ABSTRACT
The University of Oklahoma (OU) has offered distance learning courses for many years through its Advanced Programs (AP) department. Many of these students are overseas, serving in the military while taking classes through OU. All the students are graduate students in various degree programs. The interlibrary loan department spent several years working out the technical difficulties inherent in providing adequate library service to this diverse population. It was generally agreed that although the AP service left something to be desired, there were some advantages to the way things were done for these students. In 1995, Advanced Programs staff met with University Libraries staff to explore the possibilities of providing library services for AP students. Up to that point, distance students had to rely on the local library resources that were available to them. For the most part, few of these local options were academic or research libraries. The decision was made to expand the service to include not only AP and other distance users, but also local users. This new service was named “Sooner Xpress.”
