DISTANCE LEARNING/
DIGITAL LIBRARIES
BY PROF. JANE DEVINE

Much discussion is being held lately on Distance Learning and its impact on the way colleges will be doing business in the future.  It is a challenging approach to education.  College Libraries also have a role in distance learning and must evolve services to complement and support their teaching faculty associates.

Of course when one thinks of accessing libraries and information sources from a distance, one thinks these days of the Internet/World Wide Web.  Libraries have already made adjustments to accommodate this new freedom of access, and it is not uncommon to see references to the "virtual library" or the "digital library."  Librarians are morphing into cybrarians.

The "virtual library" exists totally on the web.  The CUNY Libraries have a web site which was designed with the objective of offering a "virtual library" approach.  It has gathered together many links to web sites useful for our students.  Students needn't come to the library to access a dictionary, directory and some basic reference guides, if they exist online.  All that is needed is that they be organized for easy use, and librarians are experienced at organizing material.

The digital library is a more difficult state to achieve, but it is perhaps the more true complement to distance learning.  It includes the concept of the web-based virtual library but intends much more and includes other electronic formats.  The Association of Research Libraries offers this definition of the digital library.
-The digital library is not a single entity.
-The digital library requires technology to  link the resources of many.
-Universal access to digital libraries and  information services is a goal.

Libraries have for a long time formed networks and cooperatives to accomplish their ends, and will continue to do so in the future.

Equally important, in order to reach out to, and offer access to distance resources, libraries must have the necessary technology.  The digital library will include all kinds of electronic resources.  Technology requires a commitment to keep up with advances so that continuing access can be sustained at an appropriate level.  E-mail is a common means for class assignments to be posted and received.  Entire course curricula are posted at university and library sites for ready access.  We already see some libraries converting reserve titles into accessible web material, in order to reach their distant users.  A goal of universal access to library resources complements a goal of universal access to education and lifelong learning experiences.

The digital library, as well as distance learning, has many issues to confront.  The one thing that is certain is that discussions of these issues will fill our professional literature for a long time to come.  I have listed some resources that might prove helpful as a starting point.

Berkeley's Digital Library Project
http://sunsite.berkeley.edu/

CUNY Libraries Web Site
http://libraries.cuny.edu

Daedalus, v.125, Fall, 1996.  Entire issue given over to the library of the future.

"Definition and Purposes of a Digital Library."  Association of Research Libraries.  October 23, 1995.  Berkeley Digital Library Sunsite http://www.arl.org/sunsite/definition.html

D-Lib Magazine: the magazine of Digital Library Research.  http://www.dlib.org

Lamolinara, Guy.  "National Digital Library Program" in Bowker Annual Library and Book Trade Almanac.  1966 pp. 81-4.