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Dissertation Information for Della Lea Ann McGaugh

NAME:
- Della Lea Ann McGaugh

DEGREE:
- Ph.D.

DISCIPLINE:
- Library and Information Science

SCHOOL:
- University of Michigan, Ann Arbor (USA) (1994)

ADVISORS:
- Miranda Pao

COMMITTEE MEMBERS:
- Kathleen Garland
- Amy Warner
- Margaret Ann Thomas Taylor
- Walter Bernard Panko

MPACT Status: Fully Complete

Title: Electronic trails on DOCLINE: Organizational interactions among Michigan health science libraries

Abstract: The cooperative use of collections among libraries through automated interlibrary loan systems is standard practice among libraries, but the interorganizational relationships reflected in these transactions are poorly understood.

Structural analysis of interlibrary loan data through cluster analysis is used to explore and describe resource sharing activity. The macrosociological theory of Peter Blau is examined for its usefulness in explaining relationships among libraries defined by the interlibrary loan interaction.

The population studied was Michigan health science libraries participating in DOCLINE (the automated electronic interlibrary loan network of the National Library of Medicine) during 1991.

Cluster analysis of interlibrary loan data from DOCLINE revealed meaningful structural relationships among the interloaning libraries. Identified groups differed on collection measures and geographically. The data suggests that groupings may form around libraries with stronger collections.

The actualization of the resource sharing process as evidenced by the cluster analysis of interlibrary loan records is compared with the conceptualization of the process (evidenced by the library managers' perceptions), and the formalization of the process (evidenced by DOCLINE routing tables). Results show that the actual interlibrary lending interactions among the libraries do not reflect closely the interactions suggested by either the conceptual or organizational data. Electronic routing of interlibrary lending requests may produce patterns of interactions that were not anticipated by the participating managers.

When interactions between groups of libraries were examined in the context of Blau's prediction that the number of contacts by members of any smaller group with members of any larger group would exceed the number of contacts by members of the larger group with members of the smaller, the proportion of contacts between libraries in variously identified smaller and larger groups was in the expected direction. When the volume of requests was considered, the mathematical relationship between the groups was inadequate to explain the interactions, suggesting the need for alternative explanations. Some geographic trends were discernible, but the strong patterns suggested by Blau were not supported.

MPACT Scores for Della Lea Ann McGaugh

A = 0
C = 0
A+C = 0
T = 0
G = 0
W = 0
TD = 0
TA = 0
calculated 2008-01-31 06:29:38

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