In recent years, decreases in higher education budgets have forced academic libraries to rely more heavily on philanthropy in order to operate or expand collections. Alumni are the most obvious potential donors to an academic library. Many alumni recognize the library as part of their higher education experience and are happy to give to the library. For many institutions with distance learning programs, a growing number of alumni have never been to campus or have rarely visited but they may use and appreciate library services. However, few academic libraries have attempted to tap this source of potential donors. This article examines the possibilities of soliciting donations from graduates of distance learning programs who were users of library resources.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.