Dissertation Information for Renee P. Israel NAME: - Renee P. Israel
DEGREE:
- Ph.D.
DISCIPLINE:
- Library and Information Science
SCHOOL:
- Simmons College (USA) (1990)
ADVISORS: - James Carroll Baughman
COMMITTEE MEMBERS: - None
MPACT Status: Fully Complete
Title: Effects of a token reinforcement system on returning library books on time
Abstract: In addition to employing a variety of traditional methods for retrieving overdue books in a high school library, including notices, loss of borrowing privileges, and sending letters home, a token reinforcement program to increase the number of books returned on time was experimentally evaluated. An A-B-A design was used with "A" representing the baseline phases, in which normal circulation procedures were in effect, and "B" representing the intervention phase in which the token economy was in effect. The first baseline lasted nine weeks, the intervention continued for seven weeks, and the third phase, during which reinforcement was removed, was six weeks long. During the intervention, students received a coupon for each book returned on time. The coupon entitled the student to enter a weekly drawing for prizes. Reinforcers or prizes included information related items such as popular magazines, posters, free photocopies, gift certificates for movie tickets, video rentals, books, and tapes, and coupons for free food items including hamburgers, ice cream, pizza, and candy. During the intervention phase, the average percentage of books returned on time increased by 12% over the baseline phase, from 43% to 55%; during the third phase, the average percentage of books returned on time remained at 55%. When the celeration line of the baseline phase was extended into the intervention phase, 3 out of 23 data points in the intervention phase fell beneath the projected slope. The results indicated that the data during the intervention phase were significantly different from the data during the baseline phase, with a value of p <.001. The distribution of circulation periods for the first 23 days of the baseline and for the entire 23 days of the intervention was also analyzed. The median number of days books were in circulation decreased from 16 days in the baseline phase to 14 days in the intervention phase, and this difference was found to be significant at the level of p < .005. Using the same distribution, 45% of the books were returned on time during the baseline phase and 55% were returned on time during the intervention phase; this difference was found to be significant at the level of p < .005. The mean number of days in circulation per book was 15.93 in the baseline, and 14.31 during the intervention. Book returns peaked sharply at 14 days during both the baseline and intervention phases, with increases on days 1, 7, 16, and 21. This suggested a weekly pattern of circulation, controlled by the 14 day loan period, independent of the intervention. The project also resulted in improved public relations for the library. Positive attention was called to the library through the weekly drawings. Staff had the opportunity to reward students for desired behavior, and this seemed to be rewarding for staff as well as for students. In general, interactions between students and library staff seemed to improve during the intervention. It was concluded that token reinforcement resulted in a positive change in the behavior of library users, and acted as an effective alternative to traditional punitive measures; the reward system also served as an effective public relations strategy. However, at a cost of approximately $80.00 per week, this variety of reward system was too costly to constitute a practical method for long term use. Future studies could investigate the use of less expensive rewards, or of having biweekly or monthly drawings, instead of weekly drawings. For example, giant candy bars and bags of candy seemed to be very popular in the "end of the year drawing," held after all data was collected. Additional studies could also investigate the effect of a token reinforcement system on other library behaviors which staff would like to see improved, such as asking more reference questions, increasing the circulation of a particular class of books, or spending more time on-task while in the library.
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MPACT Scores for Renee P. Israel A = 0
C = 0
A+C = 0
T = 0
G = 0
W = 0
TD = 0
TA = 0
calculated 2008-01-31 06:33:22
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