This qualitative study uses narrative analysis to explore the outcomes of information seeking and use among public library users. Twelve women between the ages of 51 and 72, all residents of Fayetteville, Arkansas who self-identified as regular library users, were interviewed to gather their life stories and their experiences using the public library. The participants in this study used information to enable learning and, often, a change in their affective state. The participants used the new information they encountered constructively, to engage with the knowledge and experience they possessed; this use of information always involved reflection, dialogue, or both. The outcomes from these actions are the creation of new knowledge, a change in the participants' meaning schemes, and/or an affective change. In addition, the narratives strongly suggest that information seeking and use by adults in public libraries can sometimes facilitate or, on its own, precipitate a perspective transformation and the adoption of new meanings. Overall, the findings support Mezirow's theory of transformative learning as a model for understanding information use and outcomes among users of the public library. The major implications of this study are two-fold. One, it introduces to information science Mezirow's theory of transformative learning which could provide greater understanding of how adults use information, and the outcomes that arise from this use. Two, it provides library professionals with information about the library in the lives of their users and concrete information about how libraries can enable transformative learning.

<p>The aim of this study is to examine how work at music departments in public libraries has changed with time. To analyze this, the role of music libraries as well as music library users, selection, holdings, acquisition and technological development have been examined. The examined data consists of qualitative interviews with music librarians and library assistants at public libraries in Sweden. To get a time perspective, handbooks and articles about music departments in libraries have also been analyzed.</p><p>This study emanates from Sanna Talja’s discourse analysis of music libraries in Finland. In her study of Finnish music libraries she has found three discourses that give the library different roles in society. The first discourse, <em>The General Education Repertoire</em>, states that the role of the music library is to educate the citizens by supplying a broad record collection with “classics” from all kinds of genres. The second discourse, <em>The Alternative Repertoire</em>,<em> </em>states that the role of the library is to be an alternative to commercial music and the record industry by providing alternative music, that can’t be found everywhere. The third discourse, <em>The Demand Repertoire</em>, states that the role of the library is to satisfy the library users’ needs and thus adapt the collection and acquisitions to the local demand.</p><p>The study shows that all three discourses are present at the public libraries examined in this master’s thesis. My interviewees state that they want to offer a broad collection with all genres represented but they find it also important to provide alternative music that is difficult to find elsewhere. At the same time, a demand repertoire, where the collection is more adapted to users’ wishes and needs, gets more common and librarians have a less critical attitude towards certain genres that were formerly banned at public libraries.</p><p>The study also shows that work at public libraries has changed a lot with time. The music departments started with only listening service, began later to loan their music collections to the users and now even provide music files that can be downloaded and played on mp3-players. Loan figures of phonograms remain high, but have started to drop, which can partly be due to downloading and the fact that the number of young music library users, such as adolescents, has gone down. The technological development has also changed work at the music library, among other things information research, acquisition and selection. Even though technological development has changed the work and tasks at music libraries, the role of the librarian is still quite the same. An important task still is to search for and provide information even though the strategies and facilities are different.</p>

The aim of this study is to examine how work at music departments in public libraries has changed with time. To analyze this, the role of music libraries as well as music library users, selection, holdings, acquisition and technological development have been examined. The examined data consists of qualitative interviews with music librarians and library assistants at public libraries in Sweden. To get a time perspective, handbooks and articles about music departments in libraries have also been analyzed. This study emanates from Sanna Talja’s discourse analysis of music libraries in Finland. In her study of Finnish music libraries she has found three discourses that give the library different roles in society. The first discourse, The General Education Repertoire, states that the role of the music library is to educate the citizens by supplying a broad record collection with “classics” from all kinds of genres. The second discourse, The Alternative Repertoire, states that the role of the library is to be an alternative to commercial music and the record industry by providing alternative music, that can’t be found everywhere. The third discourse, The Demand Repertoire, states that the role of the library is to satisfy the library users’ needs and thus adapt the collection and acquisitions to the local demand. The study shows that all three discourses are present at the public libraries examined in this master’s thesis. My interviewees state that they want to offer a broad collection with all genres represented but they find it also important to provide alternative music that is difficult to find elsewhere. At the same time, a demand repertoire, where the collection is more adapted to users’ wishes and needs, gets more common and librarians have a less critical attitude towards certain genres that were formerly banned at public libraries. The study also shows that work at public libraries has changed a lot with time. The music departments started with only listening service, began later to loan their music collections to the users and now even provide music files that can be downloaded and played on mp3-players. Loan figures of phonograms remain high, but have started to drop, which can partly be due to downloading and the fact that the number of young music library users, such as adolescents, has gone down. The technological development has also changed work at the music library, among other things information research, acquisition and selection. Even though technological development has changed the work and tasks at music libraries, the role of the librarian is still quite the same. An important task still is to search for and provide information even though the strategies and facilities are different.

The aim of this study is to examine the significance of having a music department at the public library in Enköping, and how the organization of the phonograms is handled. The different areas examined are the reason of the reintroduction of a music department, its budget, its users, the work with selection, the marketing, statistical data concerning loans, the work with classification, indexing, and organization of the phonograms and the future of the music department. The empirical material consists of qualitative interviews with staff connected to the music department at the public library in Enköping. For the theoretical frame, Sanna Taljas discourse analysis of music libraries in Finland is used. Talja presents three discourses which all show different views on what kind of material a music library should contain. The first discourse, The General Education Repertoire, advocates that the music library should supply a collection that could serve as educational and represent the history of music and its different genres. The second discourse, The Alternative Repertoire, advocates that the music library should serve as an alternative to the sources of commercial music and offer material with a more alternative character. The third discourse, The Demand Repertoire, advocates that the music library should build its collection based on the users demands and needs. The study shows that all three of the discourses are present when material for the collection is selected, even though The General Education Repertoire and The Demand Repertoire are the two most conspicuous. The study also shows that a music department was reintroduced in the library stock based on things like an interest in the art form as such in the library management. The department has had a positive impact on the library's entire statistics, even though loan figures of phonograms have showed a negative trend since the opening. The figures still remain fairly high so the music department is believed to have a future, even though its future also appears uncertain. When classifying phonograms, judgements made by other libraries regarding the work in question, and different sources on the Internet are helpful tools in the process before making a final decision. The organization of the phonograms on the shelves do not in detail follow their classification. Instead they are organized in more rough divisions in order to make the music department more user-friendly.

Thesis (D. Ed. Min.)--Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, 2006. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 328-336).

Thesis (D. Ed. Min.)--Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, 2006. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 328-336).

Purpose: This study explores both library users’ and librarians’ experiences, benefits, and challenges depending on the implementation of digital technologies in academic libraries. The research has been taken place in two Greek academic libraries; In the Panteion University Library and in the Central Library of T.E.I. of Athens.Approach: Two research questions were developed for this research to be conducted and a sample size of 55 respondents (39 library users and 16 librarians) of the Panteion University Library and Central Library of T.E.I. of Athens, was evaluated.Findings: From the findings of the study, it was concluded that the general perception of both library users and librarians towards digital material and E-resources and services of the Panteion University Library and Central Library of T.E.I. of Athens, is satisfactory. Library users were satisfied with the convenience of digital material, the availability of E-resources provided by both academic libraries such as World Wide Web, WIFI, and online databases. They were not satisfied with library technology (i.e., computers) and library staff. Besides, results showed that services such as e-mail and Open Public Access Catalogue were used more often. Librarians were less satisfied with the digital library system, the limited personnel, and the financial funds for academic libraries in general.Implication: The results of this research have implications in the stakeholders of an academic library including the institutional management, the library administration, the librarians, the library users, the researchers, the community at large, and others.Value: This paper identifies critical issues related to the utilization of digital technologies and digital material; their benefits and challenges faced by librarians and library users as well as their effective operation from academic libraries in this information age.

Thesis (M. A. (Information Studies) -- University of Limpopo, 2021 / Information is an important element in the lives of citizens. Public libraries are drivers of access to information and knowledge, regardless of age, gender, race and political inclination. Entities such as public libraries have the role to play in providing informational, educational, recreational and cultural needs of the communities that they serve, but if they are challenged by issues such as underutilisation of some of their services, it calls for a prompt reaction. The study employed a descriptive survey research design. A questionnaire was used to collect data from library users at Moletji Public Library. Two-hundred and forty questionnaires were distributed, two-hundred and sixteen questionnaires were returned and were found to represent a 90% response rate which was usable for the analysis. The study found out that most users in Moletji Public Library preferred reading space and Internet over lending materials, and as a result, circulation statistics declined. Challenges such as walking a long distance to the library, limited resources, lack of space, noise and outdated books were also discovered by this study. The study provides Polokwane Municipality with valuable evidence of the underutilisation of services and resources at Moletji Public Library. It also suggests areas for improvement including training of personnel as well as more library infrastructure in previously marginalised communities. The study recommends that more computers and more space be provided and that libraries should keep up with the ever-changing needs of library users by conducting more studies about the needs of library users. This study reports the first Polokwane Municipality empirical study of the use of library services at Moletji Public Library. Keywords: Library; library users; information needs; information source; public library

M.A. (Information Science) / The study was undertaken to explore the remote users of services available public university libraries in Kenya. Scarce literature was available locally on the subject of the study. Provision of quality and relevant information services to support teaching, learning and research remains a central objective of libraries in higher education world over. Higher education institutions in Kenya continue to experience unprecedented growth in student population against limited human capital and physical infrastructure, among the library services. This reality has prompted Universities to adopt different education delivery models; distant learning, e-learning, and part time modules to accommodate the extra numbers seeking higher education. Depending on the preferred module, the students can be categorized into three main groups: on-campus, off-campus and remote user groups. Higher learning standards require that all users to have equitable and inclusive access to resources. This study explores the nature and availability of support services and resources available for remote library users in public university libraries in Kenya. The research methodology adopted was a descriptive research design; where qualitative data was collected using Focus Group Discussions (FGDs). The findings revealed that public university libraries in Kenya have various forms of resources and services that can support remote user needs. However they face certain challenges that hinder the use of the available remote user resources and services in providing equitable access to information services to all its types of users. Key among the challenges was that remote users were not identified as a special user group in the libraries studied contrary to what the study grounded. The results of the study are discussed under three main thematic areas: services for remote users, facilities available for remote users, and policies and regulations that govern remote use of library resources. Equally included in the study are discussions, conclusions and recommendations based on the findings besides identified informational gaps for further research. / Information Science

M. Tech. Business Information Systems / Having tools and resources that would enhance the performance of the learners would be of huge assistance to learners and their institutions. The increasing use of internet and technology has enhanced and transformed the conventional library resources into electronic resources. Utilizing electronic library resources helps learners to acquire information anytime and anywhere. Institutions that support the use of e-resources save significant amounts of money because the printing of materials are reduced. As a result, the use of e-resources by learners enhances their learning and their performance gets improved. The major objective of this study was to conceptualize a framework that will assist in successful electronic resources utilization. This was encouraged by the fact that the determinants of effective utilization of electronic resources are still not clearly expressed.