Access to well designed and supported web based information promises to promote a more active style of education for both campus based and distance learning students. The role of all publishers in enabling this process is not yet clear, and few have explored the potential that clearly exists. Many new entrants to this active market are already trying their hand and learning from what is working. The site selection below offers a brief overview of a rapidly evolving area.

 Take a look at the SuperCourse in public health and prevention which is sharing a free library for lecturers globally. The principle of coaching the lecturers not their students so that lectures are current and exciting is an excellent one. The first lecture is in 8 languages.

 The report Class Differences: Online Education in the United States, 2010, which is the eighth annual Sloan survey of Online Education reveals that enrollment rose by almost one million students from a year earlier. The survey of more than 2,500 colleges and universities nationwide finds approximately 5.6 million students were enrolled in at least one online course in fall 2009, the most recent term for which figures are available and the largest ever year-to-year increase in the number of students studying online.

 These ACRL (Association of College and Research Libraries) guidelines for distance learning services have been revised in draft and provide an informative update for publishers on the evolving role of libraries in the context.

  The weekly US Chronicle of Higher Education has a complete section on distance education and reports all recent and current developments – with some non-US coverage.

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