Digital Library Strategies for Distance Learners

1. Digital Library Strategies for Distance Learners Being in Their Face and Out of Their Way Roy Tennant The Library University of California, Berkeley http://sunsite.berkeley.edu/~manager/Presentations/ICDE/

2. Outline • Libraries and Distance Learning • Barriers to the Future • Factors Affecting Barriers • The Impact of Network Access • What to Do • Being “In Their Face” • Being “Out of Their Way”

3. Libraries & Distance Learning • The traditional situation: • telephone reference assistance • requests and books by mail • The future situation: • all of the above, plus... • network access to the library catalog, abstracting and indexing databases, full-text, digital images, multimedia resources, etc. • online, real-time reference assistance without long-distance telephone charges

4. Barriers to the Future • Lack of access to a personal computer • Poor or missing network infrastructure • Lack of computer skills

5. Factors Affecting Barriers: Computer Access • Prices are dropping dramatically • In many countries (not all) the economic and educational climate is improving • Regional learning centers can make computers available to students • Awareness grows that higher education and computer skills are necessary for success

6. Factors Affecting Access: Internet Access • Satellite systems reduce the need for in-country physical infrastructure • Costs are likely to decline • Regional learning centers would reduce the need for personal connections • Those who work will increasingly be connected through their place of employment

7. Factors Affecting Barriers: Computer Skills • Information skills are likely to become more important and valued • Computers are likely to become more accessible • We can work to make our systems more intuitive and easier to use

8. The Impact of Network Access The Library: The Good • Has the capability to deliver information to the remote user for no (or less than before) incremental cost • Can provide users with access to a vast array of information resources without coming to the library

9. The Impact of Network Access The Library: The Bad & Ugly • Must organize access to a vast array of resources • Must increasingly provide filtering services to reduce the choices or guide the user to the appropriate one • Must find ways to serve the needs of those who are remote (not always in distance!) • Must carry on with existing services

10. The Impact of Network Access The User: The Good • Access to an incredible array of resources, with most just a few clicks away • Easy (and often cheap) communication • 24x7 access (no closed doors)

11. The Impact of Network Access The User: The Bad & Ugly • Must cope with being faced with a bewildering number of choices, often with very little guidance as to which is most appropriate for a specific need • Must learn new technologies and techniques • Must cope with a lack of visual cues • Must cope with a lack of convenient assistance

12. The Impact of Network Access Miscellaneous Impacts • Remote online library collections become more accessible than your print collections • You are no longer the solution of first resort • The rules of convenience and “good enough” can leave your users underserved • The improvement of services to network users often improves services for in-house users as well

13. What To Do: Your Role • Guide users to the best resources (both print and digital) for their need • Use every channel at your disposal (online help, phone reference, online reference...) • Get those resources to them (mail, fax, network) • Be active instead of reactive

14. What to Do: Specifically • Insert yourselves into your campus’ distance learning planning process • Find out how other libraries support distance education • Establish a robust networking infrastructure • Assign responsibility for managing library participation in distance learning initiatives • Reconfigure your services for the distance learner — be “in their face”

15. Being “In Their Face”: Why? • Many catalogs and search systems are difficult to understand and use • Users need help at the moment they get stuck — email is inadequate • Unless assistance is obvious and convenient, the user will remain stuck • Other, readily available information sources, can be convenient but inadequate (web search engines, for example)

16. Being “In Their Face”: How • Put your reference desk phone number in prominent places in your catalog system and web site • Have a method to get assistance on every search results screen in your control • Consult literature/colleagues/conferences for new ideas on providing service • Keep up with new network-based communication technologies

19. Being “Out of Their Way”: Why? • Our users simply want to get their work done • Anything extraneous gets in their way • Over-complicated search systems hinder access for the majority • 80/20 rule as applied to search systems • It’s time to rethink what we’re doing!

20. Being “Out of Their Way”: How • Simplify the interface • Complicate the back-end: • Pre-processing the query • Post-processing the results • Filter options • Sort options • Think imaginatively about what makes an effective search system