Electronic Reserves on the web

[Brian Nielsen]

[cross-posted to arl-ereserve at cni.org, as I think the issue is of interest
there.]

In reply to:
>> While this no doubt is happening, I'd prefer to see a system
>> linked to an OPAC, or at least maintained by the library.
>
>I don't have a problem with faculty bypassing the library for this
(quoted in full below)

My view of the faculty-doing-it-on-their-own versus the library doing an
e-reserve system is not as cut-and-dried.  While I do agree with Bob below
that we should not be territorial about who is setting up a system to
perform the publishing functions that library reserve has traditionally
performed, there are at least three distinct advantages for some
"centralized" service (library, computing center, or as in the case here at
Northwestern a cooperative effort of the two) taking responsibility for such
functions.

1) Students are better served by a single point of entry into a system which
may offer them service to a number of classes.  The faculty member who
creates his/her own web must publicize a URL which may be long and obscure.
The student who masters professor X's e-reserve setup should not have to go
through any further agony to master professor Y's, nor should he/she have to
add any more helper apps, bookmarks, or other overhead (machine or training).

2) While SOME faculty are web-conversant, MANY MORE are not, yet all can
benefit from cheaper and more efficient means of distributing course
materials.  We do a lot of faculty training in web resource development (see
http://www.nwu.edu/at/training/tilt ), but encounter many faculty who would
rather just have someone else "do it".  Further, I've seen faculty pages
which have rather awkward structures; there IS something to be said for web
design clarity, and just because someone knows html does not mean that what
he/she produces is especially reader-friendly.  I also fear the potential
for faculty to pick up on helper/viewer technologies which are not
adequately cross-platform or well-suited to heterogeneous environments when
they do document delivery systems on their own -- such as putting up
readings in WP5.1 format rather than PDF, etc..

3) There ARE copyright liabilities institutions face as e-reserve becomes
more widespread, and it is to our collective institutional advantage to have
clear understanding of what the issues are and to present a consistent
institutional position as we begin working with publishers.  If an
institution gets sued by a group of publishers for infringement, it would be
unfortunate if the infringement were by a single faculty member.  Will the
institution argue that the faculty member was acting on his/her own and try
to avoid participation in the suit?  Will the faculty member have sufficient
understanding and preparation in matters of Fair Use copyright policy to
protect not only him/herself but also all the other faculty who would
subsequently face such suits?  I want to see electronic document delivery
continue, and institutional policy-making in this realm (by the creation of
a "centralized" e-reserve system) will help preserve what Fair Use
protection we currently have much better than teacher-by-teacher "policy"
making.

Given these three advantages for a centralized approach, it must be
acknowledged that a significant number of faculty prefer "disintermediated"
publishing of their course materials, for the speed and ease with which it
can be accomplished.  At Northwestern, besides our general e-reserve system
(at http://www.library.nwu.edu/ERS ), we offer faculty access to a
conferencing system that supports easy file attachment and thus a form of
document distribution, with the difference (besides the interface) being
that access is more restricted than e-reserve.  The conferencing system is
FirstClass, and though most faculty use it for class "discussion," at least
one faculty member uses it exclusively as an e-reserve system that he
manages by himself.  For more info on FirstClass, see
http://www.nwu.edu/itg/cic-symp/initiatives/eds.html#firstclass and
http://www.islandtel.com/firstclass/ .

In short, I think we need to remain open to BOTH points of view through this
period of change.  For an earlier articulation of this view on mediation,
see my piece "Teacher or Intermediary" in College & Research Libraries, May
1982.  A warning on the possible consequences of a "territorial" view is
offered in "Online Bibliographic Searching and the Deprofessionalization of
Librarianship", Online Review, September 1980.

Brian Nielsen
>From: Bob Jones <bjones at unf.edu>
>To: Multiple recipients of list <web4lib at library.berkeley.edu>
>Subject: Re: Electronic Reserves on the web
>On Tue, 3 Sep 1996, Ann Grusin wrote:
>> As an aside, I know of a prof here who has created his own reserve
>> system using Adobe Acrobat.  He requires his students to install
>> the Acrobat reader on their workstations as part of his course.
>> While this no doubt is happening, I'd prefer to see a system
>> linked to an OPAC, or at least maintained by the library.
>
>I don't have a problem with faculty bypassing the library for this.  They
>have gone out and learned about homepages and HTML without all the
>grumbling about "not my job", and they essentially have assembled a
>complete electronic coursepack, which happens to include readings, done in
>their style, their way, and in their time (read "pride").  Students are
>told where the course homepage is and can get to it without going to the
>library.  What's wrong with that?  The faculty member is obviously 
>enlightened, and his/her students will benefit from (and maybe even learn 
>through) that enlightenment.  In this instance, the library might
>offer assistance (brochures, handouts, homepages, and workshops) which
>counsel on copyright and licenses, and maybe even offer to provide a hot
>link to the course's homepage as a courtesy.  The Library has 
>traditionally offered reserve services, but now we have the opportunity to 
>offer them in different ways. Please let's not be territorial 
>traditionalists!
>
>
>Bob Jones                                    mailto://bjones@unf.edu
>Head, Public Services Division and Systems Coordinator
>University of North Florida Library          http://www.unf.edu/library/    
>P.O. Box 17605                               (904) 646-2552 (SC 861-2552) 
>Jacksonville, FL  32245-7605                 FAX: (904) 646-2719
>                                             ARIEL: 139.62.208.88
>
>
>
>

		Brian Nielsen, Ph.D.
		Manager, Learning Technologies Group
		 Academic Technologies
		Northwestern University
		2129 N. Campus Drive
		Evanston, IL  60208-2850
		(847)491-2170   fax:(847)491-3824
		email: b-nielsen at nwu.edu
		http://www.nwu.edu/people/b-nielsen