ABSTRACT
A characteristic of distance education is the recognition of the need for a base where students can come together and meet their tutors, counsellors and other students. Whilst Richard Freeman (1982) has reminded us that personal teacher-student interaction is not a sine qua non for learning, and public libraries as “universities of the people” for generations are a monument to this, Davies (1980) and Entwistle (1977) have both stressed the psychological and motivational benefits of providing the individual learner with a base.
