Primary Research Group Inc. has published The Survey of Library Services for
Distance Learning Programs (ISBN: 1-57440-098-3).  The Survey of Library
Services for Distance Learning Programs presents benchmarking data from
more than 100 college libraries concerning their programs for serving their
distance learning students.  This 145 page report gives extensive data, broken
out by size and type of college, for public and private colleges, and for U.S.
and Non-U.S. libraries.  Among the more than 500 tables of data presented is
information about: data on the provision of serials to distance learners, the
cost of shipping such materials, use of eBook and databases by distance
learners; percentage of libraries that offer special classes for distance
learners; future plans to offer information literacy courses to distance
learners; policies on providing web pages, blogs or listservs that specifically
serve the needs of distance learners; number of interactive online tutorials
provided to distance learners; state of relations between the library and
distance learning instructors and data on  many, many other facets of
distance learning librarianship.

Some of the report’s many findings are that:

•	Just over half of the sample, 53%, maintained agreements with other
libraries to offer services to other college's distance learners.

•	Colleges with a smaller number of students enrolled in distance
learning tended to be more likely to have reciprocal agreements to provide
library services to the distance learning students of other colleges. Over 90%
of colleges with fewer than 250 FTE distance learners offered their library
access or services to students enrolled in other colleges' distance learning
programs, but just 47% of colleges with between 250 and 999 FTE distance
learners reported the same, as did 63% of colleges with between 1,000 and
2,000 FTE distance learners and over 55% of colleges with over 2,000 FTE
distance learners.

•	78% of colleges with over 2,000 FTE distance learners had a liaison
to the distance learning program, compared with 68.4% of colleges with
between 1,000 to 2,000 FTE distance learners and 71% of colleges with fewer
than 250 FTE distance learners.

•	Just over 11% of the sample had a specific disbursement or line item
in the library budget for distance learning programs.

•	Exactly half of survey respondents offered special classes or training
programs for distance learners. Non-U.S. libraries were 20% more likely than
U.S. libraries to offer such classes.

•	Just over a third of the sample, 37%, offered any kind of formal non-
credit or credit course worth 1, 2, or 3 credits on the subject of information
literacy for either distance learners or traditional students.

•	The majority of the sample, over 72%, had a Web page on the
library Website dedicated to the needs of distance learners.

•	Private colleges reported almost 3 times the mean number of
interactive online tutorials as public colleges, as well as 3 times the median.

•	Seven in 10 respondents did not keep track of distance learners'
usage of library-sponsored, posted or directed tutorials and guides to the
library's resources, compared to traditional students. Over 14% reported that
distance learners and traditional students used these tutorials and guides to
the same extent, while over 11% reported that distance learners actually used
these resources more than traditional students.

•	Over a third of the sample had an equivalent to the traditional
orientation program for new distance learners. Over 40% of U.S. libraries and
16% of non-U.S. libraries had an orientation program for distance learners.

•	The mean shipping costs accrued annually by sending physical
books, magazines and other educational materials to distance learners was
$2,048, with a median of $75 and maximum of $19,850.

•	Just over half of the sample, over 52%, reported that they had no
restrictions on the delivery of books, articles and other paper versions of
intellectual property to distance learners, meaning that they deliver such
materials even if the students live close to campus,

•	The vast majority of the sample, close to 89%, reported that the
cost of shipping library materials to distance learners was generally paid for by
the library

This 145 page reports presents a broad range of data about the relationship
between college libraries and distance learning programs. Data is broken out
for public and private colleges, by enrollment size and by Carnegie Class, and
other criteria, to allow for easier benchmarking.

For a complete table of contents, excerpts and other information, visit our
website at www.primaryresearch.com.