A descriptive study of the use, cost, perceived value and social context of telecommunications tools in two year libraries in the Southeast was undertaken. There were three purposes in the study: (1) to describe the cost and use of telecommunications tools; (2) to investigate the perceived value of those tools; (3) to investigate the social context of the use or non-use of those tools. / The study was implemented in four stages. First, a questionnaire was mailed to all 269 two-year colleges to establish their organizational patterns and the identity of library managers. Seventy-seven percent responded. Second, a questionnaire was mailed to 175 of the responding libraries inquiring about the use and perceived value of telecommunications tools. Fifty-nine percent responded. The third stage was limited to those libraries with a high level of telecommunications usage (5 or more tools). This group was constituted of 48 libraries, of which 66 percent responded. The application of a social model composed the fourth stage. / It was found that few libraries in the Southeast employ telecommunications tools at a high level. There is little money available for such tools and costs are relatively high. When telecommunications tools are employed they receive extensive usage by relatively few students. The technology most in evidence is that pertaining to video machines of various types. Computer technology was decidedly under-represented, although it was often preferred above other tools. / The perception of such tools was positive among librarians, although costs were often perceived as a hinderance to the use of the tools. The cost levels influenced about 25 percent of the librarians to favor fees being charged. The tools perceived as being of most value generally were those related to video technology. / Socially, the employment of such tools represents an important technological, social and procedural change for librarians. Such change represents a shift in the distribution of knowledge in society and the alteration of role-expectations among information professionals--as well as the addition of new information professions. Dialectical procedures are seen as a useful choice for affecting stability in library related information roles. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 45-04, Section: A, page: 0979. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1984.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:fsu.edu/oai:fsu.digital.flvc.org:fsu_75295 |
| Contributors | HOLTON, EDWIN LEE., Florida State University |
| Source Sets | Florida State University |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text |
| Format | 285 p. |
| Rights | On campus use only. |
| Relation | Dissertation Abstracts International |
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