Presentation given at the 2014 NC Library Association's College and University Section Mini-Conference on the future of distance librarianship.

1. DE-COMPARTMENTALIZING
DISTANCE LIBRARIANSHIP
EMERGING ROLES AND STAFFING MODELS FOR
DISTANCE AND ONLINE EDUCATION LIBRARIANS
SETH ALLEN, MLIS
ONLINE INSTRUCTION LIBRARIAN
KING UNIVERSITY
BRISTOL, TN

2. ALA JOB ADS FOR DISTANCE LIBRARIANS
FROM 1980-2010
Between 1980 and 2000, there were 82 Distance Librarian
positions posted to the ALA Job Board, American Libraries.
Tables found in: Tang, Y. (November 01, 2013). Distance Education Librarians in the United States: A
Study of Job Announcements. The Journal of Academic Librarianship, 39, 6, 500-505.

3. SURVEY OF ALA JOB ADS, 1980-2010
Tables found in: Tang, Y. (November 01, 2013). Distance Education Librarians in the United States: A
Study of Job Announcements. The Journal of Academic Librarianship, 39, 6, 500-505.

4. DIFFUSION OF INNOVATION IN DISTANCE
LIBRARIANSHIP?
Tables found in: Tang, Y. (November 01, 2013). Distance Education Librarians in the United States: A
Study of Job Announcements. The Journal of Academic Librarianship, 39, 6, 500-505.

5. 2014 ACRL STANDARDS FOR DISTANCE
LEARNING LIBRARY REVISIONS
The following is a selected list of proposed revision to the from 2008 standards
to the 2014 standards:
• Defines embedded librarian
• Advocates for additional funding for online learners, not supplanting brick-and-mortar
library funding
• Access Entitlement Principle spells out multiple modalities/locations
• Describes the dilemma of supporting MOOCs
• Advocates for librarian advocacy of distance learners, cross-departmental
communication, university committees on distance learning, and general support for
distance learning
• Direct marketing to students

6. SURVEY TO ACADEMIC LIBRARIANS
SERVING DISTANCE STUDENTS
• An eight question survey was sent to librarians in Nov. 2014 on several
listservs asking about their library staffing models and their thoughts on the
future of distance librarianship
• Key questions included:
• Typical job duties
• FTE at their schools
• Whether they though distance librarianship would continue to remain a distinct
specialization in libraries
• 50 librarians responded, ranging from college with less than 100 students with
20,000+ FTE

7. THREE CONCEPTUAL MODELS OF DISTANCE
LIBRARY SERVICES
DISTRIBUTED WITH
DISTRIBUTED MODEL
(NO COORDINATOR)
SOLO MODEL COORDINATOR MODEL

8. RESULTS OF SURVEY – JOB DUTIES
PEFORMED BY SURVEY RESPONDENTS

9. STAFFING MODELS IN
RESPONDENTS’ LIBRARIES
Dispersed
48%
Dispersed
with
Coordinato
r
32%
Solo
20%
1. Dispersed Model –
Several librarians are
responsible for serving
distance students
without a coordinator
2. Solo Model – One
librarian is in charge of
serving all distance
students
3. Dispersed with
Coordinator Model- A
team of librarians serve
distance students but
there is one or more
person in charge of
coordinating distance
library services

10. AVERAGE FULL TIME STUDENT EQUIVALENT
(FTE) BY STAFFING MODEL
DISTRIBUTED WITH
COORDINATOR MODEL
SOLO MODEL
DISTRIBUTED MODEL
(NO COORDINATOR)
9,227 FTE
1,303 FTE
9,880 FTE

11. FORECASTING THE FUTURE OF DISTANCE
LIBRARIANSHIP – RESPONSES FROM THE
SURVEY
“Our campus was recently
accredited by the USDLA and I
believe this requires a specific
distance librarian. So the
designation will probably stick for
a while.”
“I think an increasing amount of
librarians will be expected to
serve distance students,
regardless of the specialization
of the librarian.”
“We work under the
assumption that all
students are mobile and
that all librarians are to
some extent distance
librarians.”
“I think it depends on the
institution but I could see either of
those paths becoming likely. I
think smaller institutions and those
without significant online student
bodies will opt for the latter”
“I think larger institutions, or institutions
that do a lot of distance ed will
continue to employ a distance/online
learning/instructional design librarian.
Smaller institutions will necessarily
have to spread those duties out among
their staff.”

12. ADDITIONAL COMMENTS FROM THE SURVEY
“Even our "traditional, on-campus" populations engage the library as
distance learners at times (and some always and only). They use
devices to contact and converse with us; they seek out information
wherever it may be found. If we are not where they are going, then
they'll find something out there that will "do enough." If we want to be
relevant we need to keep reaching”
“I think it is good to have a
librarian dedicated to the
students that are not on
campus, so that they feel that
they have someone to turn to.
Any way in which you can get
involved with off campus
students is good, I think so
that they feel connected to
the campus.”
“I think distance librarianship will be even
more important in the future because I think
more classes and entire programs of study
will be online. Instructional design using
electronic media, knowledge of user
behavior in an online environment, and
comprehensive collection development for
an online population are all important areas
of knowledge for distance librarians that
differ from traditional librarians.”

13. SO WHAT DOES IT ALL MEAN?
1. There has been a ‘diffusion of innovation’ in distance librarianship.
ALA Job Ads for Distance Librarians Diffusion of Innovation, E. Rogers (1962)
2003-
Presen
Table found in:
Singhal, A., & Quinlan, M. M. (2008). Diffusion of
Innovations. In L. L. Kaid & C. Holtz-Bacha (Eds.),
Encyclopedia of Political Communication (Vol. 1, pp. 182-
186). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications.
Table found in: Tang, Y. (November 01, 2013). Distance Education Librarians in the United States:
A Study of Job Announcements. The Journal of Academic Librarianship, 39, 6, 500-505.
2001
t
1980’s-1998

14. SO WHAT DOES IT ALL MEAN?
2. There is no ‘one size fits all’ model for serving distance students, nor are
the roles of the distance librarian uniform across institutions.
3. Because of this diffusion and diversity of roles a distance librarian could
potentially server, distance librarians can develop new specialties, such
as:
• Copyright Specialists
• Instructional Designers/Course Designers
• Educational Technologists
• Assessment Specialists
(especially in online instruction)
• Diffusors of Technological Innovation
• Project/Team Management of Online
Services
• Online Pedagogy Experts
• Advocates for Online Students
• Faculty Trainers
4. Distance librarians should refine their services using principles of
instructional design and online pedagogy and new technologies.
5. Distance librarians can be catalysts for organizational change in their
libraries, helping colleagues to understand the blurring of ‘traditional’ and
‘online’ students

15. SO WHAT DOES I T ALL MEAN?
6. The future of distance librarianship is hard to forecast, BUT……we can use
environmental scans to make an educated guess. Herring (2014) uses the
TEMPLES model to forecast the future of libraries. This scan could be applied to
distance librarianship as well?
Technology – How does they help/hurt traditional library services?
Economy – Financial health of the nation and its impact on libraries
Markets – what will the library’s ‘niche’ in information delivery look
like in an environment of open access
Politics – Do legislators support funding libraries?
Laws – How does copyright and Internet regulations affect libraries?
Ethics – How does the library assert ‘quality control’ of info?
Society – How do users expect to access info? How does that affect
our service model? Image taken from Flickr:
https://c2.staticflickr.com/4/3577/3650151941_ca9e1770b0_b.jpg

16. WORKS CITED
Bell, S. J., & Shank, J. D. (2007). Academic librarianship by design: A blended
librarian's guide to the tools and techniques. Chicago: American Library Association.
Herring, M. Y. (2014). Are libraries obsolete?: An argument for relevance in the digital
age.
Lockerby, R., & Stillwell, B. (October 01, 2010). Retooling Library Services for Online
Students in Tough Economic Times. Journal of Library Administration, 50, 779-788.
Mery, Y., & Newby, J. (2014). Online by design: The essentials of creating information
literacy courses.
Rogers, E. M. (1983). Diffusion of innovations. York: Free Press.
Stielow, F. J. (2014). Reinventing the library for online education.
Tang, Y. (November 01, 2013). Distance Education Librarians in the United States: A
Study of Job Announcements. The Journal of Academic Librarianship, 39, 6, 500-
505.