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Volume 1 Issue 2December 1997

Sierra to Expand Distance Learning to Nevada County Library

Brian Haley
Dean, Sierra College Learning Resource Center

Starting with the spring 1998 semester, Sierra Community College in Rocklin (20 miles east of Sacramento) will offer a full selection of live, interactive distance learning classes to the main branch of the Nevada County Public Library System in Nevada City.

Sierra will broadcast over TCI cable 19 transfer-level courses. Classes will be offered Monday through Saturday from 8 AM to 9:30 PM. For the first semester of this program, students will only be able to take classes offered when the library is open. However, according to Nevada County Librarian Francisco Pinneli, it is hoped that the demand for theses classes and for the online, full-text resources that will also be delivered will allow the public library to expand its hours.

As part of the agreement, Sierra College LRC Dean Brian Haley notes that the library will receive full-text versions of Ebscohost's Masterfile 1500 and UMI's Northern California newspaper bundle. These two products will significantly expand the library's periodical and newspaper access. Ebscohost offers 1500 indexed and full-text journals, most in two or three year backfiles, selected from a popular array of scholarly and mainstream publications. UMI ProQuest Direct provides full-text, online access to the Sacramento Bee, the San Francisco Chronicle and Examiner, the Los Angeles Times, the New York Times, as well as 12 other California newspapers.

Subscription costs for the public library, as well as hardware and technical support, will be covered by Sierra College. In return, Nevada County Public Library will provide security and facilitation for Sierra's distance learning program. The winners are the people of Nevada County who will enjoy the convenience of locally delivered college classes as well as a public library with new and exciting on-line resources. Librarians Haley and Pinneli see this cooperative venture as a viable model for other public libraries and community colleges, since both institutions are supported by the public and serve the same patrons.