The purpose of this bachelor thesis is to gainknowledge in how some Swedish university librariesexpresses their work regarding web based servicesfor distance learners via activity documents andwebb pages. A qualitative content analysis isconducted to investigate this. The empirical materialconsists of nineteen different documents and elevenselected parts of websites related to eleven differentuniversity libraries. The results show that there is avariation in how and to what degree differentuniversity libraries expresses their services todistance learners. Three main themes emerge fromthe content: ”the electronic library resources”, ”thevirtual library room” and ”the librarian's pedagogicalrole”, all in different ways connected to distancelearners. The results is discussed based on “thetheory of transactional distance”. The principalfindings is that the libraries expresses greatenthusiasm for digital development and web basedservices. Some in more explicit ways and some inmore implicit ways. Based on the findings from thisstudy and from the previous research and literatureon the subject, the conclusion is that it is notpossible to completely distinguish the distancestudents' needs from other students and it is notentirely possible to distinguish the role of theuniversity library in a psysical or a virtualenvironment.

I och med att undervisningen på distans ökar i popularitet så läggs det större vikt på distansstudenternas välmående. Distansundervisning bedrivs dock i nuläget på ett sätt som motsätter sig studerandes efterfrågan om social gemenskap vilket skapar en känsla av isolering. Att berika lärplattformar med sociala affordanser och element från sociala nätverkssajter är ett försök att öka social närvaro på lärplattformar. I denna uppsats utforskas hur samhörigheten mellan distansstudenter kan förbättras på lärplattformar och vilka affordanser som kan berika lärplattformar utöver de som redan har beforskats. Studien resulterar i 2 element (Integritet och Samarbete), 3 sociala affordanser (Social anslutning, Social interaktion och Profilbyggnad) och 1 innehållsaffordans (Innehållsdelning) som har identifierats utifrån respondenternas preferenser i förhållande till sociala nätverkssajter. Funktionaliteterna som kopplas samman med dessa identifierade element och affordanser gestaltas genom en skiss i resultatet. Detta för att förtydliga hur en möjlig applicering på lärplattformar kan förbättra kommunikationen och den sociala närvaron mellan de studerande. / As distance education is increasing in popularity more emphasis is placed on the wellbeing of distance students. However, distance education is currently conducted in a way that opposes students’ demand for social community, which creates a feeling of isolation. Enriching learning management platforms with social affordances and elements from social networking sites is an attempt to increase social presence on learning management platforms. This essay explores how to improve the relationship between distance students on learning management platforms and which affordances may enrich learning management platforms besides those that have already been researched. The study results in 2 elements (Privacy and Collaboration), 3 social affordances (Social connectivity, Social interactivity and Profile building) and 1 content affordance (Content sharing) that has been identified based on the respondents preferences in relation to social networking sites. The functionalities associated with these identified elements and affordances are presented through a sketch in the result. This is to clarify how a possible application on learning platforms can improve communication and the social presence between the students.