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This study examines ongoing efforts by academic libraries to integrate digital resources into distance education courses. The study adopts a conceptual approach and it is thematically focused on the concepts of distance education and digital libraries; academic library models in distance education; the role of digital libraries in distance education; and strategies for integrating digital libraries into distance education. Through a systematic literature review and thematic analysis of extant literature, the paper concludes that academic libraries must pragmatically integrate digital libraries into the distance education curriculum by highlighting the role of digital libraries in the academic community and her processes. In this way, digital libraries may not be perceived as just content providers, but as significant agents of transformative learning.

This paper is culled from a doctoral study that investigated the development and management of digital libraries in selected academic libraries in Ghana. In this article, the authors report on the value that faculty members place on access to and use of digital resources and their implications for library services in three Ghanaian universities. The survey method was used to administer a structured questionnaire to 230 faculty members. Using convenience sampling, 10% of faculty were selected from the University of Ghana, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, and the University of Cape Coast. Univariate and bivariate analyses were done to construct frequencies and establish relationships among respondents. Findings showed that less than half of the faculty members were aware of and used digital resources such as the online databases, institutional repositories, the library’s website and the online public access catalogue (OPAC). Nevertheless, the impact of the resources on them was very positive. The study recommended the need for university librarians to interact with faculty during orientation sessions for new faculty as well as new heads of departments. Additionally, subject librarians should work closely with departmental heads to be allocated periods for presentation on available digital resources, their usefulness for their own career enhancement and for their teaching role. The underlying implications of this study show that more advocacies are required from university libraries to enhance the use of digital resources.

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