This paper describes the changing state of the distance education environment, characteristics of distance students in higher education and their problems in using library resources and services. Information literacy instruction as the key role of distance education librarians is described based on a case study on Sukhothai Thammathirat Open University's (STOUs) experience in Thailand. The paper concludes that distance education librarians have much more critical roles to play in supporting the distance education system in the new learning environment. The question remains as to whether they will remain merely information providers as in the past or whether librarians as facilitators of other people's learning should take a proactive roles in the changing context as instructors of the information literacy skill or partners in the teaching/learning process to create information literate distance students. As a result professional public awareness of librarians as educators and faculty status of librarians as equal to teaching faculty will be enhanced. (Contains 22 references.) (Author)