PurposeThe purpose of this project was to develop a web‐based self‐training package for information retrieval using the distance education approach.Design/methodology/approachThe package was developed using the distance education approach with STOU Plan, STOU Plan 2000 and GMS‐VU applied. The distance education model for the web‐based self‐training package was composed of five stages: identifying the learners, design of the package, production of the package, establishing the delivery system, and evaluation. The system development methodology was based on the system development lifecycle (SDLC) with a combination of waterfall, phased and prototyping approaches. There are several phase in SDLC to carry out: problem and objective identification, requirement determination, requirement analysis, package design, package implementation, delivery system and evaluation. Evaluation of the package was conducted in two phases: formative evaluation and summative evaluation using the focus group discussion method. Formative evaluation was conducted during the package development by experts in the field prior to the summative evaluation. The summative evaluation was conducted after the package development had been completed as a pilot study for field trial by target users, consisting of junior library staff and library users. All comments were reviewed and refined in terms of instructional content, design, overall opinion and learning progress before put on production.FindingsThe package consists of three main components: About the project, Study modules, References and further readings. Study modules, which is the most important component, consists of ten instructional modules focusing on information retrieval, and self‐assessment through pre‐test and post‐test. The package includes multimedia such as images and sound to attract learners during their learning session. The delivery mode for the self‐training package offers both online and off‐line modes. Online mode is offered when there is network facility and internet connection available, while offline mode is offered through CD‐ROM without requiring network and internet connection. The features and functions of both modes are identical. Moreover, print materials are also included as supplementary media.Originality/valueSince the module is a self‐directed learning or self‐training tool in information retrieval it can be employed for junior library staff and library users; it provides a training tool for librarians to train library users and supports human resource and development to narrow digital divides and support the right to access information.

This study considers that "collaborative culture" is the basis for faculty members and librarians to work together in higher education institutions. The study therefore attempts to explore the collaboration between faculty members and librarians from the perspective of culture. It can not only provide an opportunity to elucidate the current development of the faculty-librarian collaboration in some parts of Southeast Asia such as Hong Kong, Singapore, Thailand, and Taiwan, but also compare the distinctions in the value of faculty-librarian collaborative culture. It also aims to describe and evaluate the perceptions/experiences toward the current development of faculty-librarian collaboration in universities in these different countries. Two online questionnaires, entitled "Faculty-librarian Collaboration Survey-Librarian" and "Faculty-librarian Collaboration Survey-Faculty", were designed and developed by the researchers to collect data. 480 valid responses were collected from December 2015 to May 2016. Seven key elements were investigated in this study that can represent the content and concept of faculty-librarian collaborative culture. They are: (1) Organizational collaborative Faculty-Librarian Collaborative Culture

This article identifies the distance education needs of information professionals in the region and lists various institutions that offer distance education courses in library and information science in Asia and the Pacific region along with perspectives, media and methods, instructional systems, resources and services.

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