Library Services for Online Patrons: A Manual for Facilitating Access, Learning, and Engagement

By: Joelle E. Pitts and Laura Bonella and Jason M. Coleman and Adam Wathen

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Synopsis: This practical and holistic approach to offering library resources and services to online patrons addresses multiple areas of service to online patrons, including reference, instruction, access, and marketing.Academic libraries are wonderful resources for university students and faculty on campus, and public libraries thrive on providing targeted in-person services such as storytime, makerspaces, and adult programming. It can be easy, however, to forget about the large population of students, faculty, and community members who access library resources and use library services remotely.Library Services for Online Patrons reaches out to patrons who are not—or not always—located on campus or who seldom—if ever—visit libraries' physical facilities and who may not be aware of or able to equitably use library services. The authors focus on ways to organize library resources using principles of design and to cater library services to the specific needs of online students, faculty, and community members. They also address how to effectively target marketing to the online population and how to collaborate with campus and community stakeholders who work directly with them.