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.     

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.     

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.     

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.     

Using Online Tutorials to Reduce Uncertainty in Information Seeking Behavior

ABSTRACT

Uncertainty is defined as affective symptoms of stress, anxiety, and frustration when faced with an information need. Traditional face-to-face instruction allows sender and receiver to fulfill information needs using multiple sources, which can be visual, auditory, tactile, or verbal. Distance learners may experience high levels of uncertainty when most or all of the communication and interaction takes place in an electronic environment that does not allow for these multiple information sources. Research on face-to-face communication and uncertainty suggests that people attempt to reduce uncertainty by acquiring more information and also by using structured or familiar information resources. This paper suggests that many of our behavioral motivations in face-to-face activities would also apply in the online environment. By creating online tutorials that combine structured hierarchical instructions with familiar modes of communication, we may be able to reduce symptoms of uncertainty in the library search process.     

Who's Out There in CyberSpace

Abstract

Colleges and universities are expanding their offerings through distance education courses and programs. One challenge associated with these offerings is defining the remote learner. Emporia State University offers several distance education programs with students scattered throughout the United States. Although the university moved quickly into providing remote education, the library has struggled to provide equitable access to services and resources for distance learners. This paper reports the results of a project undertaken to profile the distance learner enrolled in the School of Library and Information Management of Emporia State University.     

Streamlining Document Delivery and Interlibrary Loan Services for Distance Learners

Abstract

Technological advances in the processing of interlibrary loans have enabled libraries to deliver materials electronically to users. Delivery is especially beneficial for distance education students for whom typical interlibrary loan services are often not a viable option. The author conducted a survey of libraries that serve distance education students to determine which systems and processes, used in traditional interlibrary loan, are transferable to the delivery of materials from the “home” institution to off-campus students. To complement the survey, the results of a case study of experiences at Western Michigan University (WMU) are presented. WMU uses ILLiad and SFX systems to facilitate the request and delivery of interlibrary loan and document delivery requests to students both on and off-campus students.     

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.     

Red,White, and Blues

Abstract

Over the last decade, an increasing number of academic institutions have built satellite campuses and developed online courses to meet the needs of distance learners. As these academic institutions have expanded, demand for library service has increased significantly. In an attempt to expand its course offerings to distance learners, Regent University began offering online courses during the early 1990s, and it also developed a new satellite campus. As the Regent University Library has explored new and varied ways to serve students on the new satellite campus and other distance learners, the implementation of services has been challenging, but rewarding, for the library staff.     

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.     

Being RAD

Abstract

Upon completing a Fall 1999 sabbatical studying how reference services were being provided to library patrons at a distance, the MCCCD libraries have been piloting a collaborative live reference service since Spring 2001. This paper describes the organic evolution and current state of Maricopa's Librarians Online.     

FROM THE EDITOR

Abstract

This paper reports on a survey of faculty perceptions of the role of the library in online distance education. The study is second in a series of related studies exploring The Pennsylvania State University's library services to patrons at a distance. In 2004, faculty of the World Campus (Penn State's online distance education program) were surveyed on their perceptions of e-learners' research needs. The faculty responded to questions on how their students access research information for their courses, whether they require their students to use the library as part of their courses, and their expectations of the library as an academic support service. The survey revealed that 60% of the responding faculty supply all of the required research information to students in their courses, and 62% do not require students to use the library as part of their course(s). The study concludes that online, distance-education faculty members have minimal to moderate expectations of the library in supporting their teaching and their students' research needs. Moreover, the study shows a significant lack of faculty awareness of existing library services and resources available to the e-learning community.     

A Systematic Approach to Assessing the Needs of Distance Faculty

Abstract

Beginning in the 1990s, various academic units within our health sciences institution moved aggressively toward providing courses and programs via distance education. Without a centralized campus distance education office, distance library services from our campus evolved sporadically in response to individual needs. In 2001, the library hired its first distance services librarian, whose primary responsibility was to develop a written distance library services plan. In accordance with the ACRL Guidelines for Distance Learning Library Services, the library determined that the formulation of an effective plan required a formal needs assessment of the faculty providing distance education. In this paper, we will discuss the process for developing this needs assessment, based on focus groups and a written survey instrument. We will also address some of the challenges we faced with this approach. Preliminary data identified copyright clearance and lack of awareness regarding library services as the major barriers to distance faculty seeking course support from the library.     

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.     

Services to Distance Learners: Planning for E-Reserves and Copyright

Abstract

This paper focuses on the outreach to over 3,000 students taking classes at over 80 locations within the State of Maine, as well as students taking classes nationally via the Web through the University of Maine System Network (UNE1). The discussion will briefly note the wide range of collections and services available through the University of Maine System's digital library and the Off-Campus Library Services Office. In particular, the discussion will center on reserve services for students at remote locations, using traditional paper copies and particularly electronic reserves, and the copyright issues that surround the e-reserve service.     

External Funding for Library Education

No abstract available for this article.     

Reaccreditation at Nova Southeastern University

Abstract

Reaccreditation offers academic libraries concerned about improving library services to distance students with an important opportunity to obtain support from their academic institutions. Nova Southeastern University (NSU) Libraries provides a case study of how one library has used the reaccreditation process to increase both the administration's cooperation and funding for document delivery, online resources, bibliographic instruction, and local library resources to distance students.