The service's tremendous potential as more than an easy access to a safe depository of module-related published material had always been evident to library staff. It can also be used as an agent of self-directed learning and as a teaching aid. It also underpins and could be used to introduce new pedagogic practices by supporting and encouraging academics to harness new technologies in their teaching and in the work set for students. Whereas the Electronic Reserve has now developed so that it is able to offer this fully comprehensive service at all times to all users, it is actually used in more individual and fragmented ways by different groups. The needs of students tend to be mediated through their tutors and lecturers.
Academics identify materials held on the system.
They are also the only group able to ensure its full exploitation by student users through submitting materials and recommending their retrieval and use. Consequently, they are the group that has dictated the development of the electronic reserve. And they have done so individually - to meet the specific needs of their own discipline and to support their own teaching style. Consequently, the Electronic Reserve has developed to fulfil different needs. This might include option details and reading lists only.