Open Doors? Modelling accessibility of learning resource facilities

Abstract

Learning Resource Centres (LRCs) are an increasingly common provision in Further Education Colleges. As they have derived from other types of open‐access learning facilities — libraries, Open Learning centres, subject‐based workshops — there is no common pattern of management. Rugby College set up a small facility in 1996, with a view to further expansion the following year. The study was used to support the developments, and as a management tool for the expanded Learning Resource Centre. Students attending the College in 1997 were surveyed to produce profiles of users and non‐users of the existing facility. Attractions and constraints upon use were examined in more detail through interviews with key members of the College staff. From the profiles generated by both surveys, a succession of models were built, showing the interaction of factors which influence utilisation. The key elements were: the College infrastructure; methods of curriculum delivery; the physical and social provision of the facility; the predisposition of the student; the practical and social constraints upon the student. The final model — Management model for student use of an open‐access learning facility — was used to assess the implications for Learning Resource Centre management. The resulting checklist of strategies is offered as a practical support to managers seeking to increase accessibility and utilisation of open‐access learning provision.