by Geraldine Purpur, MLS, EdS
Introduction
“The Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL), a division of the American Library Association, is a professional association of academic librarians and other interested individuals. It is dedicated to enhancing the ability of academic library and information professionals to serve the information needs of the higher education community and to improve learning, teaching, and research.”i The ACRL Guidelines for Distance Learning Library Services state that “Access to adequate library services and resources is essential for the attainment of superior academic skills in post-secondary education, regardless of where students, faculty, and programs are located. Members of the distance learning community are entitled to library services and resources equivalent to those provided for students and faculty in traditional campus settings.”ii The ACRL web site is located at: http://www.acrl.org.
The Appalachian State University (ASU) Distance Learning Library Services Team subscribes to the tenets set forth in the ACRL guidelines. The Team is composed of a coordinator and library technical assistant, who provide library support to off-campus students during the week days and three adjunct reference librarians who work week nights and weekends. The Team continually strives to provide equitable library services and resources to distance learning students and faculty. Consequently, outreach is a major priority for the distance learning library team –Outreach to both faculty and students. We are always asking questions such as: what can we do to make faculty and students aware of our resources, how can we integrate our services and support into online and off-campus classes , what is the best way to market our services and resources? This is especially important when your patron community consists of off-campus students . We have found that in some instances distance learning students are hesitant to inquire about library services and support. Consequently, our resources may remain hidden to a portion of the off-campus student population. We believe that students taking online or off-campus classes deserve equal access to library resources and support. Therefore, in addition to a toll-free telephone number, these learners can access distance learning librarians via e-mail, live chat, and instant messaging for online research and reference assistance. The Library also provides specialized home document delivery for distance learners.
Background
In May of 2004 our Team was approached by the faculty members from the Instructional Technology program and invited to collaborate on a virtual library to be located in the AppEdTech online virtual learning community. What a superb outreach opportunity for us!!! AppEdTech provided a perfect venue for us to afford easy access to our resources and services to faculty and off-campus students in the Instructional Technology/Computers program. This paper will describe the process that the Distance Learning Library Services Team went through to design the virtual library. It will discuss the virtual library as it currently functions, the issues which need to be addressed as the library evolves along with the rest of the AppEdTech virtual community, and the future of the AppEdTech virtual library.
In keeping with the practice of using metaphors in virtual learning environments, the Team brainstormed ideas for the underlying metaphor for the AppEdTech virtual library. Our primary goal was to convey the idea of a comprehensive and user-friendly environment. Some of the ideas we had for the underlying metaphor were a spa, a coffee-house, the solar system (distance theme), and a cocoon.
We decided to use the coffee house metaphor and we have followed through with this theme to some extent. On the front of the building there is a directory called the AET Library Café Menu, placed around the information desk on the first floor are bar stools which link to resources and services. There are areas with soft seating for reading and discussion. In the future, we will develop the coffee house metaphor more fully, adding objects which support this theme. There are also auxiliary metaphors in the library such as a phone booth which links to important phone numbers like our toll-free number and other contact information.
Computer workstations link to library databases and a picture of Frederick the Alaskan brown bear links to the Instructional Materials Center. The Instructional Materials Center (IMC) is a special collection located in the Carol Grotnes Belk Library and Information Commons at ASU. It provides resources and services that support the Teacher Preparation and School Media Specialist Programs of the Reich College of Education. The collection is a showcase model for K-12 media centers. For many years, Frederick the bear was part of the educational exhibit program at ASU and visited public schools in the region during the school year. He spent his Summers in the IMC and has been permanently housed there since the 1980’s. The brown bear image symbolizes the IMC and facilitates the use of metaphors in virtual learning environments.
As the main contact person for this effort, I built the virtual library from a Class Guide developed for a course in the Instructional Technology program called Computers in Educational Settings: Sources and Strategies for Finding Library Information, available at: http://www.library.appstate.edu/reference/classguides/fdn5220.htmlT. I took the information and resources listed on the Guide and transferred them to the library.
Initially this was a good way to begin but now, one year later, it is apparent that we need to break away from this model. Redesigning the space will create better flow and functionality and allow us to take advantage of the opportunities a virtual learning environment affords us. We anticipate that the redesign will facilitate increased and more effective use of library resources by our students. We will create a space that more fully promotes interaction between students, librarians and faculty – a space that engages the students and reinforces the learning that is taking place in their virtual courses. We believe that this space will support the conceptual framework developed by the College of Education at Appalachian State University, which is based on the following 6 assumptions:
• Knowledge is socially constructed and learning is social in nature;
• Learning occurs through participation in a Community of Practice;
• The development of educators proceeds through stages from Novice to Expert under the guidance of more experienced and knowledgeable mentors in the community of practice;
• Cognition is distributed; that is individual thinking and problem solving are revealed through socially contextualized practices;
• An identifiable knowledge base emerges out of the Community of Practice that is both general for all educators and specific to specialties and content areas;
• All professional educators must develop a set of Dispositions, including attitudes, beliefs and values
Our Team has already begun to develop and incorporate these assumptions in the virtual library through several services and initiatives.
Redesign
The distance learning librarians are in the virtual library on week nights and Saturdays to provide research advice and answer library-related questions. Starting in Fall 2005, we will hold library orientations during class times, using audio chat. The students and their avatars will join us in the library. We will tour the library pointing out resources and services and answering questions. The orientation will be recorded so that students will be able to listen to it at their convenience. The distance learning librarians will also begin participating in research-related threaded discussions. Although we will have to be present in the AppEdTech world more often than we have in the past, our increased presence will support the social and participatory aspects of the College of Education conceptual framework.
As I mentioned earlier, the original resources in the virtual library came from the class guide I developed for the Instructional Technology program. In collaboration with the ASU Library’s Collection Development team, we will add to and expand our E-resource collection in the area of Instructional Technology. Most of the objects in the library are linked to web pages with the exception of the computer workstations, which are linked to the library subscription databases. We plan to add mini-tutorials, designed to answer common research questions, throughout the library. Mini-tutorials will also answer frequently asked questions about document delivery and Interlibrary Loan, a service we use to access articles, books, and other materials from around the country. The mini-tutorials are short, a minute long or less. In addition to the library’s presence in the AppEdTech environment, we will plan to pursue establishing a presence in individual courses as well. An object representing the library will be present in each course and will link directly to the virtual library or to a specific resource, such as a mini-tutorial or research tool. We will work together with the Instructional Technology faculty to develop this aspect of our service. AppEdTech has just switched to a Universe Server which will allow us to create a separate library world in the AppEdTech environment.
Our past activities and future plans demonstrate that the AppEdTech Library is an excellent fit with the goals and objectives of the Distance Learning Library Services Team. The mission of our team is to support and facilitate the Distance Learning Program by providing equitable library services and resources to Distance Learning students and faculty. To accomplish this mission the Distance Learning Library Services Team will:
• collaborate with University Library colleagues and Distance Learning Faculty to recommend and select resources, with an emphasis on electronic resources, in support of distance and e-learning curricula.
• Provide delivery of resources including electronic access and the delivery of resources to student homes.
• Provide research and reference assistance to Distance Learning students daily, week nights, and weekends through a combination of electronic, telephone, and face-to-face service.
• Promote information literacy by providing class-specific library instruction delivered at off-site locations or electronically.
Collaboration
The faculty members in the Instructional Technology program at ASU have been very cooperative and receptive to all of our ideas. They have supported the library in a number or ways. At the beginning of each semester they show their students where the library is and periodically ask students for feedback regarding the library, its resources and services. To date the student feedback has been positive and extremely helpful.
Also, faculty have met with us to discuss various issues, frequently answer our questions, and have given us authorization to build in the library. Recently they asked us to participate in a meeting in which the Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, the Associate Chancellor for Academic Affairs and the Chair of the Department of Leadership and Educational Studies met virtually with students and faculty in the AppEdTech classroom to show them AppEdTech.
Research has shown that students participate more quickly and more completely in a blended course vs. a course which is delivered totally online. Starting in Fall 2005 we will provide face to face library instruction to students just entering the program. Hopefully, this will increase student use of the AppEdTech library resources and services as well as student /librarian interaction. In the future we will work together with faculty to design assignments which require using library resources and promoting information literacy. Integrating information literacy into class assignments is a major goal for all academic librarians and promoting information literacy skills in distance education courses offers new challenges. Once again, The AppEdTech library provides the Team with a “place” from which we can assist the students in the Instructional Technology program in the selection, evaluation, and management of intellectual materials. In doing so we hope to create life-long learners who can effectively access and use information.
Conclusion
The opportunity to create a 3D virtual library in a 3D learning environment is unique and we are pleased and hopeful that the AppEdTech library increases student satisfaction with ASU’s Instructional Technology program. Implementing changes to the appearance of the AppEdTech library and incorporating new services will facilitate collaboration and cooperation among students, faculty, and librarians. As the library evolves we will strive to support and reinforce the highly synergistic and interactive community that a 3D learning environment supports.
Endnotes
i ACRL Association of College and Research Libraries: a division of the American Library Association, July 2005, Illinois, Chicago, 31 August 2005 < Hhttp://www.acrl.orgH>.
ii “Guidelines for Distance Learning Library Services.” ACRL Association of College and Research Libraries: a division of the American Library Association, August 2005, Illinois, Chicago, 31 August 2005 < Hhttp://www.acrl.org/ala/acrl/acrlstandards/guidelinesdistancelearning.htmH>.
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