Heller, 'LIBRARIAN AND FACULTY PARTNERSHIPS FOR DISTANCE EDUCATION*', MC Journal 0401 URL = http://hegel.lib.ncsu.edu/stacks/serials/mcj/mcj-0401-heller-librarian LIBRARIAN AND FACULTY PARTNERSHIPS FOR DISTANCE EDUCATION* by Holly Heller-Ross MC Journal: The Journal of Academic Media Librarianship, v4#1, Summer 1996:57-68 Based on a paper originally presented at the 9th Annual Conference on Distance Education & Training, "Breaking the Boundries of Time and Space: A Focus on Distance Education," Augusta, Maine, September 1995. Revised for the Inaugural Conference on Interactive Technology in Health Education, "Virtual Reality, Distance Education, Electronic Classroom," Plattsburgh, NY. June 1996. INTRODUCTION Distance education programs pose a new opportunity for faculty educators and librarians to form partnerships. While this is certainly not a new concept, it is one that needs to be refreshed and strengthened as distance education is developed on academic campuses. The role of the library is too often an afterthought not considered an integral part of the planning process. Many argue however that the benefits of early planning and an integrated partnership are not to be ignored. Dillon, Gunawardena, and Parker (1992) discovered in an evaluation of learner support that: "Library resources are very important to distance students as the majority of them (57.3 percent) indicated that success in the course required access to library materials." Active partnership between course instructors and librarians creates real opportunities to enhance the academic experience for distance learning students by combining the commitment and expertise of these two critical academic groups. Research literature clearly points to the importance of integrating on-campus library services with distance education programs (Jacob, 1995; Jacob,1993). Driving forces behind the integration of library support include curriculum requirements, student and faculty research needs, library standards for equity of student support, accreditation criteria, and the importance of information literacy. Integration and partnership efforts are constrained by the forces of budget restrictions, technological limitations and network incompatibilities, librarian and faculty workload/inertia, and the sheer magnitude of accessible information. *Page 57* The flexibility of distance learning programs in terms of class sites and meeting times is very attractive to students. This means that they may be attending classes at local colleges, high schools, or community centers, during the evenings and on weekends. As a result many distance students have no access to an academic library or have access to a collection that cannot support their research requirements (Shaughnessy, 1995; Wilson, 1994). Some of these students start their coursework with a clear disadvantage compared to their on-campus peers. Moreover, variations among distance site library resources could result in clear inequity of access to essential sources that rivals the potential inequity between on and off-campus students. The Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) Guidelines for Extended Campus Library Services state specifically that, "The Parent Institution... should provide library service to the extended campus community equitable with that provided to the on-campus community."(ACRL,1990). Further, this is not only an issue of fairness. Provision of library services is an important criterion for academic program accreditation. The Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools, one of the nation's regional accrediting bodies, states in their 1990 revised standards that, "A library/learning resources center is of paramount importance to the educational program and to the research of students and faculty...Faculty and Library/learning resources staff need to work closely together to plan for collection development and utilization." (Commission on Higher Education, 1990). Individual academic programs may have additional accrediting organizations that also look at library services. An active partnership between teaching faculty and librarians can help ensure continued *Page 58* accreditation by focusing attention on the provision of rich library resources, information literacy for students, and resource utilization in course curricula. PROGRAM DESCRIPTION The State University of New York at Plattsburgh began its Telenursing Distance Education Program in 1994 with a five-year, one million dollar grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The program currently offers a full RN to BSN program, designed for part-time adult returning students. Plattsburgh nursing and library faculty teach from an on-campus studio over a live, two-way interactive, compressed audio/video teleconferencing system (PictureTel). The program has graduated 42 students and has a projected Fall 1996 enrollment of 156 students, many taking two or more classes. Students progress through the program along with their on-campus peers, have the same instructors, and the same course requirements. Between four and six courses are offered each semester at the five distance site classrooms, all located at other SUNY two or four year colleges within this rural area of upstat e New York. SUNY Plattsburgh Deans Virginia Barker (Professional Studies) and Cerise Oberman (Library and Information Services) worked together on the grant proposal with other key faculty, staff, and college administrators. Both envisioned a working partnership between their divisions that would ensure equity of academic richness and academic rigor for distance education students. A library services component for the telenursing program was built into the grant proposal and funding was provided for a part-time outreach librarian who would establish *Page 59* connections with librarians at each distance site. These site librarians played a significant role in shaping the library services component by agreeing to act as "first responders" to information requests and to work collaboratively with the Plattsburgh Outreach Informational Services Librarian to provide electronic access to additional resources. Grant funds were also provided for core nursing book collections at each distance site library, electronic access to the Nursing and Allied Health (CINAHL) database, and delivery of research materials not available at the site library collections. Library support for distance education students is distributed throughout the Feinberg Library group organizational structure, although primary coordination and service responsibility rest with the part-time Outreach Information Services Librarian. In this distributed model, distance student interlibrary loan requests are handled by the interlibrary loan/document delivery staff; core collection acquisitions are handled by library acquisitions staff; circulation and course reserves are handled by patron services staff; and instructional and reference services are handled by the appropriate library faculty. Additionally, the Outreach Librarian has both guidance and assistance from the entire Division of Library and Information Services, which includes instructional engineering, systems operations, programming services, network management, and computing support services. Feinberg Library at SUNY Plattsburgh has a long history of wide-ranging support for the programs offered by the college. Library faculty and staff work to enhance the academic experience in three main areas: curriculum enrichment, research instruction, and direct student services. Each of these requires different partnership strategies because of their different users and different objectives. *Page 60* CURRICULUM ENRICHMENT Curriculum enrichment is the process whereby librarians assist faculty to broaden their curriculum resources beyond the standard textbook. Librarians can provide research assistance to faculty as they develop their courses and create their reading and reserve lists. Some simple strategies employed at Plattsburgh are: 1) meeting regularly with faculty to discuss the courses and library involvement; 2) reading copies of course syllabi and offering ideas; 3) attending classes to get a real sense of the courses; and 4) consulting regularly with faculty for input on library acquisitions. At Plattsburgh, meetings with nursing faculty have resulted in additional book purchases to support nursing issues covered in their courses. Librarians have identified Internet resources for faculty as part of Internet demonstrations and teaching sessions, and have created World Wide Web (WWW) pages with links to important Web sites. Librarians have also provided faculty with student handouts on copyright, subject bibliographies, citation style, and the research process. This partnership for curriculum enrichment works both ways. Librarians consult with faculty to get suggestions for making library courses and instructional sessions more relevant to students. Faculty have been guest lecturers on research strategies and the publication process. Many academic libraries have a departmental liaison librarian program or subject bibliographers who regularly consult with faculty about book orders and journal subscriptions. This liaison role can be developed into a more active partnership where faculty and librarians work together to enhance courses. This has been particularly important in the *Page 61* Telenursing Education Program for nurses, where the courses must be based on current and accurate research. In fact, the integration of research findings into the curriculum is among the top priorities of nursing educators (Herbener, 1994). The difference between the traditional librarian supportive role and an active partnership role is one of both substance and timing. In a partnership, faculty and librarians work collaboratively to enhance a course. In such a relationship the contributions by the librarian are more easily identified as significant to student academic success. Librarians can also act as collegial instructors for faculty suddenly faced with new technology such as online catalogs, the Internet, and electronic mail (E-mail) (Daniels, 1991). Libraries are changing so quickly that even experienced faculty researchers need updates. When Feinberg Library acquired new electronic access to a key nursing index, workshops were offered for the nursing faculty. These workshops promoted the collegial relationship by acknowledging that the nursing expertise of the faculty must be combined with the information management expertise of the librarians to best serve our students. It's highly probable that most campus librarians are proficient in distance communication and research technologies, even if they are not yet involved with a distance education program. Librarians can provide faculty guidance on many issues relating to information and its use, including copyright issues. This is especially valuable in areas where legal compliance is critical, such as broadcasting a videotape to multiple distance sites. (Switzer & Switzer, 1994). *Page 62* RESEARCH INSTRUCTION Information literacy is a critical issue in this fast-paced social, economic, and political environment. Librarians have traditionally offered tours, training sessions, and research instruction to assist students with locating and using library resources. Distance learning programs are designed and heavily marketed for adult and returning students. These students frequently lack library research skills, may never have used an academic library, or may never have used computerized research databases. Yet these same students must produce college level papers and research projects. Clearly some efforts to provide instruction and research technology training are critical. One study at Northwestern University (Steffen & Marshall, 1993) showed that library research database instruction resulted in increased student database use and that students used a wider variety of resources. This would indicate that some basic library instruction is a minimal requirement. Feinberg Library offers a one credit library research course that students are required to take (List, 1995). It concentrates on teaching students information organizational concepts, research strategies and skills, and critical thinking and evaluation of information. Student comments and library survey results have shown that this credit course is extremely valuable to the Telenursing distance education students. It serves as a practical guide to sources, as an aid to re-acquainting them with the changed library environment, and as a source of information literacy skills that will take them into the next century. *Page 63* There are several other instructional strategies that are used as well. Librarians work with teaching faculty to determine course-specific research needs and frequently act as guest instructors during class time. A schedule of library tours is established at each distance site every semester. Some are offered by the Outreach Librarian, some are given by librarians working at the site libraries. A brief library tour was produced as an eleven minute video that can be shown in an instructional session or viewed independently by a student. A printed guide, with instructions ranging from how to connect via computer and modem to details of searching the Nursing and Allied Health database on CD-ROM, is distributed to each registered student. This guide will soon be availiable as a WWW page as well. All these strategies were designed to ensure that Telenursing students are able to take advantage of resources at their site libraries and at Plattsburgh. DIRECT STUDENT SERVICES Students at Plattsburgh have access to the book collection of more than 300,000 volumes, over 1,400 periodical subscriptions, and a significant collection of U.S. Federal, N.Y. State, and Canadian government documents. The library provides electronic access to the collections via the campus computer network and the Internet, and participates in regional and national resource sharing agreements. Feinberg Library offers every distance student equivalent access to library services, as outlined by ACRL guidelines. Students generally *Page 64* use their distance site libraries first and then electronically connect to Feinberg Library for further research or additional reference assistance. Site library book collections were augmented by the Telenursing core nursing collection and a computer and printer were placed in each library for Internet access to Plattsburgh and beyond. Journal articles and books are mailed directly to student homes with prepaid return envelopes provided for books. The Outreach Librarian is responsible for ensuring that students are aware of the library services, are successfully using them, and receive all the assistance they require. The procedures by which resources are identified and delivered are different for off-campus students and on-campus students. Staff rely very heavily on fax and Internet connections to provide distance students with access to the book catalog, journal indexes, interlibrary loan request forms, and reference assistance. The Outreach Librarian teaches the library research course by interactive teleconferencing with E-mail office hours, and demonstrates computerized database searching by connecting a computer to the teleconferencing system. A software program that shares computer display screens across the Internet will soon be installed at the distance site libraries. This will make it easier for a librarian to guide a student through a search of the catalog, databases, or in submitting an interlibrary loan request. CREATING A PARTNERSHIP The library program for distance learners at SUNY Plattsburgh was formed in partnership with the Telenursing Distance Education Project *Page 65* from the start. The collaborative direction set by the inclusion of a library services component in the grant proposal has been carried forward by active partnership efforts by the nursing and library faculties. Every aspect of the library program is designed with input from nursing faculty, distance site librarians, and appropriate staff from the Division of Library and Information Services. In turn, library staff play a significant role in shaping the research components of nursing courses, and in fostering student and faculty utilization of information resources. Creating a partnership takes time and energy. Administrative support can ensure that librarians are invited to departmental faculty or distance education meetings. These meetings can be effective opportunities for librarians to contribute to discussions and problem solving activities. Once librarians begin to participate in distance education meetings as information specialists and educators, other outreach efforts will be more welcomed. Establishing a partnership with one faculty member for one course is also an effective way to create an environment in which library services can become integrated into distance learning programs. This serves to highlight the possibilities and showcase them within the subject areas currently taught by distance education methods. This then allows other faculty to talk with a very familiar colleague from their own department before begining work with the librarian. Librarians with existing departmental liaison responsibilities can expand their role by introducing teaching faculty to other library and instructional issues. Meetings previously scheduled to review new book *Page 66* selections can be broadened to include discussions of course syllabi and information research assignments. Departmental liaison librarians can build on the mutual respect that already exists, by using an incremental approach to partnership projects. If the librarian regularly distributes a bibliography to faculty; the next small step could be to offer to create a bibliography for students. Creative partnerships between librarians and educators can enhance every distance education program. An enriched curriculum, improved access for library research, and information literate students are results well worth the efforts required. REFERENCES ACRL guidelines for extended campus library services.1990. C&RL News, April:354. Commission on Higher Education. 1990. Characteristics of Excellence in Higher Education: standards for accreditation. Philadelphia: Commission on Higher Education of the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools. Daniels, J and R. Trullinger. 1991. "The role of librarians in faculty development activities." In The Fifth Off-Campus Library Services Conference Proceedings, compiled by C. Jacobs. Mount Pleasant: Central Michigan University. Dillon, C., C. Gunawardena, and R. Parker. 1992. "An evaluation of learner support services in a distance education system." Distance Education, 13(1):29-45. *Page 67* Herbener, D.J. 1994. "Integrating nursing research findings into the curriculum." Journal of Nursing Education, 33(7):292-298. Jacob, C.,comp.1995. The Seventh Off-Campus Library Services Conference Proceedings. Mount Pleasant: Central Michigan University. Jacob, C.,comp.1993. The Sixth Off-Campus Library Services Conference Proceedings. Mount Pleasant: Central Michigan University. List, C. 1995. "Branching out: a required library research course targets disciplines and programs." The Reference Librarian, 51/51:385-398. Shaughnessy, T. 1995. "Distance Learning and Libraries." Association of Research Libraries Bimonthly Newsletter 179 (March). gopher://arl.cni.org/00/arl/pubs/newsltr/179/dist.learn Steffen, S.S. and J. Marshall. 1993. "The Schaffner model of library services." In The Sixth Off-Campus Library Services Conference Proceedings. Mount Pleasant: Central Michigan University Libraries. Switzer, J.S. and R.V. Switzer.1994. "Copyright question: using audiovisual works in a satellite-delivered program." T.H.E. Journal, May:76-79. Wilson, V. 1994. "Developing the adult independent learner: information literacy and the remote external student." Distance Education, 15(2):254-278. Holly Heller-Ross is Outreach Information Services Librarian at Feinberg Library, SUNY College at Plattsburgh, Plattsburgh, NY 12901 Phone (518) 564-5192 Fax 518-564-5209 E-mail address HELLERHB@SPLAVA.CC.PLATTSBURGH.EDU This article is copyright (c) by Holly Heller-Ross. All Rights Reserved. Any commercial use requires permission of the author and the editors of this journal. MC Journal: The Journal of Academic Media Librarianship ISSN 1069-6792 V.4#1, Summer 1996 July 1996 *Page 68*