Responding to the Library Needs of Distance Learners

Abstract

MINISTERIAL CONFERENCE ON INFORMATION INFRASTRUCTURE FOR SCIENCE, EDUCATION AND CULTURE, COBISS 2009, Maribor, Slovenia, 11 November 2009 by Sir John Daniel, Commonwealth of Learning // One of the current trends in higher education is the rapid growth of distance education. Until recently distance learners could not access the rich documentary resources available to campus students, a factor thought to undermine the quality of distance education. However, the Internet has changed that. The paper examines how distance teaching universities make library resources available and how their students use them. There will be a particular focus on the challenge of serving distance learners in developing countries since that is where much of the growth of distance education will be.