The Role of Mentorship in Shaping Public Library Leaders

published or submitted for publicatio

Small World Lives: Implications for the Public Library

published or submitted for publicatio

A theory of life in the round

This study addresses ways in which inmates at the only maximum-security prison for women in Neuse City (in the northeastern United States) redefine their social world in order to survive incarceration. An aim of the project is to engage in theory building in order to examine the experiences of a world that is “lived in the round.” A life in the round is a public form of life. It is a lifestyle with an enormous degree of imprecision. Yet, it is this inexactitude that provides an acceptable level of certainty. This way of life sets standards by which one constructs everyday meaning from reality. It is a “takenfor-granted,” “business-as-usual ” style of being. Relying on ethnographic research and interviews with 80 women at the prison, the findings revealed that a life in the round was sustaining a “normative ” existence

Reference group theory with implications for information studies: a theoretical essay

This article explores the role and implications of reference group theory in relation to the field of library and information science. Reference group theory is based upon the principle that people take the standards of significant others as a basis for making self-appraisals, comparisons, and choices regarding need and use of information. Research that applies concepts of reference group theory to various sectors of library and information studies can provide data useful in enhancing areas such as information-seeking research, special populations, and uses of information. Implications are promising that knowledge gained from like research can be beneficial in helping information professionals better understand the role theory plays in examining ways in which people manage their information and social worlds