Published online by Cambridge University Press: 29 June 2018
Virtual learning environments (VLEs) are successfully used by many institutions to provide content which supports and enhances taught courses. In this article, Lizz Edwards-Waller explores the role of the library in uploading articles, case notes and book excerpts to a VLE for law students, and discusses the need for librarians to collaborate with course leaders and administrators. The article also considers the decision-making process involved in determining which resources to make available and highlights some key copyright issues to be aware of.
1 For an interesting comparison of course-centred and content-centred VLE design, see Wessa, P., De Rycker, A., Holliday, I.E. (2011) Content-based VLE designs improve learning efficiency in constructivist statistics education. PLoS ONE 6 (10)CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed.
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3 For example, Cohen, D. (2002) Course-management software: where's the library? Educause Review 37 (3)Google Scholar; Buehler, M.A. (2004) Where is the library in course management software? Journal of Library Administration 41 (1/2)CrossRefGoogle Scholar.
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6 A summary of Copyright Licensing Agency licences for educational institutions can be found at: https://www.cla.co.uk/higher-education-licence.
7 For an interesting case study of VLE usability testing see Gibeault, M. (2018) Organization of materials and accessing the library in Blackboard: a learner-centred usability study. The Journal of Academic Librarianship 44 (2)CrossRefGoogle Scholar.
8 Examples of successful partnerships include: Barr, D. (2010) Reaching students where they go: embedding library resources in course content. Science & Technology Libraries 29(4)CrossRefGoogle Scholar; Jackson, P. (2007) Integrating information literacy into Blackboard: building campus partnerships for successful student learning. The Journal of Academic Librarianship 33 (4)CrossRefGoogle Scholar.
9 Copyright Licensing Agency (2016) The CLA Higher Education Copyright Licence: good practice guide in the creation of course packs, available at: https://www.cla.co.uk/sites/default/files/CLA-HE-Good-Practice-Guide_2016-2019.pdf.
10 For discussion on a range of strategies to create new campus partnerships see Jackson, P. (2007) Integrating information literacy into Blackboard: building campus partnerships for successful student learning. The Journal of Academic Librarianship 33 (4) pp. 458CrossRefGoogle Scholar.
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12 Gorham, U. and Jaegar, P.T. (2017) The Law School Library or the Library at the Law School: how lessons from other types of libraries can inform the evolution of the academic law library in the digital age. Law Library Journal 109 (1)Google Scholar.
13 For example, McNeish, J., Foster, M., Francescucci, A. and West, B. (2012) The surprising foil to online education: why students won't give up paper textbooks. Journal for Advancement of Marketing Education. 20 (3)Google Scholar.
14 For an interesting insight into the VLE module created at New York University see Collard, S. and Tempelman-Kluit, N. (2006) The other way in: goal-based library content through CMS. Internet Reference Services Quarterly 11(4)Google Scholar.