Academic Libraries and Librarian in the Electronic Teaching-Learning Era : Is There Any More Need ?

Abstract

Automation: KV (NTPC) Kayamkulam

Presently, it is a matter of discussion that, library and librarian will become redundant in the tech-based education system. Some may thinks that library without wall and library without librarian are the same. Practically these two are quite different from each other. In the virtual library era it is somehow possible to have a library without wall. The role of the librarian and library professional just changes their identity, e.g. Cybrarian, formation Processor, Information Consultant, etc. To cope with the rapid changes of the technology and to control the ephemeral rate of information generation, librarians along with his professional colleagues should have to equip themselves as per the requirement of the electronic information society. In the light of the above, the present paper would like to highlight the reasons why library and librarian is essential in the modern technology based library service era. The paper also tries to point out the role of the librarian in the changing society, services offered by the e-library, e-learning and issues faced by the librarian.

Introduction

The nature of the academic library and the role they play in campus is changing. Libraries are moving towards an information commons model of service, and becoming campus community centers. They invite student and faculty socialization, learning, research, scholarship and instruction. They are most effective when programming, services, and spaces are developed in partnership with others seeking similar

educational outcomes. Academic libraries will increasingly provide information and services to o their users at right time as per their requirement. Whatever the changes, the traditional roles of a library in an academic community, especially those communities that aren’t changing substantially themselves, will remain valid and important to a successful college or university. Technology and Education Technology is transforming the traditional methods of teaching and learning in the classrooms of the 21st

Century. The goal is to create students who can become active, independent and lifelong learners rather than passive recipients of information. This new approach to education takes the student beyond the traditional textbook and requires students to develop

a combination of skills in computer technology, critical thinking and information-seeking strategies. The classroom teacher is the key to the success of an education program that promotes these qualities. Society has long viewed librarians as the acknowledged information experts. As modern-day librarians we represent a professional group that long ago learned to bridge the gap between the traditional methods and the modern technological techniques used in the organization, management and retrieval of information.

Virtual library Environment

The concept of the virtual library is one that has developed with the growth in telecommunication networks, especially the Internet. The ‘virtual library’ emulates a ‘real’ library, but is understood to be a product of the virtual world of the Internet. A digital library possesses the same functions and goals of the traditional print-based library and that the difference lies in ‘the digital part of the term [which] indicates merely that the material is stored and accessed digitally’. Comprehensive definition of the digital library is provided by the Digital Library Federation (1999) in the United States:

Organizations that provide the resources, including the specialized staff, to select,

structure, offer intellectual access to, interpret, distribute, preserve the integrity of, and ensure the persistence over time of collections of digital works so that they are readily and economically available for use by a defined community or set of communities.

E-teaching and E-learning

Electronic learning (or E-Learning or eLearning)

is a term for all types of technology-enhanced learning (TEL), where technology is used to support the learning process. Often the medium of instruction is through computer technology, particularly involving digital technologies. E-learning has been defined as

“pedagogy empowered by digital technology”. In some instances, no face-to-face interaction takes place. E learning is used interchangeably in a wide variety of contexts. In companies, it refers to the strategies that use the company network to deliver training courses to employees. In the United States, it is defined as a planned teaching/learning experience that uses a wide spectrum of technologies, mainly Internet or computer based, to reach learners. Lately in most universities, e-learning is used to define a specific mode to attend a course or programs of study where the students rarely, if ever, attend face-to-face for on-campus access to educational facilities, because they study online.

Goals and Benefits of e-learning

E-learning lessons are generally designed to guide students through information or to help students perform in specific tasks. Information based e-Learning content communicates information to the student. Examples include content that distributes the history or facts related to a service, company, or product. In information-based content, there is no specific skill to be learned. In performance-based content, the lessons build off of a procedural skill in which the student is expected to increase proficiency. E learning can provide four major benefits for the organizations and individuals involved. i. Access to quality education: The fact that instructors of the highest caliber can share their knowledge across borders allows students to attend courses across physical, political, and

Social boundaries. Recognized experts have the opportunity of distributing information

internationally at minimum costs. ii. Affordable education: E-learning can drastically

reduce the costs of higher education, making it much more affordable and accessible to the masses. An Internet connection, a computer, and a projector would allow an entire classroom in a Third World university to benefit from the knowledge of a distant instructor. iii. Convenience and flexibility to learners: in many contexts, e learning is self-paced and the learning sessions are available 24x7. Learners are not bound to a specific day/time to physically attend classes. They can also pause learning sessions at their convenience. iv. Reducing environmental impact: e-learning allows people to avoid travel, thus reducing the overall carbon output. The fact that it takes place in a virtual environment also allows some reduction of paper usage. With virtual notes instead of paper notes and online assessments instead of paper assessments, e Learning is a more

environmentally friendly solution.

Growth of e-learning

By 2006, nearly 3.5 million students were participating in on-line learning at institutions of higher education in the United States. Many institutes of higher education, for-profit institutions, now offer on-line classes. By contrast, only about half of private, nonprofit schools offer them. The Sloan report, based on a poll of academic leaders, says that students generally appear to be at least as satisfied with their on-line classes as they are with traditional ones. Private institutions may become more involved with on-line presentations as the cost of instituting such a system decreases. Properly trained staff must also be hired to work with students on-line. These staff members need to understand the content area, and also be highly trained in the use of the computer and Internet. Online education is rapidly increasing, and online doctoral programs have even developed at

leading research universities.

Academic Information Resources in the Age

of Information

Information resources in all formats with adequate depth and quantity need to be provided in the library for students’ experimentation and exploration. Such

resources should promote student-centered, resource based, problem-solving and independent learning. Self paced resources that enable the customization of

learning and the impacting of specific skills to students should be promoted. This approach enables the student to direct his own learning while the teacher and the librarian work in partnership facilitate and guide the student along the learning process. It is a

flexible system, as students do not have to read the same texts, or use the same resources in order to gain experiences and develop relevant skills. As they see the correlation between text, graphics and sound they are then able to sharpen their creativity skills.

The information age university library is a laboratory of learning where abundant information resources in all formats and their accompanying infrastructure are

available for exploration and skills development.

The Roles of the Librarian

Librarian is a professionally trained person responsible for the care of a library and its contents, including the selection, processing and organization of resources and the delivery of information, instruction and loan service to meet the needs of its users. In an online environment, the role of the librarian is to manage and mediate access to information that may exist only in electronic form. Cybrarian a shortened form of Cyber librarian, coined from the term ‘cyberspace’ and ‘librarian’ to refer to librarian whose work routinely involves information retrieval and dissemination via the Internet and the

use of other online resources. Melville Dewey wrote in an early edition of the American

Library Journal: It is not enough that the books are cared for properly, are well arranged, are never lost... [The librarian] must put every facility in the way of the readers, so that they shall be led on from good to better. He must teach them how, after studying

their own wants, they may themselves select their reading wisely. Crawford and Gorman (1995) have defined the role of the librarian today: To acquire, give access to, and safeguard carriers of knowledge and information in all forms and to provide instruction and assistance in the use of the collections to which their users have access...  [Libraries] are about the preservation, dissemination, and use of recorded knowledge in

Whatever form it may come. The enhanced role of librarians is pivotal to the success of the academic enterprise of the knowledge society and could contribute to academic acceleration in the following ways: The collection development role – that provides

the materials for research and scholarship and involves selection, acquisition, processing for access, and control. l The information consultation role – that guides

the student or faculty member toward the best materials to meet their information needs.

l The instruction role – that helps develop students (and faculty) into information fluent citizens capable of long-term continued self-education and effective and ethical use of information.

Ø      The archival role – of collecting, preserving and carefully sharing the historical   records of an institution and the people who have worked there.

Ø      The incredibly important and under-appreciated role – of Special Collections in creating a unique intellectual focus and identity for an institution.

Ø      The role of the library in providing – not only spaces for group study or digital media creation and viewing, but for individual reflective work – for people who don’t care a whit for an “information commons” and do not need or want to work or study with others. Some other roles are as;

Ø      To provide intellectual access to information in any format

Ø      To evaluate available sources of information

Ø      To organize and structure information

Ø      To ensure the preservation of information

Ø      To provide specialized staff to offer instruction and assistance in interpreting resources and access to resources The functions and contributions of human component in Digital Library environment may represent as below depending upon the job/activities they have to performed;

Services offered by the E-library

E-library services include the following:

Ø      Online/offline access to digital information resources;

Ø      Database searching;

Ø      Public access services;

Ø      Electronic reference;

Ø      Public relations services;

Ø      Library promotion and marketing;

Ø      E-publishing;

Ø      Information literacy programs;

Ø      Online circulation activities, such as electronic reserves;

Ø      User Services and queries; and

Ø      Online access to library catalogues, databases and the Internet.

Ø      The top issues facing by the academic libraries may be summarized as under:

Ø      E-library services includes the following:

Ø      Online/offline access to digital information resources;

Ø      Database searching;

Ø      Public access services;

Ø      Electronic reference;

Ø      Public relations services;

Ø      Library promotion and marketing;

Ø      E-publishing;STRATEGIC ROLES OF ACADEMIC

Ø      Information literacy programmes; Online circulation activities, such as electronic reserves;

Ø      User Services, and queries; and

Ø      Online access to library catalogues, databases and the Internet.