Internet Reference Support for Distance Learners

Citation

du Preez, M. (2006), "Internet Reference Support for Distance Learners", Online Information Review, Vol. 30 No. 6, pp. 751-752. https://doi.org/10.1108/14684520610716289

Provision of information services, especially reference services to distance learners, has always posed a problem, especially when considering the geographical divide between the learners and the institution. The Internet has changed most of this, since most library information systems now utilise Internet technology to make their information sources more accessible as well as to offer online reference services by adding a human element to the virtual library. The articles in this volume show the level of attention librarians are currently giving to the creation of reference and instructional services to distance learners. Of particular interest is its emphasis on establishing collaborative associations with other libraries to provide this electronic service.

The volume starts with an historical overview of how reference services to distance learners have been delivered, before and after the creation of the internet. In this chapter Anne Marie Casey also puts internet reference services for distance learners into perspective. Casey at one stage points out that “separate library services for distance learners, such as Central Michigan University's Off –Campus Library Services, are perhaps models of a bygone era”.

Marie Jones provides a valuable service in “Internet Reference Services for Distance Education” by synthesising various guidelines and standards that support provision of distance reference services. A variety of distance learning reference support services in a group of 30 branch libraries, focusing on the libraries' specialised web sites for distance learners, are surveyed by Mary Cassner and Kate Adams. Three more chapters focus on chat reference, while several other chapters focus on the design of software to support various features of online assistance.

Two specialised aspects are addressed in this volume. The first is copyright, which has become a major issue and concern to most distance learning institutions. No library service for distance education can be offered without a thorough knowledge of important new regulations that are enforced by recent amendments to copyright law. Irmin Allner explores the implications of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act and other acts in terms of their implications for distance learning in the chapter, “Copyright and the delivery of library services to distance learners”. It further indicates how librarians can avoid copyright infringement while serving the needs of distance learners.

The second specialised aspect, media streaming, is addressed in the final chapter, “From cameras to camtasia: streaming media without the stress”. Here Christopher Cox discusses the use of Camtasia Studio, a screen capture program for the creation of audio and video in online presentations. Cox also compares his experiences using Camstasia Studio with his original experience of using live video.

Any information manager or librarian tasked with the creation, provision or instruction of reference services to distance learners via the Internet will find this practical book very valuable. It includes a useful index, and each chapter includes own lists of references.