Dissertation Information for Edwin Charles DowlinNAME:
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SCHOOL: ADVISORS: COMMITTEE MEMBERS: MPACT Status: Fully Complete Title: A NEW APPROACH TO THE EVALUATION OF PUBLIC LIBRARIES--A PILOT STUDY Abstract: To date no firm link has been established to connect the transmission oriented measures of libraries with corresponding changes in the society they serve. Prior research focusses primarily on methods of determining standard values for library units of measurement. The user controlled effects of libraries create a dilemma for the public library and those who would evaluate its impact. The librarian's dilemma must be restated in user or receiver-oriented terms to be resolved. An examination of the elements which determine the public library's value to its citizens is proposed as a means of bypassing the dilemma. A logic framework for the study is based on statistical process control as a means of isolating the factors surrounding the public library which influence citizens to assign high or low values to the public library. A cross sectional pilot survey was designed and conducted in four Pennsylvania suburban communities to test the proposed approach. Profiles of community behaviors were developed from the survey data. Analysis showed that respondent behaviors differed among the communities in ways that ranked their public libraries. These rankings were closely correlated with measures of per capita circulation and library expenditures. It was concluded that the process control approach is a promising behavioral research measurement tool for shedding light on the librarian's dilemma. |
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