Dissertation Information for Virgil Blake NAME: - Virgil Blake
DEGREE:
- Ph.D.
DISCIPLINE:
- Library and Information Science
SCHOOL:
- Rutgers University (USA) (1988)
ADVISORS: - Ralph Blasingame
COMMITTEE MEMBERS: - Charles Curran - Jeffrey Smith - Edgar LeDuc
MPACT Status: Fully Complete
Title: Joining city hall: The role of the public library director in obtaining local support for the public library
Abstract: The focus of this investigation was the strength of the relationship between the political activity of the public library director and the level of support for the local public library provided by the local government. The role of other factors previously connected to the local support level for the local public library was also examined.
The methodology employed in this study is rooted in public policy outcomes research as developed by Thomas Dye from a model of the political system first outlined by David Easton. Correlations ascertain the existence of a relationship between the partial variables. The independent variables were (1) community wealth and social composition; (2) educational level of the community; (3) change; and (4) degree of political activity of the library director and responding library trustees. The dependent variables were (1) local support levels for the public library in terms of reported local appropriations; (2) local support levels for the local public library in constant dollars, i.e., the local appropriation corrected for inflation; and (3) effort, the proportion of the community tax base represented by the library appropriation.
Respondents were both library and municipal officials in seven communities in a single northeastern state meeting three criteria: (1) the state had no statutory regulations limiting the amount of the local public library's possible appropriation; (2) they were located in communities that were both medium-sized in population served, i.e., between 50,000 and 99,999 and urban, i.e., in a S.M.S.A.; and (3) had stable leadership, i.e., the same director for the years 1976-1980.
The analysis indicated that when the indicator of local support is either the reported local appropriation or that appropriation corrected for inflation, the null hypothesis could not be rejected. There was no statistically significant relationship between the degree of political activity of the director or of the trustees and local support for the public library. Still, it is worth noting that even in this small number of libraries, political activity was always positively related to the level of local support for the public library. Socio-economic level of the community and educational level of the community were also significantly related to local support levels. (Abstract shortened with permission of author.)
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MPACT Scores for Virgil Blake A = 0
C = 0
A+C = 0
T = 0
G = 0
W = 0
TD = 0
TA = 0
calculated 2008-01-31 06:09:45
Advisors and Advisees Graph
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