SPEC Kit 309: Library Support for Study Abroad · 41
Challenge 1 Challenge 2 Challenge 3
Small physical space of the
shipboard library.
Library is open 24/7, but not staffed 24/7. Slow delivery of electronic
resources due to limited internet
bandwidth on shipboard.
Technical problems related to
access to online resources.
Time differences. Major growth plans for students
enrolled in partner institution
programs have budgetary
implications for online resource
subscriptions.
The fact that programs are not
offered at a facility administered
by the home institution limits the
range of resources and services that
can be provided.
Creating student and faculty awareness of
the range of resources and services that
are available to them is much more difficult
and energy-consuming than actually
making those resources available.
Engaging faculty in a serious
cooperative effort geared towards
the selection and provision of
library resources.
Time differences between Europe
and America
The library does not offer instruction to
students before they go abroad so that
the students might face an “information
emergency” without awareness of what
the library can do for them.
Cost of delivering items can be
prohibitive and the time it takes
for delivery can cause issues.
We currently have no formal
relation/agreement with the
Studies Abroad Programs Office,
which means that neither program
administrators nor faculty may be
familiar with our services.
Physical delivery of books has obvious
limitations because of time constraints.
Censorship in some of the host
countries has restricted access to
online materials.
While it is relatively easy for
study abroad participants to have
Web-based access to a wealth
of e-journal literature and a
growing number of e-books, it is
still awkward, time-consuming,
and probably not cost effective
to try to ship hard-copy books
internationally. Fortunately, the
demand for the latter seems almost
non-existent.
While we assert that study abroad
participants have the same access to
e-library collections and services that
our local users enjoy (as long as they
authenticate via a proxy server), the
reality may be that hardware, software,
and network/bandwidth issues abroad
may severely limit that access, or make it
impracticable.
Challenge 1 Challenge 2 Challenge 3
Small physical space of the
shipboard library.
Library is open 24/7, but not staffed 24/7. Slow delivery of electronic
resources due to limited internet
bandwidth on shipboard.
Technical problems related to
access to online resources.
Time differences. Major growth plans for students
enrolled in partner institution
programs have budgetary
implications for online resource
subscriptions.
The fact that programs are not
offered at a facility administered
by the home institution limits the
range of resources and services that
can be provided.
Creating student and faculty awareness of
the range of resources and services that
are available to them is much more difficult
and energy-consuming than actually
making those resources available.
Engaging faculty in a serious
cooperative effort geared towards
the selection and provision of
library resources.
Time differences between Europe
and America
The library does not offer instruction to
students before they go abroad so that
the students might face an “information
emergency” without awareness of what
the library can do for them.
Cost of delivering items can be
prohibitive and the time it takes
for delivery can cause issues.
We currently have no formal
relation/agreement with the
Studies Abroad Programs Office,
which means that neither program
administrators nor faculty may be
familiar with our services.
Physical delivery of books has obvious
limitations because of time constraints.
Censorship in some of the host
countries has restricted access to
online materials.
While it is relatively easy for
study abroad participants to have
Web-based access to a wealth
of e-journal literature and a
growing number of e-books, it is
still awkward, time-consuming,
and probably not cost effective
to try to ship hard-copy books
internationally. Fortunately, the
demand for the latter seems almost
non-existent.
While we assert that study abroad
participants have the same access to
e-library collections and services that
our local users enjoy (as long as they
authenticate via a proxy server), the
reality may be that hardware, software,
and network/bandwidth issues abroad
may severely limit that access, or make it
impracticable.
