ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries


F eb ru a ry 1 9 9 6 /  75

use of automation technology, and the estab­
lishment of the national online bibliographic 
database (NBINet). The report outlines the de­
velopment and current status of library auto­
mation in Taiwan and discusses issues related 
to cooperative cataloging of Chinese-language 
materials at the international level. Contact Elisa 
T o p p e r a t (800) 545-2433, ext. 2523, or 
elisa.topper@ala.org to request a copy.

Consortia sign agreem ent w ith 
Encyclopaedia Britannica
Four university consortia have signed agree­
ments with Encyclopædia Britannica, bringing 
the num ber o f college students with access to 
Britannica Online to well over one million. Sign­
ing agreem ents with Britannica w ere seven

members of the Committee on Institutional Co­
operation (CIC), consisting primarily o f Big Ten 
universities; 16 members of OhioLink, a con­
sortium of colleges and universities in Ohio; 
the University System of Georgia, with 33 mem­
b er schools; and the Virtual Library o f Virginia 
(VIVA), a consortium o f the 39 publicly sup­
ported colleges and universities in Virginia, as 
well as a num ber of private institutions.

Britannica Online contains the entire text of 
the 44-million-word Encyclopædia Britannica, 
more than 2,200 graphics and illustrations, and 
thousands o f direct links to other sources of 
information on the Internet related to topics 
covered in Britannica Online. Users can ask 
questions and receive a list of articles ranked 
according to their relevance to the query.

Communicating v ia  computer in lib ra ry  credit courses
Computer-mediated communication has re­

cently been used to enhance library credit 
courses at Penn State University’s Berks Cam­
pus. Computer-mediated communication, or 
CMC, includes vehicles such as electronic mail, 
electronic conferences, and com puter bulle­
tin boards. CMC has been used successfully 
in a v ariety  o f c o lleg e co u rses, a n d  its 
asynchronicity has been found to increase the 
efficiency and flexibility of the classroom.

In an in d e p en d e n t study library credit 
course in spring 1995, an electronic confer­
ence (a listserv) was used with three students 
to facilitate communication among students 
and library faculty. Patrick Crispin’s “Road­
map for the Information Superhighway Inter­
net Training W orkshop” was sent via the class 
listserv to the students; communication be­
tween faculty and students was increased via 
e-mail; and students w ere required to post 
some assignments to the class listserv. Stu­
dents reported positive reactions to the use 
of CMC. Their level of comfort with e-mail 
and electronic conferencing increased, they 
enjoyed and learned much from the “Road­
m ap,” an d  they appreciated the increased 
availability of faculty via e-mail.

In fall 1995, in another library credit course 
w hich is part of a special com puter-based 
learning project called Project Vision, twenty 
students using IBM laptop computers used 
several forms of computer-mediated commu­

nication with faculty. A World Wide Web page 
was created for the course, which included 
the syllabus and assignment list, and students 
were taught the use of the Netscape browser 
to access the Web. Students turn in assign­
ments via e-mail, and they can use e-mail to 
ask questions of faculty at any time. FirstClass, 
a com puter conferencing software, is used to 
hold some group discussions, and students 
can use e-mail and com puter “chat” software 
called PowWow to communicate with each 
other outside of class. Training in the various 
technologies was part of this course, which 
was team-taught with Computer Center per­
sonnel and three other faculty. Most students 
have responded positively to the course and 
have done well, and ongoing evaluation will 
determine w hat elements o f this experiment 
can be broadened to other courses.

Key conditions for success o f CMC include 
student access to computers (preferably from 
homes or dormitories, as well as a campus 
Computer Center); availability o f training for 
the students in e-mail and any software they 
are asked to use; required use of the technol­
ogy by students as part o f class participation; 
and planning by the instructor for how  the 
technology will b e used. In th ese library 
courses, computer-mediated communication 
has enhanced class contact and increased the 
flexibility of the co u rse s— Nancy H. Dewald, 
Penn State Berks Campus‚ Reading

mailto:elisa.topper@ala.org