Digital Libraries and Education: Trends and Opportunities

This article builds on work in the past few years, triggered by Ticer course [Roes, 1999] and consulting activities, notably for the Dutch Open University and the Amsterdam University for Professional Education. It attempts to identify strategic issues for libraries wishing to pursue a more active policy with regard to the changes affecting higher education due to the increased use of information and communication technologies (ICT). The article starts out by sketching the changes currently occurring in education. A study of the literature, carried out while preparing a new strategic plan for the libraries of Amsterdam University for Professional Education, identified five major areas in which libraries can develop strategies to enhance services for their patrons. The following domains are discussed: digital libraries and digital learning environments; digital portfolios; information literacy; collaborative course design; and the relation between physical and virtual learning environments. Next, possible implications for library staff regarding the changes are discussed. The article concludes with thoughts on alignment between library strategy and the strategy of the library's parent institution.

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