Going the Distance

As more and more students are completing their higher or further education without ever setting foot on the main campus, information professionals must now find new and innovative ways to serve virtual and remote library users. They need to support academics, students and researchers by devising virtual access to course-related material, and teach them to think critically and evaluatively in order to use the library remotely yet effectively. In this timely collection, Susan J. Clayton brings together more than 20 experienced distance instruction librarians from across the USA - University of Western Washington, University of Wisconsin-Madison, University of Illinois, Southeastern Louisiana University, University of North Carolina - to share their effective strategies in the four main areas of designing, delivering, collaborating, and assessing distance instruction.
The book explores the key issues of: using models to design library instruction; implementing web-based learning modules; scheduling and marketing off-campus classes; creating and using an information literacy toolkit; utilizing virtual classroom software; online tutorials and web support; collaborating with faculty and IT professionals; and understanding copyright and distance education; and much more. This unique collection provides advice and examples of best practice to help frontline professionals in the UK go the distance - whether creating an introduction to library research or supporting faculty in advanced courses - and take the library to where their users are.