Assisting the uptake of on-line resources: why good learning resources are not enough

Abstract

The proliferation of information resources for learning, and the increased range of media that make up learning resources, introduce new challenges for those supporting the effective use of online resources within education. This paper describes the importance of good on-line resources, and why despite the best efforts of their developers and institutional support staff, their uptake is low. It explores the issues of matching resources available to the identified needs of users and to their perceived expectations. An analysis of common strategies employed in building collections to improve uptake is made. While the impacts of these strategies are limited when separately adopted, it is possible to increase their effectiveness by combining collection-based and user-based strategies. A revised definition of critical mass is offered that is user-oriented and takes into account the human and technological constraints of developing and maintaining online resource services. The process of needs-analysis is linked to the central role of evaluation in building collections of resources that demonstrably meet the needs of users. The paper concludes that elements of both strategies are necessary to build collections that do support learning.