While many on the UW-Platteville campus are developing and delivering innovative DE courses, the Elton S. Karrmann Library is working to provide easy access to online library resources for a growing population of distance learners. Anticipating an increase in off-campus demand for reliable reference resources, the library developed a procedure to provide access to a number of web-based subscription databases, some with full-text articles. Through strategically placed links on campus web pages and online course materials, the distance learner is directed to the library's "Guide for off-campus users".

On this page, the distance learner finds: content descriptions of available databases, remote access request form and links to additional contacts/information. After submitting the completed form: it lands in the Training & Instruction e-mail basket, submitted information is checked against our online campus directory to verify affiliation and if university affiliation is found, passwords to online databases are sent to distance learners within one business day.

E-mail addresses of distance learners are then added to a distribution list which is useful when communicating changes and conducting user satisfaction surveys. Problems have been minimal. While the procedures were initially set up to support DE courses, we find that most requests for off-campus access come from on-campus students and employees who live beyond SLIP connection range, reinforcing the idea that "information on demand" is an important option for all. For more details, visit the "Guide for off-campus users" web page at:
http://vms.www.uwplatt .edu/~library/database/offcampus.htmlx

(Ulrike Dieterle, Training/Instruction Coordinator & Distance Education Librarian, UW-Platteville)