While the title of this book is not exactly misleading it initially suggests a narrower focus than the actual content warrants. The book is divided into three parts, the first two of which are broad overviews of “E‐learning tools and technologies”, and “E‐learning and teaching” respectively. There are references in both of these to specific e‐learning applications in LIS (library and information science) staff training and professional development, and in user education, but the approach is generally not strongly related to specific curricula and the text would serve as an introduction for a wider potential audience beyond the LIS domain. It is only in the third, and by far the smallest, section, that the focus is on e‐learning and teaching principally in library and information services. Perhaps a better title would have been Library Support for E‐learning and Teaching, which would have signalled its scope and its value more effectively.
This volume in fact provides a good concise general outline of techniques and technology, the concept of virtual learning environments, the pedagogic principles underlying e‐learning, curriculum development, and the student experience, which many librarians in both higher and further education seeking to support e‐education and training would find helpful. Currently, many practising librarians supporting both teachers and students in this brave new world find it difficult to relate to their own experience in more traditional education. The difficulty is partly jargon, which is plentiful in both pedagogy and technology, partly the magnitude of the cultural shift implicit in e‐learning, and partly the pace of change. This last point presents a real challenge for any author of an introductory guide of this sort, and it may be that this book will unfortunately have a relatively short shelf life.
This is not intended as a criticism – it is more a statement of the inevitable. A notable example of the difficulty of keeping up with current development in e‐learning is the relative weight given in this book to discussion of virtual (VLE) as opposed to managed (MLE) learning environments. A great deal of work has been done over the past few years in producing and implementing both generic VLEs such as WebCT and Blackboard, as well as bespoke locally designed e‐learning platforms, and the focus now is shifting to MLE development – in which the e‐learning delivery vehicle is increasingly integrated with institutional management sytems (including of course library management systems). Although Barbara Allan’s book is intended as a broad overview rather than a contribution at the cutting edge of development, a fuller discussion of the issues raised by MLE integration would have been welcome to assist those seeking to ensure inclusion of appropriate links with library management and administrative systems in MLE design and implementation.
The intended audience for this book includes LIS staff undertaking online learning themselves or supporting online learners, be they colleagues or customers, but in practice it is likely that the majority of readers will be interested from the perspective of user support in the academic library sector. In this context the book provides sufficient understanding of e‐learning strategies to enable subject librarians to make an effective input during curriculum development, and to engage in dialogue with their academic colleagues about the library requirements of e‐learners. Library liaison is as vital in online courses as with programmes taught in more traditional ways with access to established collections, particularly as for many academics e‐learning is still a new and relatively unfamiliar environment. It is all too easy to overlook the issue of access to a suitable “virtual library” when preparing courses for online delivery. In this situation Barbara Allan’s book will hopefully prompt librarians to take a proactive approach, and help them ensure that appropriate links are set up to selected quality assured supporting materials and information resources.
E‐learning and Teaching in Library and Information Services is a timely and welcome contribution in an important and expanding area. It is generally clear, and well illustrated with examples and links to relevant Web sites which enable the reader to experience at first hand some of the techniques and sources described in the text. While it would certainly be over ambitious to attempt to design an e‐learning programme or produce effective e‐learning materials based just on a reading of this book – and to be fair it does not claim to be a DIY “teach yourself e‐learning” manual – it does offer a good general understanding of most of the key issues for librarians working in educational institutions with a significant commitment to e‐learning. That is soon likely to include every academic librarian in the land as institutions increasingly adopt online strategies for progressing the lifelong learning and widening participation agendas in UK further and higher education, with the growth in student numbers and the logistical challenge which this implies.
