ABSTRACT
Delivering library instruction to off-campus students offers numerous challenges. The varying needs of the teaching faculty and user need to be considered. Does the user need general information, specific database searching techniques, or want to know more about ILLiad? What about “point of need”? Can this information be integrated into the off-campus classes? At Appalachian State University Libraries we are using an array of online tools and are exploring others. An interactive guide, Virtual Research @ ASU Libraries: A Guide for Off-campus Students, uses animations to provide information about library services and procedures. With faculty in Instructional Technology, we built a virtual library to deliver research assistance within AppEdTech (a 3-D virtual teaching environment). We have provided orientations to the virtual library (led by a librarian avatar) via voice-over-IP. WebCT also provides a number of opportunities to deliver information, including the faculty professional development course, Preparing to Teach Online, which contains a library support and information literacy module. During 2006, we will experiment with screen casting to provide mini tutorials, small group discussions within WebCT and offering Instant Messaging to our distance learning community.
