse learning needs of students. Some students seem to thrive in the online environment while others feel at a loss. A review of learning styles literature reveals that many adult learners require personalized, interactive learning environments. The author reviewed library tutorials to identify models of library instruction that meet the needs of such students. This paper serves as background and literature review for an interactive workshop on learning styles and the Internet, which was presented at the conference.     

Assessing the Library Needs and Preferences of Off-Campus Students

Abstract

In order to have a successful library program for distance education students, librarians must understand who their students are, as well as what their students want and need. Of course, the best way to get this information is to ask the students. The ACRL Guidelines for Distance Learning Library Services emphasize this point, encouraging librarians to regularly survey students involved in distance education and off-campus programs. This paper is based on two student surveys, one conducted by the Coordinator of Library Services for Distance Education at the University of Iowa and the other conducted by the Distance Librarian at University of the West Indies, Mona Campus. The paper focuses on the issues that librarians confront when they conduct a survey of distance education students. In addition, it covers details on writing and developing a survey instrument, including the need to ask the right questions in a proper manner and the need to arrange the questions and information in a user-friendly format. The results of the two surveys are presented, including a comparison of some data between the two programs.     

Preparing for and the Management of the Accreditation Visit

No abstract available for this article.     

Closing the Distance: Bringing a Personal Librarian Program to Online Learners

ABSTRACT

In an effort to bridge the gap between the one-on-one attention that students receive when they come into the library and the attention given to online learners, the University of West Florida Libraries added an online learner component to its Personal Librarian Program. Personal librarian programs provide an opportunity for individualized outreach to students and can be particularly beneficial to online learners who may not receive it otherwise. While much of the literature on outreach to online students focuses on embedded librarianship, a personal librarian program emphasizes a direct connection and fosters an independent and strong relationship between the librarian and the student. The implementation of a personal librarian program for online learners by the University of West Florida has had successes and challenges that illuminate lessons for other institutions considering implementations of similar programs.     

Innovative Methods for Providing Instruction to Distance Students Using Technology

Abstract

Bibliographic instruction is one of the major challenges facing libraries that support distance students. Most libraries have neither the budget nor staff to send librarians to all places students might be located. This paper will examine three innovative methods tried at Nova Southeastern University for providing quality bibliographic instruction to distance students: one synchronous, another asynchronous, and the third combining features from both synchronous and asynchronous methods of delivering instruction.