The Impact of the Internet on the Public Library: Current Status and Signs for the Future

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Corinne Jörgensen ◽  
Geogre D'Elia ◽  
Joseph Woelfel ◽  
Eleanor Jo Rodger
Keyword(s):  
Market Segmentation ◽  
Time Use ◽  
Telephone Survey ◽  
Public Library ◽  
Current Status ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Consumer Market ◽  
The Public ◽  
Library Use ◽  
The Impact

This paper presents the results of a research project to evaluate the impacts of the Internet on public library use. A national telephone survey was conducted using a market segmentation model for use of information services and resources at the public library and on the Internet. This research provides baseline data describing the current consumer market for library and Internet services. The data suggest that at this time use of the...

scholarly journals What do people do when their library closes down?

2013 ◽  
Vol 20 (66) ◽  
pp. 33-38
Author(s):  
R V Proctor ◽  
Bob Usherwood ◽  
Gill Sobczyk
Keyword(s):  
Public Library ◽  
British Library ◽  
Library Services ◽  
The Public ◽  
Research And Innovation ◽  
Library Research ◽  
Patterns Of Use ◽  
Library Use ◽  
Temporary Closure ◽  
The Impact

This article describes British Library funded research into the Sheffield libraries strike last year. The aim of the research was to investigate the impact of the temporary closure of public library services on user behaviour and attitudes. It examines the robustness of public library use and how easily previous patterns of use were resumed after the strike. Assertions in previous research about the effect of the public library on the local infrastructure are also tested. The full Report is available from the British Library, (Research and Innovation Report 6224).

The impact of youth's use of the internet on their use of the public library

2007 ◽  
Vol 58 (14) ◽  
pp. 2180-2196 ◽  
Author(s):  
George D'Elia ◽  
June Abbas ◽  
Kay Bishop ◽  
Donald Jacobs ◽  
Eleanor Jo Rodger
Keyword(s):  
Public Library ◽  
The Internet ◽  
The Public ◽  
Use Of The Internet ◽  
The Impact

Evidence of an Open Government Data Portal Impact on the Public Sphere

2016 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 21-36 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rui Pedro Lourenço
Keyword(s):  
Public Sphere ◽  
Qualitative Content Analysis ◽  
Research Effort ◽  
Open Government ◽  
The Internet ◽  
The Public ◽  
Open Government Data ◽  
The Public Sphere ◽  
Google Search ◽  
The Impact

Data portals are being created as part of open government strategies to increase transparency. But although the potential of the internet to increase transparency (as data disclosure) has been widely considered in the literature, there is no reported evidence of any of the released data actually being used by their ultimate recipients (citizens) for public accountability purposes. This descriptive research effort aims to find evidence of the impact of open government portals, asserting whether data is indeed being used and for what purposes. One contract portal was selected and Google Search was used to find portal references on the internet. A qualitative content analysis approach was adopted, whereby references were examined with respect to its main purpose and data usage. Evidence was found of contract data being used, among others, to identify possible situations of corruption, nepotism and misusage of public resources, support argumentation on public policy debates and, in general, to hold public officials accountable in the public sphere through ‘blame and shame' sanctions.

scholarly journals Change in store? An investigation into the impact of the book superstore environment on use, perceptions and expectations of the public library as a space, place and experience

2009 ◽  
Vol 28 (88) ◽  
pp. 13-26
Author(s):  
Helen Cartwright
Keyword(s):  
Young People ◽  
Focus Group ◽  
Public Library ◽  
Focus Group Interviews ◽  
Community Resource ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
The Public ◽  
Group Interviews ◽  
Perceptions And Expectations ◽  
The Impact

The book superstore is promoted not just as a place to buy books but also as a community resource in which to read, learn and socialise: traits that have in combination traditionally been the preserve of the public library. This study investigates the impact of the bookstore environment on public library space. The attitudes and behaviours of library and bookstore users were examined through focus group interviews and a self-completed questionnaire. Clear areas of overlap in the functions of the two sites were found, as was evidence of age and income-related splits in use and perception of bookstores and libraries. Results suggest attention should be paid to the beliefs and behaviours of young people and middle-income earners (the groups most noticeably increasing their use of the bookstore) and to the desired balance of education and recreation in the image and nature of the public library.

The specificity of the digital transformation of the public sector

2021 ◽  
Vol 150 (3) ◽  
pp. 1-23
Author(s):  
Katarzyna Śledziewska ◽  
Renata Włoch
Keyword(s):  
Public Sector ◽  
Public Administration ◽  
Main Part ◽  
New Technology ◽  
Digital Technologies ◽  
Digital Transformation ◽  
The Internet ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Subject ◽  
The Impact

In this article we focus on identifying the specificity of digital transformation within the public sector. The aim of the article is to present the main mechanisms resulting from the introduction of digital innovations that have changed the functioning of the public sector. Starting from a discussion on the technological requirements of digital transformation, we briefly characterise the use of computers and the Internet in public administration, resulting in the development of e-services and administration. The main part of the article is devoted to discussing the specificity of the implementation of the new digital technologies in public administration, focusing mainly on artificial intelligence and blockchain technologies. Our thesis is that the impact of innovative digital technologies on the operation standards and structure of public administration should be analysed through the prism of interrelated mechanisms of datafication and platformisation, characteristic for the digital economy. The adopted methodology, which is based on an analysis of the subject literature and an analysis of new technology implementations in public administration in EU countries, indicates the pilot, random and non-transformational nature of these implementations, partly due to the lack of well-established methodologies to study and assess the maturity of digital transformation within the public sector.

Internet Incidence on SME’s Sales

2014 ◽  
pp. 175-190
Author(s):  
María Verónica Alderete
Keyword(s):  
Logit Model ◽  
Internet Access ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Internet Adoption ◽  
Adoption Decision ◽  
The Public ◽  
Binary Logit Model ◽  
Dichotomous Variable ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Matching Techniques

The purpose of this paper is to determine how much is the “bonus” or “prize” to the sales per worker of Internet-using firms compared to not Internet-using firms. The authors employ some matching techniques based on an Argentinean database. The authors first present a binary logit model, in which the dependent variable is a dichotomous variable equal to 1 if the firm adopted Internet and 0 otherwise, to evaluate the factors that influence a firm’s probability of adopting Internet. A propensity score matching (PSM) model is then used to assess the impact of using Internet on the sales per worker. The authors find statically significant differences in the sales average between firms that are similar in many dimensions such as location, size, and sales market except for the Internet adoption decision. By probing that Internet access improves SME’s sales, the chapter is validating the Public Sector ICT modernization programs for SME. The contribution of this paper consists of using a well known technique as PSM to analyze a recent field of research which is the contribution of Internet adoption to the firm’s sales per worker.

Towards an Assessment of Public Library Value

2010 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 42-51
Author(s):  
Kristine Paberza
Keyword(s):  
Public Libraries ◽  
Public Library ◽  
Development Project ◽  
Free Access ◽  
The Public ◽  
Use Of Resources ◽  
Other Information ◽  
Library Development ◽  
The Impact

This paper presents methodology, early findings, possible applications of results and lessons learnt from the research study “Public libraries: value, trust and satisfaction”. The study was conducted in Latvia as the part of the impact assessment plan within the public library development project “Third Father’s Son”. The project’s goal was to improve people’s quality of life by strengthening the capacities of public libraries to facilitate better and proactive use of resources offered by free access to information technology and the Internet. In this paper, the author introduces practical results from the measurement of use-oriented value of public libraries by using information from the ecology approach and identifying the role of the public library within a context of other information sources used by the public.

scholarly journals Econometric Analysis Suggests Possible Crowding Out of Public Libraries by Book Superstores among Middle Income Families in the 1990s

2007 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. 94
Author(s):  
Stephanie Hall
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Public Library ◽  
The United States ◽  
Econometric Analysis ◽  
Consumer Information ◽  
County Level ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Library Use ◽  
The Impact

Objective – To determine the effect of large bookstores (defined as those having 20 or more employees) on household library use. Design – Econometric analysis using cross-sectional data sets. Setting – The United States of America. Subjects – People in over 55,000 households across the U.S.A. Methods – Data from 3 1996 studies were examined using logit and multinomial logit estimation procedures: the National Center for Education Statistics’ National Household Education Survey (NHES) and Public Library Survey (PLS), and the U.S. Census Bureau’s County Business Patterns (CBP). The county level results of the NHES telephone survey were merged with the county level data from the PLS and the CBP. Additionally, data on Internet use at the state level from the Statistical Abstract of the United States were incorporated into the data set. A logit regression model was used to estimate probability of library use based on several independent variables, evaluated at the mean. Main results – In general, Hemmeter found that "with regard to the impact of large bookstores on household library use, large bookstores do not appear to have an effect on overall library use among the general population” (613). While no significant changes in general library use were found among high and low income households where more large bookstores were present, nor in the population taken as a whole, middle income households (between $25,000 and $50,000 in annual income) showed notable declines in library use in these situations. These effects were strongest in the areas of borrowing (200% less likely) and recreational purposes (161%), but were also present in work-related use and job searching. Hemmeter also writes that “poorer households use the library more often for job search purposes. The probability of library use for recreation, work, and consumer information increases as income increases. This effect diminishes as households get richer” (611). Finally, home ownership was also correlated with higher library use. Households with children were more than 20% more likely to use the library (610). Their use of the library for school-related purposes, general borrowing, program activities, and so on was not affected by the presence of book superstores. White families with children were somewhat less likely to use the library, while families with higher earning and education levels were more likely to use the library. Library use also increased with the number of children in the family. Shorter distances to the nearest branch and a higher proportion of AV materials were also predictive of higher library use. Educational level was another important factor, with those having less than high school completion being significantly less likely to use the library than those with higher levels of educational attainment. Conclusions – The notable decline in public library use among middle income households where more large bookstores are present is seen as an important threat to libraries, as it may result in a decline in general support and support for funding among an important voting block. More current data are needed in this area. In addition to the type of information examined in this study, the author recommends the inclusion of information on funding, support for library referenda, and library quality as they relate to the presence of large bookstores.

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