Connecting with people in space: library support to online learning communities

With exponential growth in online learning, an increasing number of students choose to study online through schemes such as Open Universities Australia, thereby impacting significantly on delivery of library services. Their units of study and the qualifications possible are identical to those offered on campus; the difference is that there are no barriers to enrolment. Students come from a variety of educational backgrounds, countries and cultures; provided they have access to the internet they can enrol into tertiary study. These factors raise questions of preparedness for tertiary study, educational standards, transition, attrition, the online learning environment and more. The students as an online learning community, with their particular needs and motivations, have challenged the library to look at new ways of relating with them. This paper discusses the challenges faced in supporting these students and identifies further strategies of engagement.