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Dissertation Information for Sheila S. Intner

NAME:
- Sheila S. Intner

DEGREE:
- Ph.D.

DISCIPLINE:
- Library and Information Science

SCHOOL:
- Columbia University (USA) (1982)

ADVISORS:
- Jane Anne Therese Hannigan
- Richard L. Darling

COMMITTEE MEMBERS:
- Michael Edward Davison Koenig
- Jane Stevens
- Edwin Holmgren
- Maurice J. Freedman

MPACT Status: Fully Complete

Title: ACCESS TO MEDIA: AN INVESTIGATION OF PUBLIC LIBRARIANS' PRACTICES AND ATTITUDES TOWARD ACCESS TO NONPRINT MATERIALS

Abstract: "Access" and "media" are words frequently heard on the library scene. Access is seen as desirable, while media elicits less enthusiasm. The library's goal is to maximize access to knowledge about information and to the information itself. Media refers to the forms in which information occurs. Lack of a clear definition of media is one of librarians' problems. This work is concerned with bibliographic access to visual, auditory and audiovisual materials, excluding printed or print-like forms.

The public catalog in dictionary form as the primary access tool in United States libraries is axiomatic. Unfortunately, media collections are frequently excluded from the public catalog.

This works has to objectives: To describe the nature of bibliographic access to media materials in public libraries; and, to explore the attitudes of professionals toward media and access. The attitudes explored are centered on two basic choices: Preference for integrated or separate access systems; and, belief that all media are fundamentally alike or inherently different as library materials.

The most recent surveys of U.S. bibliographic practices cover only school and academic libraries and present different pictures of the impact of current trends in the field. The contribution of the public library sector to the aggregate of bibliographic effort is a significant unknown, as is an understanding of attitudes toward bibliographic services.

To obtain information from all kinds of public libraries, a selected sample of 935 libraries was drawn from the American Library Directory with attention to geographic distribution and population size served. Catalog librarians in each institution were asked to complete a mailed questionnaire anonymously. The response rate was 48%.

A profile of bibliographic practice, including institutional policies and procedures for obtaining, processing and displaying data as well as providing subject access through subject headings and shelf arrangements was derived from analysis of the distributions of the responses. Attitudes were measured not only for frequency of occurrence, but, through the use of contingency tables, Pearson product-moment correlations and chi-square tests of significance, were related to independent demographic and institutional variables.

The findings indicate a clearly recognizable change from non-standard practices and negative attitudes described by experts in the early 1970s to closer adherence to national standards and acceptance of the idea of integrated and equal treatment as better public service.

MPACT Scores for Sheila S. Intner

A = 2
C = 0
A+C = 2
T = 2
G = 1
W = 2
TD = 2
TA = 0
calculated 2008-01-31 06:01:56

Advisors and Advisees Graph

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Students under Sheila S. Intner

ADVISEES:
- Helena Frances Rodrigues - Simmons College (1992)
- Elizabeth Helen Vernon - Simmons College (2000)

COMMITTEESHIPS: