Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Contributors
- 1 Introduction
- 2 Keynote address: Disciplines, documents and data: emerging roles for libraries in the scholarly information infrastructure
- 3 Denmark's Electronic Research Library: implementation of user-friendly integrated search systems in Denmark
- 4 An African experience in providing a digital library service: the African Virtual University (AVU) example
- 5 Project StORe: expectations, a solution and some predicted impact from opening up the research data portfolio
- 6 Publishing, policy and people: overcoming challenges facing institutional repository development
- 7 Libraries as a social space: enhancing the experience of distance learners using social software
- 8 The rise of recommendation and review: a place in online library environments?
- 9 Re-usable learning objects for information literacy: are they practical?
- 10 An introduction to the LearnHigher Centre for Teaching & Learning (CETL), with particular reference to the information literacy learning area and its work on information literacy audits at Manchester Metropolitan University
- 11 Information skills through electronic environments: considerations, pitfalls and benefits
- 12 Development of information-related competencies in European open and distance learning institutions: selected findings
- 13 Improving information retrieval with dialogue mapping and concept mapping tools
- 14 Public libraries, learning and the creative citizen: a European perspective
- 15 A user-centred approach to the evaluation of digital cultural maps: the case of the VeriaGrid system
- 16 The process of assessment of the quality, usability and impact of electronic services and resources: a Quality Attributes approach
- 17 Reaching the unreachable in India: effective information delivery service model of DELNET and the challenges ahead
- 18 Breaking through the walls: current developments in library service delivery: observations from a Sri Lankan perspective
- 19 Meeting users’ needs online in real-time: a dream of librarians in the developing world
- 20 Information Central: a service success case study
- 21 Discrete library services for international students: how can exclusivity lead to inclusivity?
- 22 Are we ethical? A workshop on the ethical challenges of providing library services to distance learners
- 23 Involving users in a technical solution to help assess the accessibility of websites
- 24 The reality of managing change: the transition to Intute
- Index
21 - Discrete library services for international students: how can exclusivity lead to inclusivity?
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 09 June 2018
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Contributors
- 1 Introduction
- 2 Keynote address: Disciplines, documents and data: emerging roles for libraries in the scholarly information infrastructure
- 3 Denmark's Electronic Research Library: implementation of user-friendly integrated search systems in Denmark
- 4 An African experience in providing a digital library service: the African Virtual University (AVU) example
- 5 Project StORe: expectations, a solution and some predicted impact from opening up the research data portfolio
- 6 Publishing, policy and people: overcoming challenges facing institutional repository development
- 7 Libraries as a social space: enhancing the experience of distance learners using social software
- 8 The rise of recommendation and review: a place in online library environments?
- 9 Re-usable learning objects for information literacy: are they practical?
- 10 An introduction to the LearnHigher Centre for Teaching & Learning (CETL), with particular reference to the information literacy learning area and its work on information literacy audits at Manchester Metropolitan University
- 11 Information skills through electronic environments: considerations, pitfalls and benefits
- 12 Development of information-related competencies in European open and distance learning institutions: selected findings
- 13 Improving information retrieval with dialogue mapping and concept mapping tools
- 14 Public libraries, learning and the creative citizen: a European perspective
- 15 A user-centred approach to the evaluation of digital cultural maps: the case of the VeriaGrid system
- 16 The process of assessment of the quality, usability and impact of electronic services and resources: a Quality Attributes approach
- 17 Reaching the unreachable in India: effective information delivery service model of DELNET and the challenges ahead
- 18 Breaking through the walls: current developments in library service delivery: observations from a Sri Lankan perspective
- 19 Meeting users’ needs online in real-time: a dream of librarians in the developing world
- 20 Information Central: a service success case study
- 21 Discrete library services for international students: how can exclusivity lead to inclusivity?
- 22 Are we ethical? A workshop on the ethical challenges of providing library services to distance learners
- 23 Involving users in a technical solution to help assess the accessibility of websites
- 24 The reality of managing change: the transition to Intute
- Index
Summary
Introduction
This paper reports on research being undertaken for the UK Society of College National and University Libraries (SCONUL) to investigate how UK university libraries can best support international students, culminating in guidelines which will be published by SCONUL in December 2007. The research examined the issues surrounding the debate over exclusivity versus inclusivity that affect the provision of library services for international students. Results include what techniques UK university libraries are currently employing; feedback from international students about their priorities for library support and how that matches library staff perceptions; and with whom university libraries need to work to improve service provision. The research identified examples of good practice in providing a truly inclusive library service for international students and explored whether issues faced in UK libraries are reflected by experience in other developed countries.
Background to the study
International students make up 13.4% of the total UK higher education institution (HEI) population, and, in addition to enriching cultural diversity and providing essential income, they also bring a wide variety of needs, experience and expectations. In recent years the international student profile has become increasingly diverse, as in other developed countries, with students worldwide having a diverse range of abilities and subject interests and hence a broader scope of teaching and learning experiences. These changes are reflected in the issues faced by all libraries striving to support international students effectively.
Findings of a major survey of more than 28,000 international students confirmed that the UK is still ‘a close rival to the US as the best study destination in the world’ (Tysome, 2006, 3). However, if UK universities are to maintain their place in the global market, they need to respond to changing needs to attract students from abroad. Academic libraries have an important supporting role in this. Andreas Schleicher, head of the Indicators and Analysis Division at the OECD, warns that ‘the global educational landscape has changed fundamentally’ and UK universities must face challenges from China and India, in particular, as well as from other European countries now offering degrees taught in English. He says, ‘Success will go to those institutions and countries that are swift to adapt, slow to complain and open to change’ (Schleicher, 2007, 3).
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Libraries Without Walls 7Exploring ‘anywhere, anytime’ delivery of library services, pp. 205 - 216Publisher: FacetPrint publication year: 2008