Dissertation Information for Julie Beth Todaro NAME: - Julie Beth Todaro
DEGREE:
- Ph.D.
DISCIPLINE:
- Library and Information Science
SCHOOL:
- Columbia University (USA) (1983)
ADVISORS: - Jane Anne Therese Hannigan
COMMITTEE MEMBERS: - Kay Ellen Vandergrift
MPACT Status: Incomplete - Ambiguous
Title: COMPETENCIES OF CHILDREN'S LIBRARIANS: AN ATTITUDINAL ASSESSMENT
Abstract: The literature concerning the children's librarian is replete with suggested competencies. This study is designed to ascertain the attitudes toward these expected competencies. Seven groups of professionals who have knowledge of and interest in the children's librarian were chosen for attitudinal assessment. They were children's librarians, public library directors, personnel officers, deans of library schools, library educators and state library children's consultants. These groups worked in library systems that serve 100,000 or more and were from ALA accredited library schools. All fifty state libraries were included.
Forty-five competencies selected for the survey attitudinal instrument were chosen from the literature from 1960 to April of 1981 and were selected for their frequency of appearance and their importance. They represented three types of competencies (knowledges, skills/abilities, and attitudes) and seven subject area clusters. These clusters included administrative, materials', programmatic, audience/child, community, institutional, and professional competencies. Population responded to the competencies in the computer-coded survey on a five-point forced choice Likert scale "of importance."
Analysis of the data was a form of regression analysis for nonparametric data entitled Multiple Classification Analysis. Regression was performed on both the competency list and on the personal and demographic questions. These results were used for discussion of the six hypotheses, and for discussion of attitudes to subject area clusters and competency types.
The hypotheses included: public library directors' attitude toward administrative competencies; children's librarians' and library educators' attitudes toward types of competencies; attitudes of respondents who spend more than 50% of their time with children; attitudes of supervisory level personnel; and, the relationship of demographic and personal variables such as age, to attitude toward competency.
With a response rate of 47.5%, the population proved five of the hypotheses false. In addition, overall lists of expected competencies, subject area clusters and competency types were created for the children's librarian.
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MPACT Scores for Julie Beth Todaro A = 0
C = 1
A+C = 1
T = 0
G = 0
W = 0
TD = 0
TA = 0
calculated 2010-02-08 12:50:40
Advisors and Advisees Graph
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