Planning for Distance Learning

Abstract

The article examines the role that student support services plays in planning a distance learning program, especially the services offered by a university library. The content of the paper is based on the experience the author acquired as a member of Texas Tech University's Distance Learning Council. The Council's efforts to plan a program that will include strong support from the Library are discussed.     

Extending Library Boundaries Without Losing the Personal Touch

No abstract available for this article.     

Louisiana Academic Libraries

Abstract

The state of Louisiana has a long history of consortial activities among academic libraries. Having this infrastructure in place contributed to the ease of creation of a distance library services network that includes both public and private universities. This paper traces the history of academic library consortia in Louisiana, and provides methodologies and results of several surveys of distance education students. The results of a survey currently being conducted are forthcoming.     

Chapter 7 Survey of Area Studies Collections

Abstract

Library Distance Learning Services (LDLS) at Michigan State University was developed in 1993 as a result of the campus-wide adoption of a decentralized model for services to our off-campus population. With its “high-tech, high-touch” philosophy, LDLS has taken on increasing responsibilities in information delivery and triage through increased use of its 800 line, e-mail and Web technologies.     

Chapter Twelve

No abstract available for this article.     

Future Directions for Government Information

No abstract available for this article.     

Knowing your users and what they want

Abstract

In order to have a successful library program for offcampus students, librarians must understand who their students are and what they want. This paper will address the issues involved in conducting a user survey for off-campus students. The paper will cover details on developing a survey; it will discuss the logistics of sending and receiving; and it will examine one method of evaluation. This work is based on a student survey conducted by the University of Iowa Libraries during November 1998 and March 1999.     

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.     

Financial Planning for Collection Management

No abstract available for this article.     

Today's School Library Media Specialist:

No abstract available for this article.     

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.     

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.     

Off-Campus Postgraduate Students’ Perceptions About Distance Library Support Services: A Case Study of Allama Iqbal Open University Libraries Network

ABSTRACT

The present study was conducted to assess distance learning students’ perceptions about location and physical set up of libraries, collections, resources, and services rendered at thirty-four regional campuses as well as main campus libraries network of Allama Iqbal Open University (AIOU) all over Pakistan. During the spring semester of 2007, a questionnaire was mailed to 250 randomly selected students enrolled in eleven postgraduate programs throughout the country. The response rate was 61.2%, which was made up of 43.1% females and 56.9% males. A majority of the respondents were dissatisfied with the virtual reference services, online database facilities, interlibrary loan, library membership, and borrowing of library material from the AIOU libraries. They were satisfied with the location and physical setup of the libraries, the collections, and the resources of the libraries. The study revealed that most of the respondents used the libraries during workshops as well as for research purposes. The statistical analysis (t = 0.550, Sig. = 0.970) showed that there was no significant difference between the opinion of females and males. The data were analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) for Windows version 10.0.     

Library Networking

No abstract available for this article.     

AAU/ARL Research Libraries Action Agenda

Abstract

This paper will focus on the process of creating an interactive World Wide Web application that allows patrons the ability to access and retrieve full-text journal articles from any of nearly 7,500 unique electronic journal titles, which are delivered to their computer desktops, without geographic constraints.     

Beyond the Library's Walls: Using Library 2.0 Tools to Reach Out to All Users

ABSTRACT

The Library 2.0 movement emerged as a response to the technologies and concepts in the Web 2.0 movement and has been taking the library world by storm. Web 2.0 takes the stagnant Web 1.0 and makes it more user-driven, collaborative, participatory, and personalized. Library 2.0 takes the tools of Web 2.0 and moves them into a library setting with libraries that are user-centered, networking faculty, students, and librarians to create a vital and evolving organization designed to meet the needs of the current information culture. Library 2.0 is especially relevant to institutions providing services to off-campus students. Many students taking courses remotely have full-time jobs and busy lives beyond their coursework. Providing those students with a customizable, personalized, and collaborative library assists in their success as a student. Using Web 2.0 technologies and other social networking tools in the library setting brings the library to our users, making them more relevant in today's information society.     

Beyond the Rhetoric

Abstract

Several methods currently under way to track the usefulness of the ACRL Guidelines for Distance Learning Library Services are described and the results gathered thus far are reported upon. Included are a detailed review of recent literature on closely related issues; the history and development of the guidelines as they have evolved from their inception in 1963 to the most recent revision completed in 1998; a report on the guidelines dissemination efforts both during and after revision, including articles and papers or presentations at library and other professional conferences; and research methodology, including phone, postal, and e-mail surveys.     

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.