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.     

The First Non-Traditional Doctor of Pharmacy Graduates

Abstract

In June 2004, fourteen students graduated from the first completely online degree program at The Ohio State Universitythe Non-Traditional PharmD (Doctor of Pharmacy) program. The program was implemented as a response to the American Council on Pharmaceutical Education requiring this degree for entry into pharmacy practice. This article reports on the development of the program, and it includes information gleaned from interviews with six of the graduates. Topics included the services that graduates used most, how they applied their new information seeking skills, the difficulties they had in using the library, and their suggestions for improvement. Importantly, the students were comfortable using the digital resources and felt they could not have completed the degree without online access to library resources.     

Chat It Up! Extending Reference Services to Assist Off-Campus Students

Abstract

A virtual reference service is likely to attract both on-campus and off-campus students and providing one service for all users can extend the hours of availability to all students. The needs of these two student populations may differ and off-campus users may present some specific challenges to the reference staff. While some libraries do have a specified distance education librarian, it is unlikely at many institutions that there will be reference staff dedicated only to answering questions from off-campus students. Reference services for off-campus students do present special issues about which general reference staff may not be aware. With awareness of these challenges and proper training, an existing virtual reference service can be extended (or improved) to help off-campus students, or a new chat service can be developed with the objective to assist all user groups with equal success.     

Using Needs Assessment to Determine Library Services for Distance Learning Programs

ABSTRACT

This article provides guidance in using the needs assessment process as a planning tool specifically for library services supporting distance learning programs. The first section covers pre-assessment planning activities, which include defining the specific purpose or purposes of the assessment, assigning responsibility for various aspects of the project, establishing time frames, and defining target groups. The section related to conducting the assessment itself discusses, along with other issues, selecting data collection tools and constructing questions. Promotion of the assessment and methods of encouraging participation are also considered. Since Interlibrary Loan and Document Delivery personnel are an integral part of library services, they may be called upon to support distance learning programs. Thus, topics discussed in this article will be applicable to their situations.     

Creation,Management, and Assessment of Library Screencasts: The Regis Libraries Animated Tutorials Project

ABSTRACT

The Distance Learning Department of the Regis University Library is charged with providing library instruction for undergraduate and graduate students enrolled in accelerated courses offered at six distance campus locations and online. The department has created a series of animated online tutorials (i.e., screencasts) accessible via the library Web site. These interactive tutorials cover basic library services and resources and represent an effort to provide asynchronous bibliographic instruction to remote library users. This paper describes the use of screencasting software to create library tutorials and related issues including software options, production tips and techniques, and project management. In addition, the author describes the use of Google Analytics to record usage statistics and perform assessments.     

Going the Extra Mile: Supporting Distance Education at University of Alaska Fairbanks

ABSTRACT

The Elmer E. Rasmuson Library at the University of Alaska Fairbanks has a long history of supporting distance education through state-of-the-art, remote access services. Harsh climate conditions (heavy snowfall and icing, high winds, and extreme temperatures), rugged terrain, limited road and telephone systems, and permafrost that prevents the installation of communications networks, all contribute to the challenge of delivering distance education. This article describes and explains the library's services while discussing the challenges of providing information access to a diverse student population living in an area covering over 500,000 square miles.     

Working in the Asynchronous Environment

Abstract

Those called upon to instruct or moderate within the asynchronous environment must acquire the skills necessary to engage learners from across a distance. This paper will provide two case studies describing the experiences and practice of working in this environment. The first case study will describe the reference and instructional library support provided to the Master of Continuing Education program offered by the University of Calgary. The second case study will describe the services and resources offered by the Node Learning Technologies Network, particularly those aimed at librarians.     

Improving Distance Education for Students with Special Needs: A Qualitative Study of Students’ Experiences with an Online Library Research Course

This article describes a study in which seven students with diverse disabilities participated in a one-credit online library research course which had been adapted to be accessible using the best practices literature on distance education for students with special needs. Students provided feedback on the design of the course and participated in in-depth interviews. Results of this study suggest any given class may have students with different types of disabilities, with different paths toward learning. Using the principles of universal design for learning can improve distance education not only for students with special needs, but for all types of learners.     

Indonesia Electronic Library Design Plan for Supporting a Distance Learning Environment

Abstract

Indonesia is answering the need for a more skilled work force by using distance education and technology to reach more students. This paper describes the development of an electronic library to support these students by member libraries of the Indonesia Distance Learning Network.     

Using a Library Learning Object Repository to Empower Teaching Excellence for Distance Students

In 2015, in response to the findings of an online learning needs assessment, two librarians and a Web developer began creating a library learning object repository. This repository would ensure that distance learners were receiving excellent library services, including library instruction. The team worked with the libraries’ digital media specialist to create an attractive interface and consulted with one of the library’s metadata specialists to create metadata that would help to make the repository easy to search and browse. Further plans include wide-scale sharing with the larger library community and continued growth in the number and types of objects in the repository.     

Outreach to Health Professionals in a Rural Area

An outreach project which juxtaposed technology (Grateful Med) and a human intermediary (a circuit librarian) to serve health professionals in a rural area of Illinois is described. The five goals of the project were: promote Grateful Med as a clinical tool; introduce circuit librarianship to Illinois; heighten the awareness of health professionals to the value of timely information services; increase the visibility of the resource library; and evaluate the impact of the two components, Grateful Med and circuit librarianship. While the project was well-received and enjoyed short-term success, sustaining the same level of information activity post-project has not been achieved. Insuring utilization of health information by remote health professionals may be characterized as a Sisyphean task.     

The Changing Face of Distance Learning

Abstract

Change in distance learning is occurring at a rapid pace. As new technologies appear, institutions of higher education incorporate them into course delivery options. Library services must also change to meet new user needs. This article examines the process used to change a distance learning service model. After describing the strategies used by the author, a literature review analyzes the works that are especially relevant. Finally, a checklist for initiating change is provided to help others work through a similar process.     

Outreach to Distance Learners

Summary

It is the responsibility of any institution offering distance education programs to provide library resources and services for its students. In contrast to traditional students who can find the library on a campus map and go there, distance learners need orientation in order to “find their way” to their library. Librarians must be proactive in their efforts to make the library visible and accessible to these students. Library resources and services must be made available in ways compatible with the needs of students in these programs. The processes of designing, marketing, providing and evaluating appropriate library services demand continuous outreach to the distance education community.     

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.     

Future Directions for Government Information

No abstract available for this article.     

We Care—Virtually and in Person: A User-Centered Approach to Assessment,Implementation and Promotion of Library Resources and Services to a Remote Graduate Campus

ABSTRACT

The article relates how the Brooklyn Campus Library of Long Island University, despite limitations of physical distance and the varying conditions of the remote graduate campus at Westchester, makes every effort to face each challenge creatively with practical solutions for implementation. We share our findings and experiences—what worked and what did not—and what remains to be done in terms of supporting the curricula and bringing library resources and services to a mixture of remote site users. The authors recount how the gap between reality and the ideal is reduced and unique issues relevant to remote users are resolved by the Brooklyn Campus Library, in collaboration with other units of Long Island University. We relate how we combine library instruction with our marketing efforts to promote library resources and services. We also analyze survey data and interlibrary loan statistics to assess our success. The article contributes to the ongoing discussion of improving and promoting library resources and services to remote sites.     

Global Business and Transportation: Online Research for Graduate Studies in International Transportation Management

This article describes the research methodology and design of electronic resources in support of the graduate program in International Transportation Management at SUNY Maritime College. A team of faculty librarians have designed the online research guides to meet the requirements of the graduate students at the final stages of completing their Master of Science in international transportation management. The SUNY Maritime College graduate students are required to conduct a final research assignment in global business and transportation, global statistics; foreign labor markets; foreign trade policies; and cultural, economic, and political contexts of supply chain management.     

Doctoral Dissertations at a Distance

Abstract

The model suggests that librarians can assume the role of co-supervisor to ensure that the literature review of a doctoral dissertation is comprehensive and relevant. Librarians can also assist research students, make sure their supervisors are kept abreast of new information resources in their research disciplines, and act as a mentor to both student and staff member in library matters. The model was developed in recognition of the special support needs of off campus research students who are disadvantaged by isolation, time and distance. It is anticipated that adoption of the model will lead to increased rates of completion, higher standards of research, an improvement in information and literacy skills of research students and supervisors, and reduced isolation for off campus researchers.     

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.     

Library Collections and Distance Information

No abstract available for this article.