Electronic Resources in the Virtual Learning

part I: a strategic view of its past, present and future’, D-lib magazine
(April). Available from: http://www.dlib.org/dlib/april97/04lynch
.html.
Sadeh, T. and Walker, J. (2003) ‘Library portals: toward the semantic
web’, New Library World, 104(1184/1185), 11–19.
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Case studies and practical
examples
Introduction
The purpose of this final chapter is to provide a number of case studies
that highlight ways in which electronic resources and digital libraries can
be integrated. The four case studies are all from higher education
institutions within the UK and include:
■
the use of digitised core readings or electronic course packs within a
virtual learning environment;
■
the use of a reading list management system with a description of how
this is presented in the virtual learning environment;
■
the creation of a ‘library area’ within a virtual learning environment,
based on a model developed as part of a JISC-funded project;
■
the creation of an information literacy course for students, delivered
via the virtual learning environment.
There is no standard format used in the case studies and they vary in
length and approach. However, they illustrate ways in which librarians
are working with learning technologists and techniques for integrating
systems to improve the learning experience.
The last section of this chapter is a practical guide to creating links to
different electronic journal resources. These links can then be added to
online reading lists, lecture notes or even teachers’ personal websites.
The ability to link to these resources ensures that learners are able to
locate the resources as they are situated in their learning space. It also
means that the librarian can be sure their collections are being fully
exploited by both teachers and learners.
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Electronic Resources in the Virtual Learning Environment
Case study 1: Electronic coursepacks in
the VLE
The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) is a world-
class centre for research and teaching in the social sciences. Founded in
1895, it is renowned for its atmosphere of intellectual argument and
debate. LSE graduates and former staff have included Nobel Prize
winners in Economics, Peace or Literature, around 29 past or present
Heads of State, 30 current UK MPs and 29 current peers of the House
of Lords. Located in the heart of London it has close links with business,
the media and government. The LSE has almost 7,000 full-time students
and around 750 part-time students. Of these, 38 per cent come from the
UK, 18 per cent from other European Union countries and 44 per cent
from more than 120 countries worldwide. The LSE Library contains
more than four million items, including Fabian, Liberal Party and other
political archives and the famous Charles Booth ‘poverty maps’ of
nineteenth-century London.
At the LSE, integration between the library and e-learning has been
important for a number of years. This case study describes how the
electronic coursepack service, which copyright clears and digitises core
readings, became central to the work of the Centre for Learning
Technology. It also examines how the service was established, how it
currently operates and what the future might hold. Further expansion
and developments to the service undoubtedly will be shaped by the move
towards a blanket licence for digitisation in the UK, which seems likely
to be in place by 2005.
Introduction and background
In 1999 the Library, IT Services and the Teaching and Learning
Development Office collaborated to establish a Learning and Teaching
Technology Group, using staff on secondment. The group introduced a
virtual learning environment to the School and also supported a pilot
service to provide digitised core reading materials. This group
subsequently became the Centre for Learning Technology and the
electronic coursepack service scaled up significantly between 2001 and
2004. This expansion was made possible by funding provided by the LSE
to pay copyright clearance fees and staff to undertake the digitisation.
The LSE first launched a pilot electronic coursepack service in 1999
using Teaching Quality Enhancement Funding from the Higher
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Case studies and practical examples
Education Funding Council for England and an internal grant from the
School. The service was a joint initiative between the library and the
newly established Learning and Teaching Technologies Group. The
service was led and promoted by the Assistant Librarian (Learning
Technology) and supported by a part-time library assistant, who
undertook copyright clearance and scanned the material. In the first year
approximately 20 readings were copyright cleared and scanned in-house
and this service was expanded the following year. The majority of the
readings were made available to students via an online reading list in
WebCT.
In 2001 the LSE joined the HERON Service and the newly appointed
full-time Assistant Librarian undertook a review to compare the service
with the in-house production process. Two coursepacks were outsourced
to HERON. The experience of using HERON in 2001/2 indicated that
this service had a number of advantages, including providing high-
quality digitised files, obtaining permission for a large number of items
and providing valuable information and contacts through the HERON
members area and user group. In 2002 LSE decided to outsource
approximately 30 per cent of the electronic coursepack production to
HERON. This allowed the service to scale up significantly at a time
when the staffing levels for the service remained constant. Since this date,
the LSE has continued to produce electronic coursepacks in-house and
outsource to HERON. In 2003/4 over 900 digitised files were made
available to students from over 70 WebCT courses at a cost of
approximately £47,000.