Going the Distance: Library Instruction for Remote Learners (review)

Abstract

Reviewed by: Going the Distance: Library Instruction for Remote Learners Thomas E. Abbott Going the Distance: Library Instruction for Remote Learners, ed. Susan J. Clayton . New York: Neal-Shuman Publishers, Inc., 2006. 225p. $65 soft cover (ISBN 1-55570-592-8) Going the Distance is a useful compilation of thoughts, ideas, and means of delivering instruction to the growing population of new distance learners. The 20 contributors are all in the business of delivering such instruction or otherwise playing a major policy role in the distance learning process at their institutions. The book provides insight about an array of useful tools and models for the distance learning librarian, academic and student development staff who support this growing population, and even distance students themselves. It is especially valuable for the librarian and off-campus administrator beginning or expanding programming for distance students. The book opens with chapters on designing effective instruction. The Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) Guidelines for Distance Learning Library Services are referenced, as are six model institutions. The value of matching distance delivery technique with individual learning theory, as well as the power of social learning experiences for adults, are emphasized. Authors discuss flexible teaching processes that open channels of communication and engage the student, including an in-person (or [End Page 496] at least personal) presence with distance students. Part 1 also includes chapters on copyright and plagiarism, focusing on how to deal effectively with what seems at times like a losing battle to maintain an ethical balance between "free" copying and the concept of reasonable fair use with attribution. Bravo to the authors of these two chapters for their direct approach to a growing problem. Part 2 of the book, "Delivering Distance Instruction," covers a wealth of practical techniques and Web-access ideas that will help make library instruction for the distance student useful and meaningful. Technology is vital to making things happen, but all contributors agree that technology tools are there to support ideas and make the approach more flexible and durable for different audiences; they are not a fixed set of "boxes" into which one must jam ideas. For my library colleagues, I would call attention to the great advice and examples provided in this part of the book. Contributors guide the reader from feeling like a non-techie to feeling comfortable with online tutorials, virtual tours, building Web sites for specific disciplines, and becoming a knowledgeable advocate for the distant student. Part 3 of the book, "Collaborating for Distance Instruction," provides a good summary of approaches for partnering with discipline-based faculty members and instructional designers, as well as means for marketing library instruction. Collaboration is a recurring theme in the publication and a worthy one; we need to engage students as well as the faculty members who teach the course content and the administrative leaders who, in many cases, rarely see what actually happens at the far end of the distance learning pipeline. In the ideal environment, the distance librarian is treated as a full partner with the discipline faculty member in the preparation of an information literate student. The book concludes with an important but often overlooked topic—assessment of what we do. For years, with the steady pressure from accrediting agencies, funding agencies, and legislative bodies, we have all begun work on assessment of student learning outcomes. Most of us have designed the data collection models and even collected some information. What has not happened to any great extent is the application of those findings—that is, how we make what we do work for the student. It is one thing to do a pre- and post-test before and after an instruction session and call it assessment. It is quite another to consider whether library-use instruction during orientation, writing classes, and even upper level research courses has had an impact on our students' information literacy and research ability by the time of graduation. Read these chapters carefully, design your outcome goals, and then figure out how to collect and use the information—and be sure to publish it for the rest of us. If there is a challenge presented in Going the Distance, it is the...