E-learning Support: A Library Perspective

The library is traditionally a building found directly in the center of campus and is the ever-evolving hub of student activity. Gone are the card catalogs and journal stacks to be replaced by online catalogs and databases that can be accessed anywhere and anytime. How are libraries addressing the needs of students we never see? How can we help e-learners and at the same time transform our libraries into a valued service in a “self-service” society (Patkar, 2009)?

The term “distance learner” may conjure up for some an image of a student in a rural locale remotely logging into classes, perhaps without ever setting foot on campus. That is not necessarily the case of our students. Students who take online courses are generally referred to as distance learners, or e-learners. But not all students who take online courses live at a distance from the college or university. Local students may choose to become distance learners simply because they like the convenience or flexibility of the online environment. In fact many of these students often come to the library and use its resources.

This is the case at our institution where most of our students commute to campus while taking an online or hybrid course during their program. The college offers a variety of e-learning options where students can choose from blended or fully online courses.

Currently there are five associate and four certificate programs that are offered completely online (Broward College, 2010). In order for these students to reach academic success they must have access to the same library services as those who attend on campus. In fact, the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools requires that e-learning classes be equivalent to on-campus classes in instructional standards and resource access (Educational Support, 2009). Our students expect equal access to the information they will need to be successful in their studies.

Most online learners are unlikely to walk into the library building on campus; thus their institution's library may be invisible to them (Raspa & Ward, 2000). So how do we become visible and fulfill our promise to give our online students a complete library presence?

A shift toward virtual campuses from brick and mortar institutions has resulted in the creation of digital and virtual libraries (Dougherty, 2009; Ralph & Stahr, 2010). The librarians, in collaboration with the Learning Resource Center at Broward College have developed many different tools and approaches to address this challenge.

First is an online tutoring service called Smarthinking. Broward College students have 24/7 access to the services of Smarthinking, which is a subscription service that provides live support and feedback on assignments. The tutors of Smarthinking are former educators who provide assistance with accounting, mathematics, sciences, nursing, Spanish, and writing assignments. Since the college offers free tutoring on-campus, this is a great alternative for online learners.

Second is the library's participation in the Ask-a-Librarian service. This website allows libraries to provide virtual reference assistance. The service has grown and continues to meet the demands of its users, such as with the recently added texting service. The hours are especially convenient for distance learners as it is open much later than our library, providing assistance for those who need help in the late evening. In addition to regular morning hours they are open until midnight. Questions submitted after midnight are answered the next day.

The third approach is the creation and adaptation of all library pages for web optimization. One of our most technically savvy librarians developed a mobile version of the library website and its services. This is a great way to get the library's resources into the hands of the students regardless of their geographical location.

Fourth, we recently offered our first e-open house for our e-learners. While we had a more limited response than expected we have since formed a stronger connection with faculty who teach online, as this is the most effectual way to reach these students. From this interaction we recorded the sessions for future instruction and also to give us a benchmark for improvement. Using Wimba software for this session allowed us to use screen captures along with Powerpoint to illustrate while we spoke to the students and each other.

Next we acquired LibGuides and Campus Guides (for our multicampus college) which are products developed by Spring-share. This is the latest approach for developing popular research guides or pathfinders. LibGuides can be used to help students with subject-specific topics, or they can be more assignment driven. These tend to be very popular with the students because they provide precise instructions on where to locate information from many sources and in various formats. They also serve as reinforcement and handouts for library instruction. This sophisticated product is widget friendly and allows embedded images and video, podcasts, and links to documents and websites. While this program could be considered a bit pricey it is highly customizable and has enjoyed widespread use among libraries. If LibGuides is out of the question for your library there are other alternatives. Products like Koonji are multimedia friendly and allow blogrolls, RSS feed, embedded video and works well with Amazon and Google maps. The free bookmarking site Delicious has also been used for creating great research guides. While the strength of this product is linkrolls it combines them with RSS feeds and Feed to Java Script in order to output into a compelling list of resources onto any website (Kroski, 2007).

Last, we are creating modules for our new learning management system called Desire 2 Learn. The college made the switch to this LMS due to its easy integration with mobile technologies and ease of use in collaboration with all student services. As the college's LMS, this will be the primary tool for teaching and learning. It only makes sense that the library must establish a presence there if we are to reach students. Faculty has the option of customizing their courses to include modules created by the librarians.

There are many library services available to our on-campus students. How do libraries offer these as a service for our distance learners?

A distinctive feature of libraries is the ability to provide reference assistance. Therefore, it is crucial for libraries that serve distance learners to offer some form of virtual reference. Options could include a statewide partnership, like the aforementioned Ask-a-Librarian, or perhaps a local help desk. Smaller institutions may benefit from a consortium or statewide cooperative desk as they typically provide longer coverage hours, and flexibility for limited staff. Conversely, some libraries may opt to embed a widget for instant chat messaging such as Meebo, Chatango, or Plugoo on their library websites. This may give students a more personal experience and offer a more customized reference service. Regardless of which system is chosen, students should have a way to communicate with the library and receive reference assistance.

As discussed, virtual reference or chat reference can also take place in an e-mail and SMS (text messaging) format. Mobile technologies have evolved sufficiently so that conversation naturally takes place in these forms. Library users may feel more comfortable texting or e-mailing their questions. Some cooperative desks have this feature already built-in. Others may resort to using services like Text-A-Librarian, Google SMS, and Twilio. And last, virtual reference assistance could include voice over IP, video or cobrowsing using programs such as Skype and Windows Live Messenger, both available as an application for most smartphones.

Another library service we can make available to our distance learners includes making print journals, magazines, and newspaper articles available through document delivery. Most libraries have an inter-library loan department whose mission is to obtain materials from other libraries for their patron use. In the case of distance learners this department can make local or print materials accessible by scanning and e-mailing these items to the student.

Distance learners may also depend on the online availability of special collections and archived items. Documents, images and keyword searchable video can be digitized to make these items accessible.

Last, the use of virtual tours is a great way to make students feel like they are part of the library even though they may be far away. A simple script and still shots can be set to music through programs like Animoto. For a more sophisticated output many libraries have created video-based library tours. The range of creativity is endless. One trend is to offer library tours via mobile technologies and augmented reality. Through the lens of their smartphones the library can be a brand new experience with superimposed text and graphics. Many of the resources we have mentioned are free. All it takes is the will and initiative to make our libraries more welcoming to our distance learners.

Access to resources becomes an issue when students are geographically separated from their libraries. Whether it is a remote learning site or physical limitations, students are entitled to access library materials. Just like our local students, distance learners require access to library materials and resources in order to complete their assignments. Happily the twenty-first century library and its resources are no longer a brick and mortar building but can be accessed wherever the user is located. This means library materials can be accessed on any device that has Internet access.

Students tend to associate books with research. In fact most reference questions begin with “I need a book about …” E-books are wonderful additions to the library as these can be accessed remotely and are easy to use once the patron is authenticated. For many libraries a sizeable portion of the collection development funds are being designated toward these resources.

E-books are becoming more sophisticated with features like highlighting, insertable comments, and the ability to convert text to hyperlinks making this a very popular resource for distance learners. But what about books that are not available electronically?

Most libraries will mail books to students who are in a different geographic location. There has been some debate as to library policies regarding shipping out materials. For example, some use the determining criteria of how many miles from campus does the student need to reside to determine if they will provide a mail service. Regardless, best practices dictate that distance learners should receive the same services and benefits as those who attend face-to-face classes on campus.

Access to articles in journals and magazines are mainly through library subscription to databases. Students who approach the reference desk are made aware of this but how do we communicate this to our distance learners? A prominent link for e-learners on the library page could be very useful. The same link could be made available to all online instructors for the purpose of being added to their learning management systems. An additional strategy is to create a way for our collection to be integrated into the student's workflow. This can be achieved by using a browser add-on, like Lib X for Firefox, which will alert the user if the library owns resources on that page (Gibbons, 2007).

Meeting the needs of online users begins with meeting the instructor's needs. Most instructors will agree that library services are necessary for student success. However, they are not always aware of the services that libraries can provide, especially for online courses. Thus, the first step is to conduct an assessment of the course and its assignments. If the online services are well known and are not being used it is imperative to find out why and how to improve the service for better effectiveness and efficiency. Sending a survey out to all faculty directly seeking feedback is an excellent way to not only determine the needs, but also the level of awareness of current services as well as an opportunity to create interest about online services (Thomsett-Scott & May, 2009).

Once feedback has been collected regarding faculty requirements, online services need to be developed or enhanced to meet these needs. One option is to provide an embedded librarian. Staffing permitting, a librarian can be provided access to the online course with a discussion thread dedicated to library research questions. The librarian can monitor this thread providing responses and feedback to students’ research. A quick turn-around time would be necessary in order to make this effective and for students to feel confident that questions are being reviewed quickly and efficiently. Other effective tools for online support are tutorials. The tutorials need to be clear and to the point; if too long students may become lost or lose interest and if muddied with details students will not follow through to the end (Thomsett-Scott & May, 2009).

Additional services include preparing resource guides that are subject specific, establishing direct article linking, and links to a web page for library services. Librarians can also provide live virtual orientations via Live Classroom, Wimba, or Elluminate. One of the most important options and probably the most overlooked, is providing contact information for a librarian on the course homepage. Being able to contact a specific person at the library (either by phone, e-mail, or in person) is extremely valuable for students and will help them feel more comfortable coming to the library for assistance.

Once the services and programs are available, marketing is the next major step. Instructors who are aware of library services are more likely to include library and research assignments in online courses (Thomsett-Scott & May, 2009). Librarians can promote these services when collaborating with faculty on projects, during departmental meetings, and at faculty meetings. Librarians need to be seen on campus, and visit faculty during office hours to discuss new services of interest. E-mail, library workshops, brown bag lunches, and online newsletters are also useful for advertising new online services. Also working with the campus or college instructional technology department will ensure that library services will interface well with online courses and will also provide another outlet for marketing these services to faculty.

As with all services and programs, evaluation is of the utmost importance. Making sure that all services are meeting the faculty's needs for online courses means periodically re-evaluating these services. Surveying not only faculty but also students to see if services are being used, why (or why not), how they are being used and ways to improve should all be a part of the process. Instructors should be contacted each semester to review and revise the library services offered within the online courses. Syllabi should be reviewed to ensure that all library links, articles, and contact information are accurate. Communicating with faculty shows a commitment of support from librarians to the online community.

It is not enough to develop online resources for instructors; librarians must also market these services showing how the online programs can enhance the course and improve students’ learning experience. Beyond marketing the services, regularly evaluating and updating these services is necessary to stay relevant to the online course. The online community has needs separate from the general academic community and librarians need to be involved within the online community to continue to meet the information literacy needs of students.

The library is no longer just a brick and mortar building; in essence it is wherever the user is and can be accessed at a time and place convenient to him or her. As the needs of our users change, libraries and library servicesmust also continue to evolve and grow in new directions. Only then can we remain relevant and useful to our users.