Distance Learning and Digital Library

Distance Learning and the Digital Library

In the article titled, Distance Learning and the Digital Library: Transforming the Library into an Information Center, Roberta Derlin attempts to show a vision of the transformation of the library from a respiratory of printed material to a digital library serving as a complete information center. This article portrays how emphasis is being placed on distance education since the future information centers will be distant learner-centered. Technology has the power of transforming libraries into the digital library of the future. According to Derlin, distance learning continues to proliferate and expand educational opportunities. The article implies that through technology, distance learning enhances opportunities for interaction, cooperative learning, and the formation of communities of learners rather than relying on traditional face-to-face lecture. Without technology the search skills of the librarian or student access is limited by factors influencing the magnitude of the collection. Derlin clearly depicts how representative surveys on library usage suggest that library patrons which also include distant learners, are interested in technology and the use of computers as means to pursue knowledge. The article shows that as access to more information through electronic means continues to increase, the public’s interest in technology as a means to master is being realized. It states that the traditional reliance on print media is being gradually eroded and the learning environment is becoming more and more technologically diverse and complex. It is suggested that the goals and aspirations must be supported through expanded and technological sophisticated services that will not only identify information sources, but also develop them. The article claims that just as the Internet and World Wide Web have eliminated the physical distance between many traditional respiratory libraries, in-home computers can eliminate the physical distance between the individual and the information’s resident location. Derling points out that the technological environment is getting ever more user friendly. The introduction of sound and pictures magnifies the educational experience and supports the varied learning styles of individual learners.. The development of electronic learning modules provide a basis for the information centers of the future. The article makes the implication that the challenge presently faced by distant learners pursuing knowledge is not how to access some or enough information, but how effective it is to use and manage existing technologies for distant learning. The Internet will continue to provide an unparalleled state of world-wide connectivity among diverse people and access to it will increasingly and extend to people in their homes, vehicles, post offices, information centers, malls, offices and educational centers. This article also concludes that individuals will increasingly be able to self-publish their views on the Internet, more broadly than ever before and far more accessible to others than traditional printed media. The future library as information center will have an expanded role in providing educational activities, services, material and opportunities for human interaction. The library will also provide technology for human interaction. Future libraries will continue to incorporate existing and improved technologies in new and creative ways.

Reference
Derlin, Roberta l.; Distance Learning and the Digital Library: Transforming the Library into an Information Center. (1996): US Department of Education Resource Information Center.