Outreach to Distance Students: A Case Study of a New Distance Librarian

Abstract

This paper looks at the author's outreach efforts as a distance librarian to encourage library use among a distance student population that comprises satellite locations, students attending online, students attending courses through instructional television, and students attending hybrid courses. Outcomes of the author's outreach attempts and research demonstrating what other librarians have done to reach out to their distance population are discussed. Examples of outreach methods include: collaborating with faculty to blend information literacy instruction into a face-to-face subject specific distance classroom, embedding the librarian into a subject specific class via course management software, and using the reference interview to provide electronic research help to a class. Many distance students never enter the physical library. Librarians serving a distance population are forced to be creative in outreach efforts.