Educational Roles of Academic Librarians: A Case of the Distance 

Education Doctoral Degree Programme 

Sukhothai Thammathirat Open University, Thailand

Chutima Sacchanand

Sukhothai Thammathirat Open University.

Nonthaburi, Thailand

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Abstract

This study explores the expected educational roles of STOU librarians in supporting Doctoral degree programme and proposes certain guidelines to enhance their roles. The literature review is supplemented by qualitative research consisting of semi-structured interviews with six purposive faculty members from four schools offering / going to offer Doctoral degree programmes in the academic year 2009 and six academic librarians who are involved with the Doctoral degree programmes. The interviewing guidelines was used as a research instrument to collect information.

Findings and implications from the study showed that academic librarians in the distance education system were expected to play the key roles as faculty partners, instructional librarians, liaison librarians, and practitioner- researchers. The guidelines for facultylibrarian partnership with collaborative effort of all parties concerned especially librarians , faculty members and university policy makers, were proposed to enhance academic librarians’ roles and for the success of the Doctoral programme via distance education.

Keywords

Aacademic librarians’ roles; distance education librarians’ roles; faculty librarians partnership.

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