Thesis--University of California, Berkeley. / eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 203-221).

Thesis (A.M.L.S.)--University of Michigan, 1948.

Les dépôts littéraires regroupent des livres nationalisés de corps ou communautés supprimés et ceux confisqués à des émigrés ou condamnés. La thèse se compose de quatre parties: 1 ° Orchestrer les entrées de livres dans les dépôts littéraires: l'importance géostratégique de leur implantation illustre leur rôle d'intermédiaire entre anciens propriétaires et futurs possesseurs. L'organisation matérielle et la segmentation des espaces des dépôts sont conditionnées par la nature des travaux et la hiérarchisation des fonctions. 2° Acteurs et tutelles du projet: le personnel, chargé d'inventorier et de déplacer les livres, est majoritairement constitué d'hommes de lettres, reconvertis dans le nouveau service public de l'Instruction. L'intégration à la fonction publique leur assure un salaire minimum et témoigne de la reconnaissance de leurs compétences. La fonctionnarisation des personnels et l'institutionnalisation des dépôts littéraires reflètent l'importance politique du projet de redistribution des livres acquis à la Nation. 3° Une science en héritage, la bibliographie : les dépôts permettent la transition entre une opération de recensement et un instrument de péréquation. 4° Les destinations des livres des dépôts littéraires : la fonction des dépôts consiste à trier les livres qu'ils contiennent puis à leur donner la meilleure des destinations possibles, soit par la vente des ouvrages inutiles, soit par la mise à disposition des ouvrages utiles auprès d'établissements ou d'organes publics. La répartition s'opère suivant une politique de la demande, fondée sur un principe d'équité et déterminée par le domaine de spécialité et le rang institutionnel des destinataires. / The depots are established to put together the books nationalized or confiscated from religious communities after their suppression but also from émigrés and condemned persons. This thesis is composed of four parts: 1 ° Organize the intlux of books in the depots : they are put up in strategic places, to facilitate the movements of books between former owners and future possessors. The types of work and the different functions determine the material organisation and the segmentation of inner spaces. 2° Actors and supervision of the project: former men of letters are employed by the public service of state education to make the inventories and move the books. As employees of the State, the payment of salaries is guaranteed and their skills acknowledged. The institutionalization of the depots retlects the political importance of the project of redistribution of the books. 3° Bibliography, an inherited science : the depots allow the transition between an operation of inventory to an instrument of perequation. 4° The destinations of the books of the depots: the function of the depots is to determine the best purpose possible, either by selling the useless books or by putting the useful ones at the disposaI of public establishments or organs of govemment. The books are shared out according to the institutional position of the future possessors.

Institutions are generally assumed to be stable, but recent research has focused on how that stability may be overturned to create institutional change. The assumption of stability has led to a lack of research on the flip side of change, maintenance, even though we cannot fully understand change without understanding the forces change agents work against. By examining more than a century of American public library discourse, I develop the construct of core ideas and a model of the maintenance of these institutions. Core ideas are those institutionalized ideas at the heart of a field that act as touchstones of a field's work and identity. Like other institutions, core ideas may be both added to and subtracted from a field and require maintenance through reinforcement and reinterpretation to endure. The model of maintenance of core ideas shows how core ideas are maintained in the face of social and technological change through use, as actors draw on core ideas to justify or deny accounts of practice, which reinforces, reinterprets, or undermines existing or proposed core ideas. In developing a model of maintenance I also examine how core ideas illuminate the internal workings of institutional logics and explore how the multivocality of core ideas allows and even supports multiple logics within a field.

Programa AlÃan de bolsas de estudo de alto nÃvel destinado à AmÃrica Latina / Este trabalho aborda as Bibliotecas PÃblicas em Portugal e sua relaÃÃo com os utilizadores idosos, revisando o papel socioinformacional das Bibliotecas PÃblicas, baseado nos princÃpios universais decretados pela UNESCO, bem como a escassez das polÃticas pÃblicas voltadas para a populaÃÃo idosa. A anÃlise dos serviÃos prestados pelas bibliotecas possibilitou identificar que nÃo existe, por parte destas, uma actuaÃÃo efectiva junto aos utilizadores idosos, certificando a necessidade de implantaÃÃo de uma acÃÃo planeada a nÃvel nacional e em conjunto, liderada por ÃrgÃos ligados Ãs bibliotecas. O resultado dessa acÃÃo nacional resultaria na mudanÃa de cenÃrio de passividade das bibliotecas pÃblicas em relaÃÃo ao utilizador idoso. O desenvolvimento da pesquisa dÃ-se a partir da contextualizaÃÃo das Bibliotecas e seu processo histÃrico evolutivo, relatando a evoluÃÃo conceitual de biblioteca, incluindo seu novo papel como agente de infoinclusÃo. Relata as polÃticas pÃblicas de infoinclusÃo em Portugal e o processo de implantaÃÃo da Rede de Bibliotecas PÃblicas. O diagnÃstico da situaÃÃo existente hoje nas Bibliotecas PÃblicas portuguesas e sua relaÃÃo com o utilizador idoso foi obtido atravÃs da aplicaÃÃo de inquÃrito direccionado Ãs bibliotecas pÃblicas. Focalizou-se tambÃm num estudo de caso prÃtico na Biblioteca Municipal Almeida Garrett e conheceu a visÃo do idoso e sua relaÃÃo com a biblioteca, atravÃs de aplicaÃÃo de inquÃrito. Apontam-se propostas para implementaÃÃo de polÃticas de infoinclusÃo voltadas para o utilizador idoso e indicam-se as medidas que deverÃo ser realizadas, visando alcanÃar o Ãxito no trabalho com idosos em bibliotecas. / This work focuses on Public Libraries and their relationship with aged users, reviewing the social and informational role of those libraries, based on the universal principles established by UNESCO, as well as the lack of public polices devoted to old population. The analysis of the services provided by the libraries enabled to conclude that doesnât exist, from their side, an effective action directed to aged users, and that it is necessary to implement a planned action at national level, with the leadership of the organic sectors connected to libraries. The result of such national action would promote a change in the passive scenario played by public libraries in relation to the aged user. The development of this research started from a contextualization of Libraries and their historical and evolutive process, describing the library conceptual evolution, including its new role as info-inclusion agent. It describes also the public policies of info-inclusion in Portugal and the implementation process of the Public Libraries Network. The diagnosis of the existing situation in the Portuguese Public Libraries today and their relationship with the aged user has been accomplished through a survey sent to the public libraries. It focused also in a practical case study on the Biblioteca Municipal Almeida Garrett and reached to the knowledge of the aged user vision and its relationship with the library, also through a survey. Finally there are indicated some proposals in order to the implementation of info-inclusion policies devoted to the aged user and there are mentioned the measures that shall be undertaken for a successful work with aged users inside the libraries.

Magister Bibliothecologiae - MBibl / The debate about the role of libraries has been on-going for more than 100 years. Huynh (2004:20) states that, initially, the purpose of public libraries was to educate or teach the public. Over time there has been a gradual shift away from this perspective to that of providing information to all groups in a community. Increasingly a clearer focus has emerged through documents such as the ‘Public Library Manifesto’ and the ‘Library and Information Services (LIS) Transformation Charter’. The Public Library Manifesto (IFLA and UNESCO 1994) addresses the need for a clear policy, “defining objectives, priorities and services in relation to the local community needs”. The Library and Information Services Transformation Charter states that there must be processes in place to gauge and analyse the library services needs of specific communities so that the library can become an information and cultural hub, responsive to the needs of the local community (South African Department of Arts and Culture 2009:20). This research examined the responsiveness of collection development initiatives and processes to the needs of communities served by the City of Cape Town Library and Information Services (COCTLIS), to assess if this constitutes a community driven approach to collection development. The following research questions were investigated: • What does a community-driven approach to collection development entail? • How does the collection development plan (CDP) of COCTLIS support a community-driven approach to collection development? • How are community needs established and assessed? • What other collection development tools and methods are librarians using? A combination of quantitative and qualitative methods were used to gather the necessary data to achieve the research objectives of this study. In particular content and thematic analysis was performed on the collection development plan (CDP) of the COCTLIS. This analysis revealed the frequency and context in which key terms, in the CDP, identify and support COCTLIS’ approach to collection development. In addition a questionnaire survey of a sample of the 104 libraries in COCTLIS was undertaken. The questionnaire was designed to examine librarians’ understanding of the philosophy underpinning collection development in COCTLIS and the extent to which the activities they employ facilitate the achievement of these collection development goals and objectives. It is hoped that this research might lead to identifying a set of principles or guidelines for community responsiveness in collection development by looking at current best practices on the ground in relation to the “old ways”. This research has found that the approach to collection development as practiced in COCTLIS conforms to the ‘textbook’ description of a community or patron-driven approach discussed in the literature. This approach requires a clear focus on establishing and meeting the needs of the communities served by libraries. The focus on community needs is evident as an underlying theme in statements in the CDP of COCTLIS, such as their vision statement. This conclusion is further supported by the understanding displayed by their staff in the practical application of the principles of this approach.

Bibliography: leaves 360-395. / Current methods of book selection in provincial library services in South Africa are examined with a view to establish whether they are the most effective possible from the point of view of the affiliated public libraries throughout the country. This involved tracing the history and development of the four provincial library services and examining their current selection practices. A well-organised network of affiliated public libraries making provision for white, and to a lesser extent coloured, South Africans has been established since World War II, with the strongly centralised provincial services providing the book stock. It appeared from the study that relatively little change had occurred in either the organisational structures or the book selection methods of these services since their inception, and that the involvement of local librarians in book selection was negligible. Instead of their role increasing as more public libraries were staffed by qualified librarians, financial pressures had resulted in even less initiative being permitted and an increase in centralised control. To establish the ideal model against which the performance of the provincial library services could be evaluated, contemporary professional opinion on public library objectives, management and book selection, as also the developments in rural systems in selected countries was surveyed. Compared to the static local picture of service which emerged from the empirical investigation, overseas advances in goals and management as reported in the literature had seen exciting professional advances, with librarians accepting, and going out to meet, the challenge of the changes in society. Strong communication links between users and selectors were emphasised. Rural networks in the foreign countries surveyed had grown to improve in efficiency and in economic terms, but in all cases the local librarian selected his own book stock, which seems more satisfactory than the current South African practice. To further test this hypothesis an empirical investigation by means of a questionnaire was circulated to all affiliated public libraries circulating more than 60 000 books annually. The findings confirmed the surmised lack of interaction in book selection between provincial and public librarians, and there was dissatisfaction, particularly among the very biggest libraries with experienced qualified staff, at the present system. The thesis concludes with recommendations made towards remedying this situation.

No description available.

Despite shifts toward a more collaborative approach to emergency management, little scholarly attention has focused on the roles of local public organizations and nonprofits that do not have explicit emergency management missions in disaster response. Scholars and government officials call for identifying key local actors and developing a more collaborative emergency preparedness approaches prior to disaster situations. In practice, emergency officials seldom recognize post-disaster efforts of these local actors. Efforts to anticipate the potential decisions and actions of organizations that do not routinely deal with disasters necessitate a better understanding of how managers perceive their post-disaster related roles and what may account for such perceptions. Focusing on public libraries in the U.S., this study draws on information gathered through surveys and semi-structured interviews with library managers and directors operating in Hampton Roads, Virginia. To further investigate variations in willingness to engage in emergency response among local jurisdictions, the study explores context-related characteristics such as organizational arrangements and features of the policy environment in which library managers operate as well as factors related to individual managerial practices. The study finds that library officials' perceptions vary across libraries. Variations range from a more defensive approach to a more proactive approach. Efforts to account for the extent to which officials would be willing to engage in a more proactive approach should consider both the emergence of individual-managers' entrepreneurial spirit and their involvement in community-based disaster planning. / Ph. D. / This study examines how public managers in organizations that do not routinely deal with emergencies perceive the role of their organizations in responding to natural disasters and explores what may help explain such perceptions. Focusing on public libraries in the Hampton Roads region of Virginia, I found that managers’ entrepreneurial spirit combined with their sense of recognition and inclusion in the local emergency preparedness network were associated with willingness to engage in a more proactive approach to disaster response.

PhDRDV / Institute for Rural Development / Providing access to knowledge and connecting it to the needs of individuals as well as grassroots community have always been at the centre of the mission and purpose of public libraries. Numerous studies conducted in various parts of the world have shown that public libraries are the anchor of the lives of communities where they are established. These studies have revealed that information needs may not be the same for different age groups and for different genders. For that reason many countries have been investing in the establishment of community libraries. In South Africa, a community libraries conditional grant was introduced in 2007 to build capacity for public libraries through building additional libraries and renovating existing ones so that they provide information that will satisfy information needs of all community members. However, there are still concerns about the functionality of public libraries and need to strengthening their capacity so that they adequately address community information. This study was conducted on rural community libraries in Mutale located in the Vhembe District of Limpopo Province, South Africa. The main objective was to develop a model for enhanced functionality of public libraries for rural community development. The study was conceptualized around the ecological framework (Asselin and Doiron, 2014). The specific objectives were: to identify challenges faced by the library in providing services to adults, youth and children: to establish if information needs of adults, youth and children varied due to age, and to assess the level of satisfaction of adults, youth and children with the services of the local public library. The study used an exploratory sequential mixed method design with the qualitative phase preceding the quantitative phase. The qualitative phase had two phases. In the first, phase fourteen key informants were purposefully selected and engaged in face-to-face interviews as well as one focus group. Qualitative data from this phase were analysed using atlas.ti version 8. Results distilled showed that the library was hampered by centralized library services which were run from the district level, insufficient funding, inadequate library operating hours and lack of ICT support. In the second phase, a total of 150 adults, youth and children were purposefully selected and engaged in face-to-face interviews as well as focus group discussions. An interview guide complimented by camera, and voice recorder were used to collect data from the respondents. Atlas ti version 8 was used to analyse the data. The results showed that information needs of the community were not fully met by provisions in the library. A variety of information resources expected to satisfy the needs of adults, youth and children respectively include increased number of computers with internet connection, extended library opening hours including Saturdays , stakeholder engagement to be recognized, the extensive marketing of the library for it to be used by the community and the need to improve the amenities and library infrastructure. Results obtained in the qualitative phase of the study informed the second quantitative phase . During this phase, an evaluative survey was conducted with adults, youth and children. Convenience and snowballing techniques were used to sample 176 respondents. A questionnaire with a Likert-type ranking scale was used to collect data. The International Business Machines, Statistical Product and Service Solutions (IBM SPSS) version 24 was used to analyse the data. Chi Square and Crammer’s V tests were performed on the data. It was established that more female (59%) than male (41%) respondents used the library. Of the respondents engaged 26% o were children; 30% were youth and 55% were adults. In terms of travelling to access the library services 32% of the respondents travels less than two kilometers while 68% travel more than two kilometers. This indicates that the majority of the users have a challenge of accessing the library due to distance. The majority of the respondents (70%) did not use the library frequently, with only 30% being active library users. Significant differences in accessing library services were observed according to age in terms of “Current books on all subjects”, “Major reference works such as Encyclopaedias and dictionaries”, “Books on arts and crafts”, “Audio-visual materials” and “Electronic databases”. No significant differences according to gender were observed on all aspects on availability of materials except for “Children’s materials”. Only the perception on availability of “Current books on all subjects” showed a moderate relationship across age (based on the Cramer’s V value >.3). However, on all the aspects where the results showed an association by age and gender the relationship was deemed weak as demonstrated by Cramer’ V values (<.3). Generally, all the respondents (adults, youth and children) were not satisfied with the ICTs, availability of information and available services and amenities. Chi-square tests showed no significant associations between age and perceptions on ICT resources of an ideal library, available services, available amenities, marketing of library services, availability of materials in the library and type of information needed to make informed decisions. These results imply that for the library to provide unhindered services, there must be an enabling environment for the smooth running of the library. There is a need for government to review the policy of running the libraries from districts, as this negatively impacts on opening hours, acquisitions of materials and ICTs support. The library needs to do a periodic survey of the information needs of the community so that it responds by providing relevant and current resources. The study proposed a conceptual model that will enhance the functionality of libraries and to enhance their capacity to offer better services to their users. The proposed model is anchored on nine broad areas which are strengthening human resources, funding, access and accessibility, partnerships, infrastructure, ICTs, management, stakeholder consultation and periodic users’ surveys. Thus, if these interventions are heeded to, there is a higher possibility that the library will be more functional and better positioned to close the information gap. The study contributes to the body of knowledge through provision of a conceptual model which highlights factors that hamper smooth provision of library services, and offers pillars (components of the model) that can enhance the functionality of public libraries in rural areas. It further contributes by highlighting those services regard by users to be important for maximal usage of libraries. This study was unique in that as at the time of completion according to the investigator’s knowledge no other study on rural public libraries has looked into the functionality of libraries funded by the conditional grant using a variety of methods, different perspectives through engaging key informants, factoring in the different age groups and bringing in the gender perspective in a single study. Use of different computer assisted software packages (Atlas version 8 and SPSS version 24) over and above the thematic content analysis to analyse the data was also unique as most other known studies only used thematic content analysis for their qualitative data. Based on the findings it was concluded that decentralized services to local municipal level could reduce many of the challenges that hinder libraries from providing smooth and quality services to their communities. Improved materials collections to satisfy individual and communal information needs, user friendly opening hours as well as engaging the community in library decisions could go a long way in ensuring the library is recognized as a community development hub that fulfills its mission of keeping the community informed. It was therefore recommended that the policy on the running of public libraries should be reviewed with the view to decentralize the running of public libraries to local municipalities,. More still, policy on library funding should be reviewed, library opening hours should be extended, better trained ICT technicians should be placed in local libraries, librarians should be appointed on a permanent basis, and a comparative study of all libraries in Vhembe should be conducted to gauge if the community is deriving any benefits from the provision of computers and access to the internet through “Mzansi Online” project. / Staff Capacity Development