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Dissertation Information for Klaus Musmann

NAME:
- Klaus Musmann

DEGREE:
- Ph.D.

DISCIPLINE:
- Library and Information Science

SCHOOL:
- University of Southern California (USA) (1981)

ADVISORS:
- Bruce Bennion

COMMITTEE MEMBERS:
- Roger Greer
- Frederick Dowell Williams

MPACT Status: Fully Complete

Title: The adoption of OCLC by the California State University and Colleges : a case study of the diffusion of a technological innovation in a complex library organization

Abstract: This case study describes the adoption of a computerized bibliographic data base, OCLC, by the library system of the California State University and Colleges.

Methodology. This study is a case history based on: (1) an examination of official documentation; (2) interviews with administrators in the Chancellor's Office of CSUC; (3) questionnaires mailed to all nineteen of CSUC's Library Directors (response rate 89.5 per cent); (4) follow-up interviews with eleven of the nineteen Library Directors; and (5) interviews with the Coordinators of OCLC's Western Offices. The data collected was analyzed to determine: (1) the environment and structure of the organization; (2) the openness of the organization and its decision-makers toward technological innovations in libraries.

Findings. A majority of the Library Directors indicated an early awareness of and a positive attitude toward library-related technological innovations. The same was found to be true of the other three decision-making components within the organization: the system-wide Coordinators, the California Department of Finance, and a committee convened to study the feasibility of such systems. The organization's large size, its complexity, and the decentralization of power within it, contributed to an environment of slow decision-making as it pertained to the diffusion of this technological innovation. In spite of its size and its complex decision-making machinery, however, the organization proved to be receptive to the adoption of this innovation. The positive attitude of the decision-makers provided the impetus to overcome various negative factions within the organization to pave the way for the decision to implement OCLC in all campus libraries of CSUC. The intrinsic qualities of the innovation were found to be partially responsible for this decision. The innovation's relative cost advantages and potential savings, its compatibility with the libraries' technical services operations, its demonstrated performance characteristics and its timely availability led to a positive evaluation by the Committee charged with ascertaining the best of several competing innovative systems for CSUC. Implementation took place rather speedily once the decision to adopt OCLC had been reached. The salient characteristics of the organization were found to be unique and generalizations derived from this case history of the diffusion of this innovation cannot easily be extended to other library systems.

MPACT Scores for Klaus Musmann

A = 0
C = 0
A+C = 0
T = 0
G = 0
W = 0
TD = 0
TA = 0
calculated 2008-07-20 15:00:00

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