Library resources, student success and the distance-learning university
| Published date | 08 January 2018 |
| Date | 08 January 2018 |
| Pages | 77-86 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/ILS-03-2017-0022 |
| Author | Richard Nurse,Kirsty Baker,Anne Gambles |
| Subject Matter | Library & information science,Librarianship/library management,Library & information services |
Library resources, student
success and the distance-
learning university
Richard Nurse,Kirsty Baker and Anne Gambles
Library Services, The Open University, Milton Keynes, UK
Abstract
Purpose –Research at the Open University Library Services has been investigating the relationship
between access to online libraryresources and student success. The purpose of this study/paper is to help to
understand whether there is a similar relationship at a distance-learning university to that found in other
institutions.
Design/methodology/approach –A small library dataproject was established to investigate this area.
The study analysed online library resource data from access logs from the EZproxy and OpenAthens
systems.A data set of 1.7 milliononline resource accesses was combined with student successdata for around
90,000 undergraduatestudents and a series of analyses undertaken.
Findings –Thestudyfoundapatternwherestudentswhoaremoresuccessfulareaccessingmore
library resources. A chi-square test indicated a statistically significant association between library
resource accesses and module result, while an ANOVA test suggests a medium-sized effect. The study
also found that 152 (76 per cent) of the 199 modules had a small, medium or large positive correlation
between student success, measured by the overall assessment score, and online library resource
accesses.
Originality/value –This study builds on evidence that there is a relationship between library use and
student success by showing that this relationship extends to the setting of a non-traditional, innovative
library servicesupporting part-time distance learners.
Keywords Online resources, Student success, Distance learning, Data, Undergraduates,
Open University
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
For many years, the library of the Open University (OU), a UK-based distance-learning
higher education institution has collected statistics of access to online resources as a
means of measuring use of subscription resources. The potential of these data to
provide a greater depth of insight into the relationship between library online resource
accesses and student success has become apparent through innovative work in libraries
worldwide.
Studies at other academic libraries(Stone and Ramsden, 2013;Cox and Jantti, 2012) have
consistently found correlations between library use and student success. These studies led
the library to ask whether thispattern was also to be found at a distance-learning institution
where the student experience of “the library”was an online presence rather than a physical
building on a campus.
Conflict of interest statement: The authors are employed by the Open University Library Services.
The research has not received any funding from any third party.
Library
resources
77
Received31 March 2017
Revised16 June 2017
Accepted21 June 2017
Informationand Learning Science
Vol.119 No. 1/2, 2018
pp. 77-86
© Emerald Publishing Limited
2398-5348
DOI 10.1108/ILS-03-2017-0022
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
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