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Librarians' Changing Role inDistance EducationDinesh K. Gupta aa Kota Open University , Kota, IndiaPublished online: 12 Oct 2008.

To cite this article: Dinesh K. Gupta (2001) Librarians' Changing Role in DistanceEducation, Journal of Library Administration, 32:1-2, 225-231, DOI: 10.1300/J111v32n01_01

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Librarians’ Changing Rolein Distance Education:Need for Training

Dinesh K. GuptaKota Open University (India)

SUMMARY. Distance education is a learner-centered system of educa-tion. The librarians engage in developing and delivery of services indistance education relevant to both content and process. Librariansneed to recognize the role of modern information technologies as learn-ing resources in students’ learning pursuits. This represents a majorshift from a conventional model of the library-centered didactic style toa more learner-centered and task-based facilitating style. This changeneeds effective training of the professionals engaged in distance librari-anship. The paper analyzes the present day role of librarians in distanceeducation in India; discusses the rationale for the training of librariansinvolved in distance education; and finds out the areas of training, andmethods and strategies that are to be adopted in the distance educationinstitutions in the country.

KEYWORDS. Distance education, librarians, India

INTRODUCTION

In the past few years, higher education has seen drastic changes dueto potent social and technological forces outside the control of Libraryand Information (L&I) professionals. Higher education is undergoinga paradigm shift from an instruction-oriented model of learning to a

[Haworth co-indexing entry note]: ‘‘Librarians’ Changing Role in Distance Education: Need for Train-ing.’’ Gupta, Dinesh K. Co-published simultaneously in Journal of Library Administration (The HaworthInformation Press, an imprint of The Haworth Press, Inc.) Vol. 32, No. 1/2, 2001, pp. 225-231; and:Off-Campus Library Services (ed: Anne Marie Casey) The Haworth Information Press, an imprint of TheHaworth Press, Inc., 2001, pp. 225-231.

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OFF-CAMPUS LIBRARY SERVICES226

learner-centered model based on the access to learning resources andstudents’ initiatives. Moreover, new technologies have increased theacademic productivity and have brought a change in the pedagogy andcurriculum content. Open and distance learning, characterized as flex-ible and more responsive to the demands of learners, is the manifesta-tion of the new learning environment. This new environment, especial-ly with respect to the delivery of appropriate information andknowledge to the learners at a place and time of their choice, contrib-utes to a dramatic revolution in the role of library professionals. Therevised role of the L&I professionals needs some kind of training towork with the new clientele, new resources and new environment. Inthis paper an attempt has been made to study the existing patterns oflibrary services in open and distance learning institutions in the country;to look into the revised role of the library professionals in distancemode; to examine the need of training for new entrants and personsinvolved in distance library services; and to suggest some strategies andmethods to train library professionals in distance library institutions inthe country.

LIBRARY SERVICES IN DISTANCE EDUCATION:ROLE AND PATTERN

The role of the library and its services in campus-based education iswell established. Similarly, in distance education, library facilities and ser-vices ought to occupy a key role in the students’ learning process through:

S motivating all categories of learners to get the most benefit fromopen learning;

S a suitable form of imparting education to them;S informing learners regarding educational opportunities throughopen university;

S its educational programs and components of each program;S making information available regarding tools and sources, learn-ing packages in print and nonprint form;

S assisting learners to make the most effective use of library ser-vices available to them;

S sharing resources with other agencies involved in educationalguidance; and,

S supporting counselors/tutors in successfully completing counsel-ing/tutoring sessions.

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Dinesh K. Gupta 227

To provide library and information access to distance learners, openuniversities have a network of libraries. Open universities have twocategories of libraries, namely, the library at the university headquar-ters, and the library of the study center. The latter is mainly establishedat the college where the study center is located and the college librari-an acts as the librarian to the study center library. These librariesfunction only on weekends and contain mainly study materials, textbooks, audio-visual facilities, etc.

L&I PROFESSIONALS: A REVISED ROLE

The role of the library services is to contribute to the excellence ofthe distance and open learning through creation of learning and studyenvironments to support the teaching, research, and personal develop-ment of support staff and learners of the institution, by facilitatingaccess to the sources and collections of the information, both internaland external to the university, through the professionalism of its ser-vices and expertise in exploitation of enabling technologies. In orderto make the role of the library services effective, the library andinformation professionals must support students’ learning pursuitsthrough particular attention to both the contents and process of acquir-ing information and its use, whose traditional role is largely confinedto selecting and indicating the location and availability of resources tothe user. As such the librarian is becoming an intermediary betweenthe learners and the information resources. He must have the capabili-ty to use these resources to facilitate learning for the individual learneror in a group. He has to provide password and access control, assistingin intermediary searching, producing subject guides and gateways,and working as a mediator between the end user and the world’srecorded knowledge.He also has to serve the learners who want to have remote access

and will make the use of a variety of networks to access the collectionof other networks. With greater end user searching becoming thenorm, the librarian’s role changes from intermediary to facilitatory, inwhich he requires the ability to communicate, ability to determine andimplement appropriate instructional strategies, and ability to designand develop self-learning tools for the clientele. Under such circum-stances the librarians need to be constantly updated and trained in not

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OFF-CAMPUS LIBRARY SERVICES228

only the use of various media but also in their acquisition, storage andretrieval to support every learner in his learning pursuits.

NEED FOR TRAINING

The development and spread of distance library services has im-plications for the curriculum in library and information scienceschools and continuing professional education. But, there is also noLibrary and Information Science (LIS) school in the country whichhas included this emerging aspect in their syllabi. Even open universi-ty and distance learning institutions offering library science courseshave not come forward and have not included such kinds of services intheir syllabi. More so, the STRIDE (staff training of the IGNOU), thepremier agency involved in training manpower working in distanceeducation in the country has done nothing so far in this regard, evenafter more than 5 years of its existence.The librarian/assistant librarian of the college where the study cen-

ter of the open universities or distance learning institution is locatedact as the librarians at the study center. But, they have been traditional-ly operating under a set of rules, regulations, bureaucratic models andinstitutional guidelines, wherein information seekers (students in thecase of academic libraries) come to the library to use resources in amultiple format. But, contrarily in distance education, resources andservices must be adaptable to the learner’s convenience and pacerather than providers’ convenience. Moreover, librarians working intraditional set-ups are not conversant with the use of multi-media andwith the independent learning environment in which the distant learn-er learns. As a result they are unable to motivate students for indepen-dent learning and facilitate work in such an environment.While distance educators have focused their development and deci-

sion making on using technology to improve the delivery of instruc-tion, library professionals have focused on collection and increasedaccess through the use of electronic devices. With this background thedelivery systems for education have evolved from print media to tele-communications and electronic media. Instruction is delivered throughinteractive video via communication satellites, and through computermediated communication such as e-mail, computer conferences, elec-tronic bulletin boards and on-line databases, overcoming the time anddistances barriers. Similarly, libraries which until recent years were

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Dinesh K. Gupta 229

especially stacking print material, have now begun to acquire electron-ic media like CD-ROMs and multi-media packages. The quality ofelectronic media is likely to increase substantially and it is clear thatlibraries will have to prepare themselves for conversion into electroniclibraries, commonly referred to as digital libraries. Thus, there is muchneed to put both the distance learning and the libraries close togetherso as to build a meaningful relationship in the delivery of education,both campus-based and through distance mode. This task can beachieved only through effective training in both the areas.Training in distance library services is a concern even of users. In a

recent study conducted by the author (although it deals with the entirelibrary system of an Open University), the following suggestions weregive by users relating to training of the library staff:

S ‘‘Library staff must be trained so that they can provide proper in-formation regarding the literature available.’’

S ‘‘Library staff should be pertinently trained and ably super-vised.’’

S ‘‘Library staff should be courteous and helping.’’S ‘‘There is a shortage of skilled manpower. It should be wellequipped with trained persons, so that the library can function inan efficient manner.’’

S ‘‘Trained and efficient staff should be approved.’’S ‘‘Polite and harmonious behavior of the librarian is very muchessential to attract distance learners.’’

These responses to users are very pertinent and advocate for propertraining for the professionals involved in distance library services.

METHODS AND STRATEGIES

When we talk of training, it could be at two levels; to start with,there is formal training and education. At the formal level the profes-sional development courses can be useful for the people who need tomaintain the specialist skills which is certainly required at the time ofrecruitment. For this LIS schools must design and implement curriculawhich prepare graduates for distance library services through (a) incorpo-rating at least one to two units of distance librarianship in the courses

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OFF-CAMPUS LIBRARY SERVICES230

on the Academic Library System, and (b) a complete optional paper onDistance Library Services and Systems, introduced as an optional paperat the Master’s level program, which should cover the following areas:

S Introduction to DE systemS Characteristics of DE library system and servicesS Development of libraries as learning resource centersS Digital libraries and their application in DE systemsS Information sourcesS Services in digital library environments: online reference ser-vices; interaction through e-mail, list servers and bulletin boards;online document delivery services; Internet-based informationservices.

Secondly, there could be various short-term courses, training pro-grams and workshops, for persons working in DE library services.This can be done at two levels: at the national level and at the universi-ty level. At the national level, the STRIDE should design and developspecialized courses and short-term programmes to upgrade the skillsof the personnel working in the Open Universities and distance educa-tion institutions. Further, every open university and distance educationinstitution must start training programmes for the librarians havingtraditional backgrounds and get involved in support services at studyand regional centres.The next part of training people working in libraries in open and

distance learning is induction into the environment of independent anddistance learning, which in many ways is different and unique. For thispersons can be invited for a short time to work and learn the acquiredknowledge that can be used at his/her workplace.

CONCLUSION

It is very clear that in the learner-centred or student-centred learn-ing, library facilities are extended to the clientele according to theirconvenience in regards to time and space. This requires new roles forthe persons working in the delivery of such services in the traditionalset-up, and new tools for support and collaboration, which will largelydepend upon the effectiveness of the education and training providedto new entrants and persons working in the delivery of library servicesto distant learners.

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Dinesh K. Gupta 231

REFERENCES

Appaove, P., & Sansen, L. (1988). Profile of the distance education user. Research inDistance Education, 1(3), 14-15.

Association of College and Research Libraries. (1986). Guidelines for extendedcampus library services. College and Research Library News, 47, 189-200.

Bazillion, R. J., & Connie, B. (1992). Technology and library users automationoutreach: Library services to off campus students. Journal of Distance Education,7(2), 67-75.

Canadian Library Association. Library Services for Distance Learning InterestGroup. (1993). Guidelines for library support of distance education in Canada.Ottawa: The Association.

Faulhaber, C. B. (1996). Distance learning and digital libraries: Two sides of a singlecoin. Journal of the American Society for Information Science, 47(11), 354-356.

Gupta, D. K. (1997). Library And Information Access To Distance Learners: TheRole Of Information Technology. In A. L. Moorthy, & P. B. Mangla (Eds.),Information technology applications in academic libraries in India with emphasison network services & information sharing: papers presented at the fourth nation-al convention for automation of libraries in education and research (pp. 40-42).Ahmedabad: Information and Library Network Centre.

Gupta, D. K., & Jain, S. L. (1996, July 22). Open university and library: Concept andrelationship. University News, 34, 9-11, 17.

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