Learning outcomes
- Understand the physical and virtual academic learning environments.
- Learn the three primary features of academic learning environments in the digital age.
- Focus on the many categories of academic literature.
- Learn the essential structure of scholarly information.
- Outline general ways of delivering scholarly information in the academic world.
Scholarly information delivery in the information age
In Scholarly Information Discovery in the Networked Academic Learning Environment, 2014
Self-review exercises
Keeping in mind our discussions in this chapter, answer the following questions: - What is an academic learning environment?
- What are three primary features of academic learning environments in the digital age?
- How does academic information differ from scholarly information?
- What does a knowledge-intensive academic learning environment mean to a student’s academic goals and career
development? - What is primary literature?
- What is secondary literature?
- What is tertiary literature?
- What are academic databases?
- What is the purpose of an index?
- What is a white paper?
- What is the Inter-library Loan (ILL) and Document Delivery service?
- What are scholarly publications?
- What is composed of scholarly information?
- What is the lifecycle of scholarly information?
- What is mass digitization?
Abstract:
Academic learning environments are, of course, places where college and university students pursue
their academic goals. Their academic performance is directly linked to their ability to use academic
and scholarly information. In the new millennium, academic learning environments have extended
from the physical to the virtual. The Internet and the World Wide Web (WWW) have
transformed teaching and learning in the academic world. Academic literature is categorized and
scholarly publications are discussed to demonstrate the scope and structure of scholarly information.
The chapter ends by outlining how academic and scholarly information is delivered across our
networked academic learning environment.
Summary
As the Internet has become the global superhighway for information delivery, so academic
learning environments have expanded from the physical landscape to virtual space. Driven by
cutting-edge and emerging technologies, smartphones, social networks, and tablets are becoming new
innovative media to access information in mobile and wireless computing environments. College and
university students depend on academic literature to complete their academic studies and research.
Their experience, knowledge, and skills at accessing, searching, and using scholarly publications will
not only improve academic performance but also foster competence and expertise critical to their
careers.
Current functions and roles of academic libraries
In the digital age, academic library buildings are not only utilised as repository places to support teaching and learning activities. In dynamic and interactive academic learning environments, an academic library has become a centre for information access and distribution, learning and teaching activities, presentations and exhibitions, and social network connections. In an effort to attract and retain more undergraduates and graduates, academic libraries are also used as the incarnation of learning manners and styles in academic learning environments. In campus tours, academic libraries are introduced as support centres for excellence in teaching and life-long learning. To support all kinds of researches and studies, academic libraries are making their best efforts to redfoxbuy provide students and faculty with the qualified information resources at affordable cost. At the same time, academic libraries are taking primary responsibility for promoting cultural, economic, educational and social associations between institutions and local communities.
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The future of academic libraries
After we understand how these driving forces are going to change ways of information delivery and
dissemination in the future, the future vision for academic libraries will become much clearer in the
coming years of the twenty-first century. Ahead of strong competition from web search engines,
an academic library will still exist as a physical space, contributing those multiple functions and roles
that web search engines cannot replace in academic learning environments.