Online education has long been recognized as having significant potential to deliver inexpensive, flexible education to a large audience. Particularly in the past four years, massive open online courses (MOOCs) have generated a great deal of interest, with advocates claiming that they will level the higher education playing field by providing free and open access to content in a class-like format to anyone with an internet connection. However, MOOCs have so far failed to deliver on this potential, plagued by low completion rates and overall low participation by first-time and non-traditional learners.

This work has broad implications. The librarians who participated in the CPL Learning Circles pilot in 2015 reported that the experience of facilitating a Learning Circle has supported them in other programming they do at their branches. Given the wide accessibility of online courses, and the fact that people can take these courses regardless of location, income, or education level, the resources developed through continued work in this area to support librarians in facilitating the learning in online courses can be applicable in a variety of communities. This work appeals to and is useful for both library and non-library leaders.

The Learning Circles model has shown significant promise to deliver a low-cost, engaging way to boost access to online learning by adults. While 65 percent of participants in the 2015 CPL/P2PU Learning Circles pilot were new to online courses and many lacked both post secondary education and digital skills, Learning Circle course retention was three to five times higher than in purely online learning environments, and the majority of participants reported interpersonal development, including highly valued 21st century skills like communication and collaboration, as the best part of their experience.