Journal articles on the topic 'Libraries and distance education'

This study examines the role of academic libraries in supporting distance education at the University of Business and Integrated Development Studies in Ghana. The findings highlight the importance of digital access and resources, information literacy instruction and support services, collaborative partnerships, and user satisfaction. The study reveals that academic libraries have made significant investments in digital collections, ensuring remote access to a wide range of scholarly materials for distance learners. Information literacy programs and support services are crucial in equipping students with research skills and enhancing their academic success. Collaborative partnerships between librarians, faculty, and other stakeholders integrate library services into the distance education curriculum. User satisfaction demonstrates the effectiveness of library support in meeting the needs of remote learners. Based on the findings, recommendations are provided to enhance library support for distance education, including continuous investment in digital resources, strengthening information literacy instruction, and encouraging collaborations and partnerships. By implementing these recommendations, academic libraries can enhance their support for distance education and contribute to student success. Keywords: Academic Libraries, Distance Education, Ghana, Evidence.

Technological advances and the Internet have radically changed the way people learn, live, and grow. In higher education, libraries have been challenged to look at how to serve people not only locally but at a distance. At Asbury Theological Seminary these changes have revolved around three issues: providing the same resources online, information literacy, and the importance of collaboration.

Abstract The purpose of this study was to explore the extent to which individual factors such as academic tasks, preference for print sources and information skills influence distance learners’ use of digital libraries in a teacher distance education programme at the University of Education, Winneba in Ghana. The population of the study consisted of 1,834 distance students and from a sample size of 641 distance learners spread across three distance study centers, namely, Winneba (247), Kumasi (276) and Asante-Mampong (118). A total of 453 (70.67 percent) distance learners, selected randomly, completed a 31-item questionnaire. In addition, 30 distance education tutors, four coordinators and four librarians were purposively selected to participate in the study. The findings showed that academic tasks of distance learners did not require them to use digital library resources, which resulted in low or no academic use of digital libraries. The findings also pointed to a high preference for print resources among distance learners which resulted in the low use of digital library resources. Finally, it was noted that even though most of the distance learners possessed basic ICT skills, this did not result in their of use of digital library resources. To improve digital library use in distance education, it is recommended that academic librarians seek and foster collaboration in teaching information literacy and library instruction in distance education, an approach which must be backed by a policy that mandates the use of (digital) library scholarly resources in teaching and learning in distance education. It is also recommended that the Centre for Distance Education and the University Library collaborate to offer training programmes in specific digital resources and general information literacy courses for all distance education stakeholders in the university to boost digital library use.

The aim of the article is to systematise, summarise new knowledge on the activities of libraries of vocational education institutions in the information and communication space, to consider specific activities in terms of present and prospects for their development. The research methodology was based on the general scientific principles of unity of theory and practice, systematics, complexity, and comprehensiveness of knowledge. The use of general scientific (description, analysis, synthesis, comparison, generalisation) and special (bibliographic, sample observation, grouping, content analysis) methods at the empirical and theoretical levels of research contributed to achieving this goal. The scientific novelty of the research is to generalise and systematise new and known knowledge concerning the activities of libraries of vocational education institutions in the information and communication space in terms of nowadays and prospects for its development within one research. Conclusions. Current conditions of transformation of the learning process focused on distance education and the rapid development of digital technology pose new challenges to the libraries of vocational education institutions. The quarantine constraints that libraries faced in 2020-2021 demonstrated the need to reformat rapidly various types of library services into an online format. The most promising channel for promoting any information or resources today is the Internet. The use of Internet technology in libraries is now mandatory for every librarian. Librarians should not only focus on information and communication resources and technologies, including the Internet but also apply this knowledge in practice. Thus, the introduction of Internet tools in the activities of libraries of vocational education institutions is an urgent necessity. Librarians can effectively use a great variety of Internet services in their daily work and bring vocational education institutions’ information and library services to a qualitatively new level.

This research evaluates the barriers and challenges towards distance learners' access to academic libraries' physical and digital resources, databases, catalogs, and technological infrastructure, as well as the accessibility of virtual reference services and online tutorials. This research provides practical measures to improve library conditions, assist administrators in formulating effective policies, and benefit library professionals. The study aims to fill the gap in the Library and Information Science literature and contribute to knowledge in the field. A questionnaire was used for a nature of survey, and data was collected from six distance education providing universities in Pakistan selected from the Higher Education Commission HEC- Pakistan website. Two universities discontinued their programs, so data was collected from the remaining four. A sample of 200 students was selected, and 178 responses were received. Two incomplete responses were discarded, and the 176 responses were analyzed using SPSS. Distance education has become more available around the globe, and the number of distance learning students increases day by day. In response to the growing popularity of distance education, libraries and librarians identify their needs and then provide the best available services to these off-campus part-time students.

Web-based learning environments are becoming more widely used for on-campus and distance education course delivery. A review of articles on the topic by faculty shows that only a few mention issues related to library access or resource integration. Moreover, only a small number of courseware evaluations posted on academic Web sites include criteria related to libraries. However, a few articles and reviews share common themes that point to a greater library involvement in courseware implementation, which is consistent with arguments made by distance education librarians calling for an active role in technical, pedagogical, and instructional support decisions concerning Web-based learning environments.

The study aims at researching the readiness of the libraries of the faculties of the university of cheikh larbi tebessi in tebessa-algeria to support the educational and research process by addressing the needs of the parties to distance education, which algerian universities have pursued for nearly three years as an alternative and then as a complement to attendant education. especially requests that are often vague, inconsistent and far from understandable. the strategy currently being adopted by the libraries under consideration and planned for future adoption was présentes in this study after the conceptual framework was defined. to this end, half-rated interviews were conducted with the governors of the libraries of the faculties of cheikh larbi tebessi university. bases on the study's findings, a proposes strategic profile has been developed. Keywords: Information Needs - Distance Education - Parties To Distance Education - Libraries of Faculties of Cheikh Larbi Tebessi University.

Library accreditation is a form of legal recognition of a library in an institution. Open university libraries that have the concept of distance education carry out library accreditation from the directorate of standardization of the National Library of Indonesia. Where there are 6 components and 103 instruments. in this paper only discusses component 3, namely the service component, where there are 19 instruments. From the discussion of library service component instruments, there are several instruments that are not suitable for open university libraries that implement distance education, namely library visitor instruments, where those who come offline are far different from conventional universities while online open university library visitors are more than 16 million. In addition, the collection lending instrument is also different, where borrowing at open universities is done virtually. In the future, there needs to be a distinction for instruments for distance education libraries and conventional university libraries.

The article considers the development of information technologies in education and, in particular, in its part such as distance education. The focus is on the use of distance learning technologies in the most critical period of human existence, namely in the period of quarantine in connection with the global pandemic on the coronavirus COVID-19. The main problems of the application of distance education are considered, when it is necessary to teach remotely all students, starting from beginners and ending with those who always want to learn. There is an urgent need to create new methods that would simplify the work of teachers in conducting distance learning, improve online teacher-student communication. There are also requirements for the executive authorities to address the issues of decent equipping of general secondary education institutions with computers, increasing the ICT competence of teachers, as well as the creation of a comprehensive Internet space. The issue of improving the information education of teachers in order to overcome pedagogical and psychological difficulties in conducting comprehensive distance education is covered. There is an increase in the role of educational libraries in the dissemination of distance education, as well as in the direction of helping users to remotely receive information that would meet their needs, in particular, highlighted the activities of the V. O. Sukhomlinskyі SSPL of Ukraine. The results of partial monitoring of dissertation research in the specialties 13.00.02 "Theory and methods of teaching (computer science)" and 13.00.10 "Information and communication technologies in education" concerning the issues of distance education for the period 1991—2019 are analyzed. Statistical data on the share of dissertations, the problem of which is the use of ICT in education, protected in research institutions and free educational institutions, in order to identify research activity on the outlined topic. .

The paper presents a synthesis on resource sharing among polytechnic libraries in Ghana. It explores how resource sharing would provide opportunities for the consolidation of strengths and minimize weakness among the polytechnic libraries. The main objective of resource sharing is to maximise the availability of materials and services and to minimize expenses and duplication. The paper further exposed some of the factors which make resource sharing imperative among the polytechnic libraries. These concerns include the proliferation of knowledge on the World Wide Web, issues of distance education, open access and instruction service. It also highlighted some of the resources that could be shared among the polytechnic libraries which include personnel, electronic service, tools, professional activities, policies, etc. Finally techniques that would foster resource sharing activities among the polytechnic libraries were discussed and these include communication, increase in the use of information communication technology, resource mobilisation and capacity building on the part of librarians. Keywords: Co-operation; Information sharing; Consortia formation; Academic libraries networking.

About the only way a small non-profit art museum and its library can hope to create and disseminate information about both its art and bibliographic collections is through collaboration and co-operation. The Akron Art Museum, the University of Akron Libraries, and OhioLink (the state-wide library and multimedia consortium) joined forces to compile the necessary records, images and software to connect information in the museum library’s catalogue to image files, and other biographic and bibliographic databases. Selected portions of the newly created resources are refashioned and merged with web-based lesson plans for use within the museum itself, out in the greater metropolitan area, and wherever Internet-based web resources can reach.

This study aims to see; growth of scientific publications on digital literacy in librarians, core journals of digital literacy scientific publications for librarians, productivity and collaboration of science researchers, digital literacy in librarians, number of publications on digital literacy in librarians by affiliation / institution, number of publications by country, number of publications based on document type, number of publications by subject, 8) map of developments on digital literacy in librarians through keyword clusters. Data obtained from the Scopus database published in the 2010-2020 period. Data analysis using VosViewer software. The results showed that Communication In Computer and Information Science contributed the most articles on digital literacy, then followed by College And Undergraduate, then Reference Services Review journal, the journal with the least amount of Information And Learning Science. The most subjects were Social Sciences with 55.1%, then in the second place were Computer Sciences subjects, namely 21.9%, then the Arts and Humanities subjects were 6.9% followed by Mathematics as much as 5.1%. Meanwhile, the fewest documents were documents on Nursing and Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics with a total percentage of 0.3%, namely 1 document. Trends in knowledge can be seen from the many keywords that are found such as acrl frame work, digital citizenship, digital divide, digital literacy, distance education, distance learning, fake news, higher education, human computer interactive, information literacy, information skills, instructional design, learning. , library instruction, literacy, media literacy, online learning, research, social media. The keywords that are most tied to other networks or other keywords are Information literacy, Digital literacy, Digital literacies, Libraries, Education, Students and Academic libraries.

The current period is characterized by intensive informatization and globalization processes and stimulates building the single education space. At the same time, the ongoing transformations in the library area makes adjustments in the content of training librarians. The expanding information and technological environment requires libraries to adapt as fast as possible. The authors emphasize that building a complex library infrastructure is impossible without highly competent specialists. The authors suggest that distance learning is a promising trend in training library and information specialists in the single education space. They review the experience of distance learning in Kazan State Institute of Culture where it is introduced in several disciplines. The results of satisfaction survey are presented. The difference in the opinions of the full-time and off-campus students is demonstrated. Based on the survey, the authors conclude that most of the students are not ready to switch to distance learning. Main provisions for the highly efficient distance education, its main advantages and disadvantages are revealed. Introduction of distance learning is seen as essential for increasing efficiency of the Russian higher library schools.

With the onslaught of the global COVID19 pandemic, universities were forced to quickly pivot to exclusively remote and virtual service options. To further complicate the situation, many international student populations at these institutions were forced to study remotely in their home countries due to the pandemic and visa restrictions. In Canada and Ontario, International students make up a major revenue source for post-secondary institutions, making the need to find viable solutions to continue to serve these populations essential to their financial stability.The Ontario Council of University Libraries (OCUL) runs a shared virtual reference service called Ask a Librarian (Ask). This paper assessed the global pandemic's impact through a comparative study of the service before, during, and after the pandemic's height. Using IP addresses, this study evaluated the impact of geographical location on the user’s access to virtual library resources, as well as identified any barriers, shifts, or trends in the service. The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the face of education and remote learning indefinitely. The hope of this study is to assess the overall success and pitfalls of our current virtual reference services and suggest future improvement areas.

<div class="page" title="Page 1"><div class="layoutArea"><div class="column"><p><span>The present paper investigates the distance students’ use of public libraries for their academic purposes and converse the public library as a alternate for instructive or University libraries. The current research study is based on a comprehensive survey of distance education students from Bangalore University. The data collection was carried out by personally distributing the questionnaire to the randomly selected students and the sample consists of students from both undergraduate and post graduate. It is found from the study that 1309 (90.60 %) distance learners who used public libraries during contact classes and 786 (54.4 %) of the respondents spent 0-1 h in the library</span><span>. </span><span>Majority of the distance learners i.e. 941 (65.10 %) responded effective for book borrowing services from the public libraries in seeking information, 1220 (84.40 %) opined effective for reference services. It is observed from the study that distance students have a tendency to look at libraries as a complete and do </span><span>not make apparent difference between different types of libraries, expecting the entire system to be flawless. The paper lifts the significant executive inquiry and apprehension in relation to both the operation of public </span><span>libraries and the service level given to diverse section of learning students. It is strongly recommended that library instruction programme should be organized by the public libraries for distance learners that create the responsiveness and use of library and information services effectively. </span></p></div></div></div>

Introduction. Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the government has stopped all face-to-face learning activities and replaced it with an online distance learning process. With this change in the learning system, there needs to be readiness from various parties such as students, educators, availability of communication tools, internet network support and support for learning facilities by implementing digital-based services.Data Collection Methods. This paper tries to explore the readiness of university libraries in supporting the distance learning process in a study at the Kandaga central library, Padjadjaran University. This research uses a qualitative approach with case study research. Data collection techniques were carried out through observation, interviews and literature study. The subject of the research is the librarian of the Kandaga UNPAD central library and the object of the research is library service activities.Data Analysis. For the data analysis technique, the data reduction stage, data presentation and conclusion-making stages are carried out..Results and Discussion. Based on the results of the study, it is known that the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has changed learning activities that were previously carried out face-to-face into an online learning process. Then related to the readiness of libraries to support distance learning in this study, it is seen from the aspect of human resources, namely librarians, aspects of collections and supporting facilitiesConclusion. For the aspect of human resources in supporting the distance learning process, the Kandaga central library, Unpad has prepared librarians based on the grouping of faculties in UNPAD, for library collections it has provided various digital collections in the form of e-books, e-journals and various other digital collections, Meanwhile, for service facilities, apart from providing the Unpad website, it also provides social media-based services such as WhatsApp, Instagram and several other social media.Keywords: pandemic covid-19; readiness, library services, digital collections; college library; distance education.

Objective. The article is aimed to improve the understanding of university communities (teachers, students, librarians) concerning the development of distance learning, open educational resources, and the new role of university libraries in these processes. Methods. The main data on the development of distance learning, OER, and increasing the role of university libraries in these processes were obtained due to the analysis of professional publications in periodicals and on the university websites of around the world, the application of methods of method of participant and non-participant observation, a description of the authors’ own experience (the director of the scientific library, the associate professor of IT disciplines and the heads of the scientific library departments) who work at the Ukrainian State University of Science and Technology (Dnipro, Ukraine). Results. It has been established that the implementation of distance learning systems, the use and availability of open (preferably free) information sources on open access platforms or open educational resources (OER), exchange of scientific research in the digital scientific space, etc. – these components are closely interconnected and used among teachers, scientists, students. Distance education requires inclusion in the processes of both teachers – authors of open educational resources, and employees of certain services providing information and IT support for both teachers and the resources created by them. Such structures are university libraries, which were among the first to support the philosophy of openness and to join the processes of supporting open access, open science, and open education based on intellectual information systems and technologies. The experience of the scientific library of USUST is considered – a structure that enables online access to text and non-text OER as a necessary element while ensuring limited personal interaction between a teacher and a student. Conclusions. Today, during the crisis caused by the Covid-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine, the foundations are being actively laid to make the provision of educational services at universities, in particular distance education, dynamic and multidimensional. It is necessary to integrate electronic library resources with distance learning platforms to ensure unhindered access for students and teachers.

Distance education is a rapidly expanding segment of the education marketplace, and the ability to support remote students with appropriate and quality services has become a major challenge for libraries. This article is concerned with library support for nursing students who are enrolled in a distance education program. Specifically, this article describes a collaborative arrangement wherein the Mountain Area Health Education Center (MAHEC) provides Western Carolina University (WCU) students with library services.

Well-developed research skills are essential to our student's educational success. For a generation that will create more information than was created by all those who came before them access to information is not an issue, at least for those on the access side of the digital divide. However as that wealth of information grows so does the need for the skill sets that allows one to pull the drops of needed information from the ocean that they have available to search. Students, who have not known a world without Google, smart phones, and abundant wireless internet access, often feel their research skills are good enough but usually fail, not in the search for information, but in the ability to determine what the best information is and how to find it most efficiently. Online library research classes are one of the best methods for providing students with the skills they need to succeed. Designing, implementing, and teaching library research classes allows librarians to communicate research skills that meet our students at their point of need. This paper will provide an examination of the benefits for students, libraries and faculty in providing these classes, an overview on how they can be structured to meet the information literacy needs of any student and basic information on how to create library research classes at any institution of higher education.

One year of russia’s full-scale military invasion of Ukraine to seize its territory and destroy the Ukrainian people as a nation, its language, culture, scientific achievements, and educational traditions have demonstrated the incredible adaptability of universities and their libraries. This paper aims to analyze the administrative aspect of the urgent adaptation of library teams of Ukrainian higher education institutions to martial law conditions in the example of the Scientific Library of the Ukrainian State University of Science and Technologies (USUST). The paper considers the experience of survival, resilience, and adaptation of the USUST library to the war, which can be extrapolated to other libraries of Ukrainian higher education institutions. In addition, the study comparatively analyzes quantitative indicators of five university libraries as of January 1, 2022, and January 1, 2023. The main vectors of library activity are distance, openness, unification, and improvement of the single information space. The primary motivating factors for librarians’ resilience and adaptation to wartime working conditions are belief in the Armed Forces and the victory of Ukraine. The study emphasizes the importance of university libraries’ support of open educational resources as one of the methods of overcoming the Ukrainian linguocide. Library directors in wartime, with predominantly female staff, note the impact of psychological factors on their professional activities. Despite the threatening trends, libraries continue to support educational and scientific processes in their universities, launching new directions of activity.

PurposeOwing to the growing number of online and commuting students at the University of West Georgia, the Instructional Services department at Ingram Library experimented with offering online synchronous library instruction. This paper aims to describe how it approached this problem and the findings from the initial attempts.Design/methodology/approachThe authors wanted to provide library instruction to online graduate students at the university. They worked with the staff development department to develop a pilot program for an online library instruction course using WIMBA web‐conferencing software.FindingsIt was found that due to the limitations of technology, the authors had to reduce the amount of information they deliver in the same amount of time. It was also discovered that it is easy to be distracted by the technology and forget that clear communication with the users (students and faculty) are the key to any successful instruction program regardless of the delivery method.Originality/valueMost libraries offer face‐to‐face library instruction and rely on tutorials to reach their distance education and non‐traditional students. Few libraries are using distance education tools to teach information literacy skills. As librarians begin to explore this avenue, they need to re‐evaluate how and what they teach students to better leverage the technology while reaching the same information literacy objectives.

On 23—24 May 2023 the Russian State Library (RSL) hosted the International Scientific and Practical Conference “History of Libraries: New Approaches, Methods, Sources, Results” in a face-to-face format. It was organized by RSL and the Russian Library Association. The aim of the event was to contribute to the development of research work in the field of library history. The conference brought together over 200 representatives of public, academic, higher education and school libraries, institutes of culture, institutes of the Russian Academy of Science and other cultural, education and science institutions from seven CIS countries, including Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kirgizia, Uzbekistan and 44 Russian regions. According to the results of online broadcasting of the sessions, organised on the YouTube channel of RSL, more than 1280 views were recorded. The conference program included plenary and breakout sessions (“Library as an Object of Historical and Library Studies”, “Library Biography as a Field of Historical and Library Studies”, “History of a Single Library”, “Current State and Prospects of Research in the Field of Library History”). A special conference session was dedicated to the study of library’s history during the Great Patriotic War (1941—1945). A total of 53 reports were presented by full-time and distance participants from Azerbaijan, Belarus and 18 Russian regions. The reports of the Conference discussed the theoretical and methodological grounds for studying the history of libraries as an interdisciplinary scientific field; presented the experience and results of the research conducted both by the largest libraries — centers of library science (national and academic libraries, institutes of culture of Russia, Azerbaijan and Belarus) and other libraries of CIS member states (central regional, city, rural, university and museum libraries).

Distance learners, and in particular distance graduate students, can be a neglected portion of the student body; however, the library needs for this growing student group are real and important. This paper explores an Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) Assessment in Action: Academic Library and Student Success project which examined two different instructional methods offered to students in an online graduate education programme. Specifically, the study assessed the effect of an online tutorial and individual contact with a librarian. The tutorial showed a statistical difference between pre- and post-test results. The limited number of students participating in the individual contact did not allow for the establishment of statistical difference, but the study did provide evidence on how to improve the current reference system.

A Review of: Bonella, L., Pitts, J., & Coleman, J. (2017). How do we market to distance populations, and does it work?: Results from a longitudinal study and a survey of the profession. Journal of Library Administration, 57(1), 69–86. https://doi.org/10.1080/01930826.2016.1202720 Abstract Objective – To determine if library promotion efforts targeted at distance education students and instructors were successful and in line with similar activities at other institutions Design – Mixed: longitudinal and survey questionnaire Setting – Large publicly-funded, doctoral-granting university in the midwestern United States Subjects – 494 distance education students and instructors in 2014 compared to 544 in 2011 and “more than 300” (Bonella, Pitts, & Coleman, 2017, p. 77) professionals at American academic libraries. Methods – In the longitudinal study, the researchers invited all distance education students and instructors who were active in the 2010-2011 academic year (n = 8,793) and the spring 2014 semester (n = 4,922) to complete an online questionnaire about their awareness and use of library’s services. Questions were formatted as multiple choice or Likert scale with optional qualitative comments. The researchers used descriptive statistics to compare the responses. Then, the researchers invited library professionals via relevant distance-education and academic library listservs to complete an online questionnaire about how distance education is supported, promoted, and assessed. Free text questions comprised the majority of the questionnaire. The researchers categorized these and summarized them textually. The researchers used descriptive statistics to collate the responses to the multiple-choice questions. Main results – The researchers observed an increase in awareness of all the library services about which they asked undergraduates. Off campus access to databases (92%, n = 55), an online course in the learning management system (78%, n = 47), and online help pages (71%, n = 43) had the highest awareness in 2014 as compared to 2011 when off campus access to databases (73%, n = 74), research guides (43%, n = 44), and online help pages (42%, n = 43) were the top three most visible items. Fewer undergraduates said they do not use the library at all between 2011 (54%, n = 56) and 2014 (30%, n = 18). More graduate students reported that they were very satisfied with the library in 2014 (45%, n = 12) than in 2011 (27%, n = 10). Faculty members were more aware of library services, especially research guides, which had 79% awareness in 2014 (n = 56) up from 60% (n = 55) in 2011. Almost half (46%) of faculty member respondents had recommended them to students in 2014 as compared to 27% in 2011. The library professionals who responded indicated that their institutions did not evaluate the success of distance educators and students’ awareness of the library’s services and resources (54%, n = 97) nor the success of any promotional campaigns they may have undertaken (84%, n = 151). Both the respondents (37%, n = 54) and the authors recommended partnering with faculty members as a best practice to promote the library. Conclusion – More libraries should be marketing specifically and regularly to distance education students by leveraging existing communication and organizational structures. Assessing these efforts is important to understanding their effectiveness.

Research relevance: in 2020 year, due to COVID-19 conditions, educational institutions of all levels began to be forced to organize the educational process using e-learning and distant learning technologies. This process was not easy for students nor for teachers. It was especially difficult to study natural sciences, for example, chemistry from a distance. Research materials and methods: e-learning is based on distant learning technologies, electronic libraries, scientific materials in electronic format, as well as on use of information and telecommunication networks and many programs for remote communication with students. Research results: organization of learning process with using e-learning and distant learning technologies has some advantages. Conclusions: in distant learning of chemical disciplines, the course consists mainly of same stages as in traditional education: activation of fundamental chemical concepts; explanation of topic, expected results and new material; reflection or generalization, student assessment and homework.

The study investigated the role of libraries as sources of information for farmers in Ogbomoso, Oyo State, Nigeria. A structured questionnaire was used to collect data from 150 respondents, of whom 142 (95%) responded and were valid for the analysis. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the data using a percentage table. Findings showed that 54.3% of the respondents use library resources as their information sources, while 45.7% do not use library resources. This implied that there was little disparity between those farmers who use libraries and those who do not use libraries as their information sources. Further, negative attitudes by farmers toward the use of libraries, inadequate agricultural information resources in the libraries to meet farmer needs, a low level of ICT skill by farmers to access agricultural information resources in their comfort zones, inadequate time to visit libraries and the long distance of library locations were major problems militating against the farmers use of library resources. While proper information repackaging, adequate education on the use of ICT tools should be given to farmers toward the use of library as their information sources, every library should equip their library with resources on agricultural information, a specialist agricultural librarian should be encouraged by the libraries to meet the needs of farmers; libraries should also encourage mobile services in order to bring library services closer to farmers; and farmers should also be encouraged to find time to visit the library so as to get the latest information on new agricultural innovation documents.

In the article distance education, advantages of it are informed, the dynamics of development of distance education is shown and the question of formation CRM ­ based distance education is considered. Note for information that distance education is a organized form of educational process on the basis of electronic, telecommunication, software and hardware. Distance education provides long-distance communication between teacher and learner through telecommunications and computer networks based on operative, regular dialogue and feedback. Electronic materials, electronic textbooks, tv programs are presented to learners as forms of information in distance education. Educational institutions must develop a special set of educational and methodological materials for each student to study specific training courses for organizing distance education. As noted, due to the students are on long distance, the main part of the scientific and educational-methodological base of distance education is a virtual information-educational environment. Computer systems, creation of virtual information-educational environment, e-learning methodical fund, electronic catalogs, electronic libraries on the basis of the Internet is the basis of distance education. Distance education is impossible to implement without e-lectures, laboratory works, seminar assignments, methodical instructions for their implementation, which can be obtained through the Internet. That is why the creation and application of a distributed information system is of particular importance for the effective provision of software and hardware opportunities which is equipped the teaching process with e-learning materials, enablied students to use these teaching materials, communicated with teachers, recommended, performed inspection and laboratory assignments and more. For this reason, during the organization of distance education in educational institutions CRM systems can be widely used and its benefits can be used as an intellectual information service. Thus, every university, research institute can use this system to ensure efficiency in their activities. This system can be used to provide the relevant needs of students, teachers, researchers and administration, who are the subjects of scientific and pedagogical activities. First of all, CRM systems define curricula for each specialty of their "clients" (learners) and are investigated suitable information needs. Necessary information is obtained in accordance with the received needs. It should be noted that the ways and sources of obtaining information are different. Thus, information can be obtained from electronic textbooks, data banks, electronic libraries of foreign scientific societies, electronic publications and other resources, as well as various scientific research and educational institutions through scientific cooperation. Through such an approach, the advantages (to choice of place, time, duration and pace of training and to save significantly in financial resources, practicality, time and etc) of distance education can be realized most effectively. Keywords: distance education, electronic materials, electronic textbooks, tv programs, learning computer programs, e-library, distance education organized on basis of CRM.

Objective – To examine the human resources environment in Canadian libraries in order to assess readiness to accommodate change and to identify opportunities for human resources planning. The “8Rs” of the study were defined as recruitment, retirement, retention, remuneration, repatriation, rejuvenation, re-accreditation, and restructuring. Design – This study was undertaken in three phases over nearly three years through the use a variety of methods including literature review, analyses of existing data (Statistics Canada and library school graduate data), telephone interviews (with senior library administrators), focus groups (with representatives from Canadian Association of Research Libraries, Canadian Urban Libraries Council and Alberta Association of Library Technicians), print surveys (library institutions) and web-based surveys (of professional librarians and paraprofessional library staff). Setting – Canadian libraries that are not component branches of a system, and that employ professional librarians. Subjects – Stage I: 17 senior library administrators participated in telephone interviews and three focus groups were conducted. Stage II: Surveyed library administrators representing institutions. A multi-stage stratified random sampling technique was used to ensure geographical representation from each of Canada’s provinces and territories. Full census participation was conducted for members of the Canadian Association of Research Libraries and the Canadian Urban Libraries Council. The print survey instrument was distributed to 1,357 subjects; 461 completed surveys were returned (response rate of 34% with results for the total sample accurate within plus or minus 3.8 per centage points, 95 times out of 100). Stage III: Surveyed professional librarians and paraprofessional staff. Multi-stage random sampling was used to ensure representation of library staff from all library sectors and sufficient sub-sample sizes. Of the 12,472 individuals in the sampling frame, 8,626 were notified of their selection to participate in the web-based survey. Corrections were made to e-mail addresses and 7,569 e-mail invitations with the survey URL were sent successfully. Of the 8,626 potential respondents, 3,148 librarians and paraprofessionals participated (for a response rate of 37%). A non-random Canada-wide call for participation was distributed to library staff who had not been represented in the sampling frame via the listservs of 56 library associations. This provided an additional 1,545 respondents and the total sample size increased to 4,693 for a confidence interval of plus or minus 1.2%, 95 times out of 100. The non-random data from the Canada-wide call was kept in a separate dataset file. Methods – Stage I began with a literature review and analysis of existing Statistics Canada and library school graduate data. Three focus group sessions with representatives from Canadian Association of Research Libraries, Canadian Urban Libraries Council and Alberta Association of Library Technicians were held and in-depth telephone interviews were conducted in May 2003 with 17 senior library administrators. Transcripts were thematically coded and summarised. The interview guide is available as Appendix E of the report. The results of Stage I were used to inform the design of the two survey instruments (Stages II and III). Stage II was a 17-page print survey informed by insights gathered in Stage I and was sent to library directors in the summer of 2003. The print mail-out of the institutional survey was sent to libraries that employed at least one librarian and were not a component branch of another system. A copy of the institutional survey is available as Appendix C of the report. Stage III was a web-based survey of librarians and paraprofessional library staff undertaken in the summer of 2004 using random and non-random sampling methods. This survey was developed from insights gathered in Stages I and II. A copy of the individual survey is available as Appendix D of the report. Main results – The analytical focus of the 275-page report is on the broad Canadian library sector. Data and analysis are provided by type of library, type of staff, and by geographical regions where sufficient response rates have allowed reporting. Although the role of the paraprofessional is examined in many sections of the report, the principal focus is on the professional librarian. Nine sections of the report present results, analysis and strategic human resource planning implications. Highlights for the broad Canadian library environment are briefly described below. Each section of the report provides further breakdown by library sector, type of position, career stage and other variables that provide significant insight. Workplace Demographic Characteristics (Section C) This section provides demographic information about those in supervisory or management roles (62% of librarians), union density (67% of librarians and 79% of paraprofessional staff), longevity in career, part-time employment, and gender, along with other characteristics. Results conclude that visible minorities and Aboriginal staff are under-represented across all types of libraries and that few libraries recognise the credentials of immigrant librarians. Recruitment to the Profession and to the Organization (Section D) Positive exposure to libraries and librarians is the best predictor of librarianship as a career choice and there were no significant differences in the original motivations for choosing the professional librarian career between new professionals and senior librarians. In response to the open-ended question about motivation for choosing librarianship, none of the librarian respondents (n=1,823) indicated leadership, managing libraries or supervising others as their reason (p. 52). Many respondents indicated reasons for choosing the profession that are in alignment with the values of librarianship, but few indicated reasons that reflect the real nature of the librarians’ role. The average age of new librarian recruits is 37 (with little variation between sectors). Thirty per cent of paraprofessionals are interested in pursuing an MLIS degree; 29 per cent are not interested because they are satisfied with their current role. The major barriers for paraprofessionals wishing to pursue the MLIS degree are inadequate or unrecognised credentials (21% - although 45% of paraprofessionals have an undergraduate degree), geographic distance (33%), lack of money (48%), and lack of time (49%). Eighty per cent of libraries report that the major barrier to recruiting is budget constraints; other barriers include small size of library (60%), organizational hiring freeze (54%), inadequate librarian pay (54%), geographic location (52%), inadequate pool of qualified candidates (51%), and inadequate pool of interested candidates (50%). The ten most important and difficult-to-fill competencies when recruiting varied significantly for each sector: leadership potential, ability to respond flexibly to change, and ability to handle high-volume workload were the three highest-ranked competencies across all libraries. Retirement (Section E) Canadian libraries experienced librarian retirements (11% of total current workforce) and paraprofessional retirements (7% of total current workforce) between 1997 and 2002. During this period, 79 per cent of librarians retired before age 65. Forty per cent of librarians over age 50 estimate that they will retire between 55 and 60. Only 9 per cent of libraries have a succession plan. Staff Retention: Inter- and Intra-organizational Mobility (Section F) Librarians are satisfied with their work and stay in their organization because they like the job (85%), co-workers (84%), and workplace (79%). Seventy-seven per cent of senior librarians and 87% of senior paraprofessionals have been at their current library for more than 10 years. Sixty-nine per cent of librarians believe they are qualified to move to higher level positions, but 69% of institutions state that limited librarian turnover contributes to a lack of promotional opportunities. Education (Section G) Seventy-five per cent library administrators agree that MLIS programs equip graduates with needed competencies, but 58% recommended that the programs provide more management, business and leadership training. Seventy-six per cent of administrators believe that they have little or no input into curriculum content of MLIS programs. Overall evaluation of MLIS education by recent librarian entrants is not positive. Only forty-four per cent indicated that the program provided a realistic depiction of the job, while only 36% said the program provided a realistic expectation of work in their library sector. Recent librarian entrants (67%) were satisfied with the overall quality of their MLIS program, but few indicated that their program provided them with the necessary management skills (25%), leadership skills (20%), or business skills (12%) for their position. Recent library technician entrants were more satisfied (81%) with their programs’ success in providing general skills (87%), and providing a realistic depiction of the job (72%). Continuing Education (Section H) New librarians (72%) need a significant amount of ongoing training, but only 56% believe that their institution provides sufficient training opportunities. Only 30% of libraries have a routine method for determining training needs of librarians and fewer (13 %) have an evaluation method for training outcomes. In most cases, about half of those who received training reported that it improved their job performance. Quality of Work and Job Satisfaction (Section I) Librarians and paraprofessionals are satisfied with their jobs (79% for each) and librarians (72%) and paraprofessionals (61%) agree that their salary is fair. Most libraries offer a wide range of benefits to their employees, including life insurance (95%), pension plan (92%), and medical benefits (88%). Librarians (80%) and paraprofessionals (70%) are satisfied with their benefits. Although a low percentage of librarians agreed that they have little job stress (24%) and only 39% found their workload to be manageable, 62% of librarians agree that their work allows work, family and personal life balance. The statistics are slightly more positive for paraprofessionals. There is a gap between the desire to be treated with respect (98% for all workers) and the perception that respect is conveyed (77% of librarians and 75% of paraprofessionals). A similar gap exists between desire to be involved in decision-making and actual involvement. The two most important factors for job satisfaction for all library workers are respectful treatment and a job that allows them to learn new skills and grow. Numerical Librarian Demand-Supply Match (Section J) Libraries hired more librarians than they lost in 2002, for a net three per cent increase. Many library administrators believe that there will be a five-year increased demand for librarians (77%) and paraprofessionals (81%). The short-term supply (next 5 years) of new librarians to replace departures due to retirements is predicted to have the capacity to fill 98 per cent of the current librarian positions; the capacity to replace library technicians is 99 per cent. The long-term supply (next 10 years) of new librarians to replace departures due to retirements is predicted to have the capacity to fill 89 per cent of the current librarian positions; the capacity to fill technician positions is identical. These predictions are based on no growth in the number of positions in the future. Match Between Organizational Job Function Demand and Individual Staff Supply of Skills, Abilities, Talents, Interests (Section K) Libraries report that increased use of information technologies (87%) and re-engineering (61%) have contributed the greatest change in the roles of librarians. Libraries report that more librarians have been required to perform a wider variety of tasks in the past five years (93%) and that this trend will continue over the coming five years (94%). A high percentage of libraries (86%) reported that over the past five years librarians have been expected to perform more management functions and 56% of mid-career and senior librarians believed this had occurred. Libraries (88%) believe that this trend will continue; only 44% of librarians indicate interest in performing management functions. Mid-career and senior librarians report that job stress has increased over five years ago. Requirements to work harder (55%), perform more difficult tasks (56%), perform a wider variety of tasks (69%), and perform more managerial functions (56%) are the contributing factors. The performance of a wider variety of tasks and more difficult tasks was significantly related to the assessment by librarians that their jobs were more enjoyable, interesting, rewarding and challenging. Institutions (78%) reported the increased need for paraprofessionals to perform librarian tasks over the past five years and believe that this will continue (77%). Only 28% of paraprofessionals believe they are currently required to perform more librarian tasks. Conclusion – The need to confirm the existence and magnitude of the crisis that will be created by upcoming retirements in Canadian libraries was a primary motivator for this study. Conclusive results were obtained that should inform each sector and geographic area in Canada. The percentages of staff over the age of 55 (librarians: 25%; paraprofessionals: 21%) is much greater than that of the Canadian workforce (11%). If there is no growth in the number of positions needed, there will be no short-term supply-demand crisis to fill the gaps left by retirements. There will be a librarian and technician shortage in ten years (a shortfall of 11% of the current supply) and a more significant crisis if the predicted growth in staffing is factored in. Recruitment to the librarian and technician professions is critical and the paraprofessional staff may be a potential pool of future MLIS candidates if the accessibility issues associated with the programs are addressed. Only nine per cent of organizations have a succession plan in place. There is great opportunity for the development of strategic solutions. In response to the open-ended question about motivation for choosing librarianship, no respondent indicated leadership, managing libraries or supervising others as their reason. This is of concern when 62% of librarians today work in a managerial role. Management and leadership skills are a significant concern for recent graduates, administrators, and librarians, with all indicating that the workplace needs are greater than the current preparedness. More cooperation with MLIS programs and professional associations is essential to ensure that leadership and management skill development are supported through the curricula and continuing education planning. Organizations must also develop and support a culture where leadership is encouraged and expected, and recognised. There is a need for further development of continuing education opportunities, and training needs assessment and outcome assessment programs may be beneficial. Paraprofessionals and new librarians are less satisfied with the workplace training opportunities available to them than librarians in later stages of their careers. Role change will continue in libraries and planning will be essential to ensure that restructuring reflects the competencies that will be needed in the new mix. Workload and job stress appear to be rising and will require careful monitoring. There may be opportunity to define roles for “other” professionals in libraries. Library staff have a tendency to stay in their institution for much of their career, making decisions in the recruitment and hiring processes of critical importance. Loss of employees due to turnover is not a problem for most libraries, but the lack of turnover has affected the promotional opportunities for those who desire upward mobility. An interesting recommendation was made that two or more libraries may realise both cost savings and benefits through the sharing of staffing resources. If issues surrounding credentials can be addressed, there may be a potential pool of future immigrant librarians.