PNLA Quarterly, Vol. 63 No.4 Summer 1999

Bridging Distance and Information

By Sue Samson, Library Instruction Coordinator; Kim Granath, Electronic Resources Librarian; and Erling Oelz, Director of Public Services; The University of Montana--Missoula

Introduction

Distance education is an old idea that has undergone a major renovation with the rise of the World Wide Web (Web). The summer 1998 issue of Library Trends, Jones (1998) and Williams et al. (1999) offer inspiring overviews of the tremendous advances taking place in the field of distance education characterized by a multiplicity of formats and place. Video teleconferencing, Web-based courses, virtual consortia, Web-based databases-all provide newly expanded opportunities for the development of distance education (Keating 1999). In an overview of online distance education in the United States, Harris (1999) identifies active programs and adequate technologies.

Access to information resources, however, is not widely discussed in the literature but is of major importance for the accreditation and strength of distance education programs. Just as information resources are an integral part of on-campus education, they are equally vital to distance learners. The development of electronic communication and access to the Web provide the opportunity for libraries to provide a wealth of information resources delivered to students at their desktop wherever that may be. This paper discusses the pro-active partnering of the Mansfield Library at The University of Montana with the Continuing Education's Distance Education Program.

The University of Montana: A Virtual Case Study

The Mansfield Library at The University of Montana (UM) serves a student population of approximately 12,000 and a faculty of 434. Of these, 270 students are enrolled through Continuing Education as distance learners and 30 teaching faculty participate in the program. The Mansfield Library has been an on-going participant with the distance education program since 1988. Initially it supported the Master of Administrative Sciences degree program in Great Falls.

Agreements were established with the Great Falls Public Library, Malmstrom AFB Library, College of Great Falls Library (now University of Great Falls), Great Falls Vocational Technical Center Library (now affiliated with MSU), and the Great Falls School District to extend user access to UM-MAS students at any of these libraries.

Since the course offerings were all graduate programs, the more extensive resources of the Mansfield Library provided back-up support. Instructors (some from UM-Missoula/others from Great Falls) were asked to identify library needs, a select list of local periodicals was prepared, and the Great Falls Public Library was designated as the primary location for instituting interlibrary loans, fax transmissions, reserve book services, and for any collection development efforts. All of these services were described in a printed library brochure and made available to each enrolled student.

The distance education evolution in these intervening ten years has been constant and now drastically different than in 1988. UM off-campus programs are now offered in Billings, Helena, Butte, Kalispell, Ekalaka, Wisdom, Wolf Point, and for that matter, any point between and in any direction. The Continuing Education (1999) program at the University of Montana currently serves about 2,500 degree and 4,500 non-degree students per year. Classes include the areas of Forestry, Education, Management, Finance, Environmental Studies, Liberal Studies, Native American Studies and general science. Currently, the development of UMTOnline.net, a self-supporting program within Continuing Education, will expand the distance education offerings significantly beginning fall semester 1999.

In some cases the only non-academic requirement for enrollment is the possession of a computer and modem. Occasionally distance learners visit campus for an orientation. Last semester, students came to campus from Browning, Kalispell, and Polson for a one-day orientation session on a Saturday that included a 11/2-hour session at the library. More frequently, students remain at their distant locations and library personnel communicate with them via e-mail and the Library's 800 number. This Spring 1999, distance education graduate courses are being offered from the Schools of Business, Education, Pharmacy and Forestry. The Rural Institute on Disabilities is also involved.

The Faculty Initiative

Improved communication with all the participants has now developed as the key element for the Library's successful participation in distance education. Of particular emphasis is contact with the teaching faculty. Faculty are the focal point of the library's instruction program (Samson 1997) and the key to successful communication about the library to students. Faculty give the assignments that require students to locate information resources. A good working knowledge of library resources make it possible for teaching faculty to link their assignments more effectively to these resources and make the students more successful at their research (Samson, Granath, Pengelly, In Press). Collaboration with teaching faculty can also foster effective instructional components focused on information resources. Electronic access to library resources and effective search techniques for Internet resources become embedded into the curriculum and serve the student as they begin research projects within their class assignments.

Distant Students and Distance Learning

In addition to collaboration with teaching faculty, the library incorporates a direct contact with enrolled students through distribution of a printed guide describing how to communicate electronically with the Mansfield Library. Once students have that information, the resources and services of the Library unfold through Web access. Electronic access to key indices, including full-text databases, are available to students at their desktops. Document delivery now occurs directly between the student and the Library or the student and the document delivery vendor with documents delivered to the student's fax machine. It is no longer conceivable for us to identify and arrange specialized library service with each community library where the UM distance students reside. Furthermore, as the University continues to expand its educational boundaries, UM-Missoula is required to make available to distance education students the identical services that students receive on-campus, including library services.

The framework for our present model of service to distance students is the "Distance Education Reference Service" described on our web page at www.lib.umt.edu/distance/distance.htm. During fall semester 1999, the following statistics were compiled relative to distance students.

Virtual Time

These services were incorporated into the current workflow of participating reference personnel. Referred to as virtual time or vapor time, all personnel prioritized their current obligations to accommodate the additional demands of distant education students. Procedures to meet these external requests included expanding current services to on-campus users. For example, on-campus students are able to complete direct document delivery requests for rapid delivery of periodical articles not available in the library collections. This service was offered to distant students with the reference technician serving as intermediary. By fall semester 1999, it is hoped that distant students will be able to place these orders directly from their own desktop with delivery to their own fax number. Library materials were checked out directly to the students and mailed in a reusable cloth bag via first class mail. These packages included return postage and instructions for return mail. Since our focus was on two graduate student classes in the School of Education, requests for ERIC (Education Resources Information Center) documents that are part of a microfiche collection were duplicated and mailed to the students. Periodical article requests that were part of the library collection were copied and mailed. The response time for all requests was designed on the basis of a 48-hour turnaround.

Assessment

At the end of the semester, brief questionnaires were sent to all qualified participants. Distant students, teaching faculty, and library personnel were asked to quantify the Distance Education Reference Service. Of a total of 38 students, 13 (34.2%) registered and participated in the distance reference service. Of those students responding to the questionnaire who did not participate, 2 were unable to establish e-mail accounts necessary for participation and used local libraries or the Internet for resources. The tabulations were ranked on a scale of 1-5, with 1 the lowest and 5 the highest rating. Student responses were 40% at 5, 40% at 4, and 25% at 3. Teaching faculty responses were 50% at 5, 25% at 3 and 25% at 2. Library personnel responses were 52.4% at 5, 38% at 4, and 9.5% at 3. Overall, 50% of respondents ranked their participation at the highest rate; 34.7% of respondents ranked their participation at the next highest rating; and 16.3% ranked participation in the middle.

Based on these positive results, the distance education reference service was expanded to all distant education classes during spring semester. Distance Education Reference Service flyers were sent out to all enrolled students and participating teaching faculty.

The most challenging glitch in the success of this Web-based process is the requirement to create a UM computer account. This account serves as the library's authentication for access to the electronic databases, as well as for electronic mail. These databases serve as the crucial element of remote access to information resources for distance students. They include full-text periodical literature and indexes critical to successful research in the disciplines offering distance courses. However, the process of acquiring the UM computer account requires a telnet application that confuses many students. A 48-hour lag time exists once the account is established before it is recognized by the library's authentication server; and distant students find it difficult to complete this entire process in order to access these core resources. The availability of a live librarian at the other end of the "800" number and quick-reponse e-mail often made the difference between library success or failure.

Efforts to resolve this particular dilemma are ongoing on several levels. Library technical personnel are in direct contact with UM computer specialists to consider alternatives to a library authentication system and to address library concerns relative to ongoing campus technical access migrations. Collaboration with teaching faculty continues to be a critically important component for broadcasting the service and for providing the necessary instructions for access to library resources. Direct contact with distance education faculty also identifies the opportunities for library instruction either as part of an on-campus orientation or in conjunction with classroom presentations. Interactive Web-based library instruction components tailored to the needs of the distance education curriculum could also serve to support distant student research. Conclusions

The growth of distance education programs at UM will continue to creatively engage the library for years to come. Partnering with the faculty, students, and administration at all levels creates a team effort and establishes a pro-active position for the library. Participation in the growth stages of this program will provide substantive data for the library to assess its development of distance services. Already the collaboration has strengthened the library's request for distance education funding in support of distance learners. And as access to information and life-long learning become mandatory skills in our competitive information-rich society, the role of the librarian as the intermediary in this process will continue to grow in importance.

Literature Cited

Continuing Education. 1999. Statistics from the Center for Continuing Education, Univ. of MT, Missoula.

Jones, William G. 1998. Transforming Libraries: Issues and Innovations in Distance Learning. Spec Kit 234. Washington, DC: Assn. Research Libraries, 37p.

Keating Anne B. and Joseph Hargitai. 1999. The Wired Professor: A Guide to Incorporating the World Wide Web in College Instruction. NY: New York Univ Press, 256p.

Samson, Sue. 1998. Mansfield Library Instructional Strategy. http://www.lib.umt.edu/inst/strategy.htm

Samson, Sue, Kim Granath, and Vicki Pengelly. (In press) "Instruction and Service: A Strategic Focus" In: Hardesty, Larry (ed.). Library and Computer Center Relations in Academic Organizations. Chicago: ALA Editions.

William, Marcia L., Kenneth Paprock and Barbara Covington. 1999. Distance Learning: The Essential Guide. Sage Publ, Thousand Oaks, 166p.