Open Learning Students and Libraries

Abstract

Concern has been expressed by librarians about the availability of adequate library support for Open Learning students, ie students enrolled through the Open Learning Agency of Australia (OLAA). This paper considers some of the problems facing these students, who may not have studied as external students previously, and discusses available data on their use of libraries, based on the experience of Deakin University. It was found that less than a quarter of the students studying Deakin units had enrolled for library services at Deakin, although a survey of OLAA students resident in the Geelong area showed that over 40% had registered with local tertiary libraries. It thus appears that these students may well be using a range of libraries. The paper emphasises that Open Learning students are deprived of many of the traditional support and counselling services usually available to external students and that more needs to be done by librarians to ensure that adequate library support is available. The Open Learning Agency of Australia needs to consider how it can improve its support for these students.

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