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Distance Education Library Newsletter, #1, Winter 2004-2005

News from your Distance Education Librarian, Rebecca Hedreen

First of all, I'd like to introduce myself. My name is Rebecca Hedreen. I have a Master's in Library Services and have just finished a Master's in Education, Adult Education and Distance Learning, via University of Phoenix's Online Program (so I have some familiarity with online education!) I have spent the last 6 years as the Interlibrary Loan Librarian at University of Maryland Eastern Shore, with stints as Webmaster, Reference Librarian, and acting Circulation Librarian.

What is a Distance Education Librarian? The basic outline of the position is to provide a contact point for the library needs of online faculty and students.

  • Are you unsure what the library has to offer for your online classes?
  • Do you have questions about how to provide readings for your online students?
  • Are your students having trouble finding appropriate materials for assignments?

Ask me!

What the Distance Education Librarian is NOT...

  • I am not a replacement for your subject librarian. If you wish to have a library instruction class, for instance, I will work with your subject librarian to provide materials and techniques suitable for an online class.
  • I am not a selector for distance education library purchases. Distance Education does not have a library budget, so all recommendations and requests should go to your subject librarian. I can provide assistance in choosing something to recommend, however, such as finding the availability of an e-book version of a particular title.

What do I need from the online faculty? Let me know what you and your students need.

  • Are you consistently seeing poor quality web resources being used as references?
  • Are you unable to use a favorite print source because your online students have no access to it?
  • Do you want to recommend an online resource to the library?

Let me know!

portrait

Rebecca Hedreen
hedreenr1@southernct.edu
203-392-5753
Buley Library, Rm. 214

DE News

E-Reserves! - The Electronic Reserves pilot project has started. Library Science, Nursing, and History were covered by the pilot project, which ran through the fall 2004 semester. All departments can now request E-Reserves. E-Reserves are available through the CONSULS Library Catalog and are searchable by course name and by instructor.

Full text linking - Most of the library databases support direct linking to the full text of articles, so it is possible to put a link in your syllabus or reading list directly to the full text of the article. Let me know which articles or databases you are interested in and I will send you information on direct linking.

Future Plans

  • Tutorials for online research
  • Guides to linking into the full text databases for class readings
  • Website for distance and online education resources

Resources

Distance Education Resource Guide (http://library.scsu.ctstateu.edu/dised.html) - Links to resources inside and outside the library for online faculty and students.

Frequently Answered Questions (Weblog) (http://frequanq.blogspot.com/) - Resources and answers to common questions that come up frequently. This page will be updated more often than the Resource Guide, and will also have news, solutions to temporary problems, and resources for particular assignments or difficulties. Long term solutions and resources of interest to the community in general will be added to the Resource Guide.

The Distance Education Library Newsletter - This newsletter will be archived on the web and will contain news, reviews, and commentary. While primarily aimed at online faculty, online students may also find the materials useful and interesting.