Using the University's VLE to provide information support for midwifery students at the University of Bedfordshire

This article describes the use of the University of Bedfordshire's Virtual Learning Environment to develop a one-stop-shop for information resources and help in developing information skills for Midwifery students. The resource was developed because information skills sessions were not routinely organized for midwifery students at every level; and, because the students have little time to spend finding information for their assignments, between juggling hospital shifts, family life, and university classes. They are often also “non-traditional” students, and unfamiliar with technology and electronic sources of information. In terms of time spent on campus and physical access to learning resources, these students are almost distance learners. The librarian, while continuing to pursue the possibility of regular information skills classes, decided to develop a resource that would give the students easy access to collections of, for example, online resources grouped by subject; current awareness services; practical worksheets and online resources to help students develop their information skills; links to key government publications; and so on. Feedback from students has been uniformly positive, and other groups have asked to be given access to the resource. It continues to be developed and updated, and statistics on usage are gathered at regular intervals.