Dissertation Information for M. Lisa DeGruyter NAME: - M. Lisa DeGruyter
DEGREE:
- Ph.D.
DISCIPLINE:
- Library and Information Science
SCHOOL:
- University of Chicago (USA) (1982)
ADVISORS: - Warden Boyd Rayward
COMMITTEE MEMBERS: - Abraham Bookstein - Victor H. Yngve
MPACT Status: Fully Complete
Title: PATTERNS OF RURAL ADULT PUBLIC LIBRARY USE
Abstract: This study addressed three general questions : What are some of the differences between the characteristics of rural adult public library users and nonusers? Do characteristics of adult public library users in a rural area differ from those of other public library users? and For what purposes do people use the public library in a rural area? The objectives of the study were to build on the best previous current research in the field, using the best current methodology, to produce results relevant to public library management. The study expanded on previous research in two ways : first, by concentrating on a rural popu l ation , and comparing the results to a previous study of a general population, in order to identify differences in public library use related to physical and social environmental factors; and second, by examining the purposes (as perceived by users) of public library use, and the relationship of these purposes to other characteristics of users . A model of factors affecting adult public library use IS proposed, which categorizes these factors as individual characteristics, social characteristics, physical environment characteristics, and occasions of use. ('Occasion of use' is a term introduced to indicate the proximate cause of a use of the library on a specific occasion by a specific user. It is broader in scope than the commonly used term 'information need.') The data were collected in telephone interviews of 466 respondents from randomly selected households in Calhoun County, West Virginia, a rural county in west central West Virginia. The survey is based on the methods and questionnaire used by Douglas Zweizig in his study of Onandaga County, New York, at Syracuse University in 1973. The major change is in the addition of questions to elicit information on the purposes of public library use. Descriptive statistics, multiple regression, and partial correlation analyses were used to describe rural adult public library users and identify relationships of user characteristics to use. These results were compared to the results of Zweizig ' s 1973 study, to identify differences between rural and general population public library use. Finally, data on specific uses of the public library made by respondents were analyzed by multiple regression, factor and content analyses, and compared to the proposed model. The findings show that rural public library users are more active in social and cultural activities, read more, own more books, have more years of schooling, and use more prof essional sources of advice than nonusers. Frequent and intense users read more books and may have more schooling and make more use of professional sources. Public library users in Calhoun County do not differ significantly from public library users in other areas, but there are fewer of them in proportion to the population, probably because the characteristics that influence library use are not as prevalent in rural populations. The reasons given for using and borrowing from the public library were divi ded about evenly between reading for entertainment and trying to obtain useful knowledge. Helping children was also a frequent hypothesized occasions of use motivation. Six of the ten (entertainment, social and cultural participation, interaction with children, formal education, self-education, provision of materials or information for others) were confirmed, and an additional one (casual or 'killing time' use) discovered.
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MPACT Scores for M. Lisa DeGruyter A = 0
C = 0
A+C = 0
T = 0
G = 0
W = 0
TD = 0
TA = 0
calculated 2008-01-31 06:15:18
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