Patterns of Conflict and Convergence When Proximal Libraries Serve Distance Students

The increase in the number of academic institutions jumping on the distance education bandwagon is impacting the libraries of unaffiliated academic insti- tutions as well as public libraries. Libraries are being challenged to find ways to support these new users. The problem is that distance students often look to aca- demic and public library facilities in their geographic area when doing research for class assignments. Sur- veys of academic and public librarians in 2004 found that the majority of both types of librarians stressed service to distance students in spite of the strain that serving distance students can place on the staff and resources of proximal academic libraries on one hand and the difficulties that public librarians have balanc- ing their community's recreational reading and general reference needs with distance students' need for research resources to support their distance courses. Both types of librarians reported efforts to work with the home institutions' libraries and had a number of suggestions for improving services to distance students.