Embedding Library Reference Services in Online Courses

SUMMARY

The University of Wyoming has a long tradition of providing library services to distance education students. As technology changed and enhanced the delivery mode of distance education courses, the library altered the ways in which it offered services to distance learners. The institution was an early adopter of Web courses, so offering library support in this new environment was a natural expansion of our services. This expansion supports the goals of the ACRL Guidelines for Distance Learning Library Services and the goals of the University. This article will describe the integration of library reference services into online courses.     

Internet Reference Services for Distance Education

SUMMARY

Published guidelines for distance learning library services provide a framework for distance education librarians to use in planning services for off-campus students. Other literature in the arena of distance education librarianship provides concrete examples of how reference services have been offered in real settings. This paper attempts to synthesize these two types of literature in order to offer models of reference service for distance learners.     

A Historical Overview of Internet Reference Services for Distance Learners

SUMMARY

The advent of library services and collections on the Internet revolutionized reference services to students enrolled in distance learning programs. Prior to the Internet, reference librarians who supported distance learning programs had few methods, and many of them costly, to provide the equivalent library services advocated by the ACRL Guidelines. Through the Internet, these librarians were able to approximate the services and resources that had always been available to students who came into the library. This article describes the development of reference services on the Internet in a variety of libraries that support distance learners.     

Trying it on for Size

ABSTRACT

Most colleges are continuing to see growth in their online education programs. Academic libraries are attempting to strike a balance between traditional library offerings and new online resources and services. Determining how to allocate funds is complicated by the fact that many students in online classes today live near enough campus to come to the library. Should libraries at institutions where most online students live near campus devote scarce resources to providing services such as online reference? One community college library is attempting to answer that question by testing online reference with Elluminate vClass in a limited way.     

A Review of “What They Don’t Teach You in Library School”

SUMMARY

Distance learning students may not think of the “campus” library as the first place to fulfill their information needs and may not even be aware of the services available to them. One way to reach these students is to adopt and adapt marketing techniques from the business world. This article examines the findings of a survey conducted at Emporia State University concerning the awareness of distance learning services. It will also examine marketing techniques and illustrate how they can be applied to increase awareness of reference support services for distance learners.     

Finding Acorns in the Technical Services Arboretum: A Reference Librarian's Guide to Vendor Home Pages

Abstract

Historically reference librarians have had limited contact with the book vendors and serials agents used by their colleagues in technical services. However, most vendors now support Web sites, including information on publishing trends, price studies of books and periodicals, and access to useful databases. The proliferation of such sites offers reference librarians additional resources, particularly for questions regarding the publishing industry. An overview of the nature and scope of these sites is offered, along witH some suggested reference uses. In addition, a brief survey of some vendor home pages is presented.     

Integrating Library Reference Services in an Online Information Literacy Course

SUMMARY

The Internet Navigator, an online information literacy course developed by a team of academic librarians in Utah, offers a model for teaching independent research skills to remote students. The course uses an online textbook that doubles as a self-paced tutorial, and a set of assignments that take students step-by-step through the research process. Assignments are submitted by e-mail and evaluated by reference librarian/instructors. Questions on the assignments follow the pattern of a reference interview helping instructors guide students to use useful research strategies and information sources. Other methods of integrating reference services with online learning are discussed.     

A Review of “Hiring,Training, and Supervising Library Shelvers”

Abstract

The emergence of the Internet has dramatically changed information access capabilities through computers. Tools and resources available on the Internet affect library services in various ways. Many health science librarians are using Internet resources to meet the information needs of health care providers and themselves. This study examines different applications of the Internet components in medical library settings with a special emphasis on reference services. It also discusses the role of the Internet in fulfilling National Network of Libraries of Medicine's (NN/LM) objectives and analyzes the merit and demerits of using the Internet as a reference tool in health sciences libraries.     

Providing Reference in a Joint-Use Library

SUMMARY

As a one of a kind joint-use facility between a private university and a county government, the Alvin Sherman Library, Research, and Information Technology Center at Nova Southeastern University (NSU) provides reference services to both NSU students on and off campus and public users. Reference librarians have had to adjust to the variety of users and demands for new services and at the same time find new and creative methods of offering, promoting, and providing instruction about their services to public users as well as NSU's local and distance students. Tracking statistics can assist in identifying user needs.     

HawkHelp

SUMMARY

This article describes the factors that influenced the design of a chat reference service that meets the needs of distance learners as well as traditional students. Emphasis is placed in the importance of collaborative projects, evaluation of software, and planning the organizational structure. An innovative “peer and tier” staffing initiative may extend hours and free reference librarians to concentrate on research and in-depth questions. Finally, a planning effort by information services may lead to a one-stop shopping service that will include student services that often are problematic for the distant learner (counseling, enrollment, financial aid, etc.).     

The S.A.G.E. Project

ABSTRACT

This paper describes the process and creation of a library resources and services Web page within WebCT, a course authoring program that is being used to deliver complete course content over the Internet in a distance education program at The Ohio State University. A librarian at the Prior Health Sciences Library was asked to join a faculty team to teach and provide library services for a series of three courses. The students are working health professionals who cannot attend regularly scheduled classes. Illustrations are included of the WebCT course page and the library resources and services page. The initial process and planning are described, and recommendations for future research are identified.     

The Information Literacy Challenge

Abstract

Technological changes are occurring rapidly. As one result, students entering college are bringing very disparate computer skills and attitudes. Some students are reluctant to embrace new technologies; others demand electronic resources for all assignments. By considering the computer access and Internet resources available to elementary school students today, we can only imagine what our users of tomorrow will expect from libraries. Although college students may arrive at our libraries with increased computer skills, their knowledge of electronic information may be lacking. Definitions of information literacy and an overview of information literacy skills are outlined. The Digital Information Literacy program at The University of Texas at Austin, as well as the technological environment and facilities at the institution, serve as a case study for integrating information literacy skills into traditional services and partnerships.     

Providing public access to information in complex and weakly structured domains: A 3-layered model for hypermedia information systems

Abstract

Advice systems are defined as information systems which present users with both information and more subjective expert advice about complex and weakly structured domains. This paper presents a Generic Advice System Architecture (GASA) to assist in developing such systems. It describes how the architecture was used in developing the SPIRE system, whose aim is to provide advice and information which will assist the integration of students with disabilities into higher education. The paper discusses the way in which the GASA addresses key issues in the development of hypermedia advice systems including the need to make such systems available to users with little training and limited knowledge of the domain; the requirement to support diverse information exploration strategies; the provision of purely ‘point and select access; ’ and the minimisation of user disorientation and cognitive overhead.     

Librarian Participation in the Online Classroom

SUMMARY

As distance education courses increasingly move to the online environment, librarians are discovering new challenges and opportunities for reaching distant students. Collaboration with faculty is essential in reaching students who may never enter the library building. One such method of collaboration is librarian participation in online courses through “lurking” in Blackboard and Desire2Learn classrooms and monitoring discussion threads devoted to library research. Advantages such as improved access to students, course content, and assessment data are discussed, as are disadvantages, such as time commitment, varying expectations, and privacy issues. Considerations for librarians interested in “lurking” are outlined.     

How to mitigate the significant negative influence of computer anxiety on ease of use perceptions

Contemporary research into virtual learning embraces the concept that the constraints of time and place of study are eliminated. The potential market it could therefore encapsulate is phenomenal and the subsequent changes that threaten to ricochet through the higher education sector can be described as evolutionary. Whilst concurrently being an incredibly exciting prospect for future learners, online learning is also making the traditional 'bricks and mortar' higher education establishment extremely uneasy, arousing fears of global competition, which would evoke a need for transformational change. The UK has embraced technology to support virtual learning across the whole tertiary education sector. There is an implicit assumption that the provision of systems to support remote, independent learners will provide learner-centred environments for all to access. This may not be the case as evidenced by O'Donoghue et al . (2001), amongst others. This paper aims to examine the possible metamorphosis of the organizational structure of the higher education system, and the methods university administrators and lecturers will need to use to adapt to this. Through considering the impact on students, an analysis will be made of the extent of the threat that distance learning imposes on the traditional campus. The work centres on the UK experience, but draws heavily on the opportunities, threats and promises of globalize learning paradigms.     

Online social networking and psychological experiences: The perceptions of young people with mental health difficulties

ObjectivesThis study explores the interaction between online social networking experiences and wellbeing in 12 young people accessing mental health services.MethodsData from semi-structured interviews was analysed using Grounded Theory methodology.Results“Threats and judgement” and “connection and support” were experienced by adolescents, facilitated by having continuous access to a vast social network. These experiences influenced adolescents' psychological wellbeing, mediated by their responses to threat and judgement and maintaining “safe sharing” with their network. Social network use was conceived as a gamble of balancing its potentially positive and negative impact in a culture in which social network use appears to be unavoidable.ConclusionsThe findings indicate the importance of routine assessment and formulation of social networking use in understanding adolescents' psychological distress. Furthermore, a range of opportunities exist for clinicians to utilise the anonymity and peer support that social networks offer to broaden the range of mental health services offered to young people.     

MASHED: Security and privacy-aware mutual authentication scheme for heterogeneous and distributed mobile cloud computing services

ABSTRACT

Rapid development in mobile devices and cloud computing technologies has increased the number of mobile services from different vendors on the cloud platform. However, users of these services are facing different security and access control challenges due to the nonexistence of security solutions capable of providing secure access to these services, which are from different vendors, using a single key. An effective security solution for heterogeneous Mobile Cloud Computing (MCC) services should be able to guarantee confidentiality and integrity through single key-based authentication scheme. Meanwhile, a few of the existing authentication schemes for MCC services require different keys to access different services from different vendors on a cloud platform, thus increases complexity and overhead incurred through generation and storage of different keys for different services.

In this paper, an efficient mutual authentication scheme for accessing heterogeneous MCC services is proposed. The proposed scheme combines the user’s voice signature with cryptography operations to evolve efficient mutual authentication scheme devoid of key escrow problem and allows authorized users to use single key to access the heterogeneous MCC services at a reduced cost.     

The Virtual Librarian and the Electronic Reference Interview

ABSTRACT

For many students, the World Wide Web is their main access point for library research and, therefore, libraries need to find a venue for the virtual reference interview. This paper discusses the use of the library home page as a reference tool and its importance in the online reference interview process. This article also discusses some of the research that went into the creation of a home page for a large, urban, academic institution, how this research was utilized, and how the resulting page serves as an online surrogate for the in-person reference interview.     

Designing and Developing Internet Reference Services to Support Firefighter Distance Learners in Illinois

SUMMARY

This article discusses issues surrounding the development of a small special library's Internet reference services to support firefighter distance learners for the University of Illinois Fire Service Institute's (IFSI) online Firefighter II Certification Program, the first of its kind in the nation. Planning for the Internet reference services involves consideration of user needs, funding, staff management, and collection development. In addition, this article explores how the IFSI Library has established a collaboration and partnership with the online course and Information Technology teams, and local public and community college libraries.     

Managing digital collections: Towards a strategic framework for the development of appropriate and effective organisational data policies. Part I 1

This article begins by looking at changes in the student body in recent years as useful indicators of how libraries need to alter and adapt their student library provision. Among the concepts explored are the student as consumer-customer, the Google generation, greater than ever competition among students especially for the job market, new technology as fashion accessory as much as learning tool, the widening participation agenda for higher education, and the almost ubiquitous presence of multi-functional electronic devices.

There is an examination of some challenges for librarians in meeting the needs and demands of this new generation of students. These include the balancing of electronic and print provision, the future of the physical library environment, push rather than pull to deliver library services, anytime anywhere access to information, integration with other university services, and helping to fit students for the world of work.

The main message of the article is that librarians are not under threat from the giant search engines as long as they embrace the interactive technologies which students so willingly and expertly use, and adapt them to get library services out to students as customers.