Those of us who read GLOSAS News share an interest in developing a global education system that distributes educational opportunities in a more equitable way than that in which they are distributed today. We see education as something that contributes to the common good, something that, when shared, has the possibility to make the world a better place for all of us, the advantaged and disadvantaged alike. This kind of thinking is dramatically opposed to knowledge -- and the power that ensues from it -- being concentrated in the hands of a small minority of power holders who have a stake in maintaining exploitive power systems from which they alone reap the benefits.
The concept that the sharing of ideas and information makes knowledge grow faster -- to the benefit of those who share it -- has gained great popularity in recent years even in the business community where competition is steep. Total quality management and other team based management styles have proven, in many instances, to breathe new vitality into organizations. The Internet itself proves the value of shared knowledge every day as scholars and others discuss the ideas and values that are important to them and come away with something new that they would not have come to know on their own.
Educators have traditionally been in the business of sharing information. As educators, librarians have focused on this role. Librarians facilitate the research process, acting as catalysts to the formation of new knowledge. They play a critical role in education since they help students and others identify and use appropriate research tools in a world of ever expanding and confusing choices.
It is the conducting of research which brings greatest educational benefit in any discipline, and it is the topic researched that really sticks with the student for a lifetime. The memorization of material has much less long term value, and it doesn't involve the learner in the creation of knowledge. It doesn't prepare the student to actively participate in a world of shared knowledge.
Libraries have fulfilled the needs of researchers for centuries; and, at least since the advent of public libraries and universal access to universities (in some countries), libraries have served all who come, not just an elite few who own or control the information.
The question is this: how are we to provide this service at a distance? The Internet is already a powerful global educational tool with much, as yet, untapped potential. It is especially useful for finding research material on contemporary topics, and it is also useful for locating select historical material in many disciplines. Universal access to the Internet is part of the answer.
But the depth and breadth of the centuries of accumulated printed knowledge simply is not there as yet, and the prospect of putting all this on the Internet just doesn't seem feasible at this point. The cost and time that would be involved in scanning and digitally storing the information contained in all the major libraries of the world is still prohibitive.
The issue of ownership -- copyright -- is also a major obstacle to such an endeavour. We are still based in a money economy where people expect a monetary return for their work, educational knowledge work included. We educators work in a world of contradictions. We share our knowledge and spend our lives working toward the spread of ideas and information, but we still want to own the information that we create. After all, we too must earn our livelihood. We don't want to give it away only to let someone else make a quick buck on what we create.
The computer shareware distribution model might be one means of distributing knowledge in a way in which the creator gets some monetary return, but this method has its own obvious flaws. The shareware model allows the user to obtain the complete product, test it out and then decide whether or not to pay for it. Many consumers do pay, but one can procure a new program, use it and never pay for it. Knowledge products could be distributed in this way as well, but payment would be equally unpredictable.
So, how are we to get the necessary information to the learner who does not have access to a library suitable to his/her particular research needs? In many countries and in the rural areas of developed nations, students cannot rely on local libraries to provide what they need when they are enrolled in courses being offered from a distance. After all, libraries, too, are involved in a money economy. Resources are scarce, and these institutions must focus on serving the needs of their primary audience: local users. We cannot expect them to fill all the gaps in information which we cannot provide directly from a distance.
Although there are many obstacles to providing research support for distant learners, I am still hopeful. At present, I see distance education offering a whole world of opportunities to learners via courses which do not requre in-depth library research. Much teaching and learning can still occur through carefully designed courses which work around deficiencies in available research materials. Teachers will need to provide their students directly with carefully prepared materials, for they will not necessarily be able to rely on students to be able to fill in the gaps in information they need. Of course, this type of course offering is more suited to certain subjects than others. In choosing what courses to offer at a distance, educators need to bear in mind the limitations that may present themselves to learners who conduct research at a distance.
Tina Evans Greenwood,
Reference Librarian/Assistant Professor,
Western Illinois University
(now Library Instruction Coordinator,
Fort Lewis College)
e-mail: greenwood_t@fortlewis.edu
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URL: http://library.fortlewis.edu/~instruct/glosas/lib61.htm
March, 1996
GLOSAS NEWS was orinally posted to the WWW at URL: http://library.fortlewis.edu/~instruct/glosas/cont.htm by Tina Evans Greenwood, Library Instruction Coordinator, Fort Lewis College, Durango, Colorado 81301, e-mail: greenwood_t@fortlewis.edu, and last updated May 7, 1999. By her permission the whole Website has been archived here at the University of Tennessee server directory of GLOSAS Chair Dr. Takeshi Utsumi from July 10, 2000 by Steve McCarty in Japan.