Introduction

Learning, teaching and research methods are undergoing rapid and significant changes, which are affecting everybody who reads or writes. Electronic resources are increasingly selected as an information source, and research results are disseminated via information networks. Electronic media also bring about a transformation in how librarians think about their jobs, about information users, and about the whole communication process that they are a part of.

Digital publishing has critical implications for teaching and learning, and calls for a fresh look being taken at instructional strategies and the accessibility of information. Electronic resources and digital libraries have the capacity and promise to affect education significantly, and have an opportunity to create a new environment for teaching and learning (Dowler, 1997). This paper will reflect on environmental changes that affect libraries and identify activities that generate added value for teaching and learning, and which Tampere University library has adopted.

Changes in the work environment

Trends in publishing

Anything that happens in the publishing field affects libraries and there are many changes in scientific information and publishing structures. In some fields electronic publishing has surpassed its printed counterpart, so that many important materials do not exist in conventional formats any longer.

Libraries have an important proactive role in developing and using new publishing channels, and also in assisting faculty and students to make use of those channels. Libraries remain relevant only as long as they supply collections and services that meet the changing needs of their users in the classroom and at the desktop.

Characteristics of university libraries’ clientele

The user demographics of university libraries are getting more diverse. Faculty and students are increasingly wide-ranging in their interests, background and skills, and display an increasingly varying set of information needs and expectations. Furthermore, new fields of study and the emergence of virtual universities place additional demands on libraries.

Learning and teaching strategies

New views about learning and teaching with more emphasis on cognition are emerging and the problem-based method is becoming more prevalent. This method emphasizes active learning and expects students to become self-directed learners, assuming more responsibility for information gathering through exploring information resources and networks. Electronic resources offer innovative approaches to teaching, and make virtual, web-based teaching and learning possible (Poikela, 2001).