Coordination Between Libraries and E-Learning Platforms: University Experiences in Argentina

Abstract

For some time now, Argentine universities have been promoting the development of virtual learning environments when offering their undergraduate courses virtually, on-site or in hybrid modality. For their part, university libraries had to adapt their services by incorporating various digital formats in order to support education, research and extension. This research introduces a descriptiveexploratory study that analyzes the connection between learning platforms in national universities on the one hand, and on the other, academic libraries that belong to those universities. For that purpose, structured interviews were conducted with directors and/or chief librarians from 18 libraries, who were asked specific questions on this topic. The results lead us to conclude that online education is a project that has been developing for several years in Argentina, in which the use of virtual platforms has been fundamental to facilitate the teaching and learning process. Likewise, the essential role of libraries in accompanying this process stands out, as regards the development of digital collections, the design and implementation of online library services, and the participation in the pedagogical project of each university. Although processes have varied widely from one institution to the next, there are experiences of information literacy that have been carried out with communities of users, bibliographic products and services, training of library staff in learning technologies, and actions that promote integration between the spheres analyzed here.