The impact of technology on organizational change in public libraries : a qualitative study

The entire dissertation/thesis text is included in the research.pdf file; the official abstract appears in the short.pdf file (which also appears in the research.pdf); a non-technical general description, or public abstract, appears in the public.pdf file.Title from title screen of research.pdf file (viewed on March 3, 2008)Vita.Thesis (Ph. D.) University of Missouri-Columbia 2007.technologies.This dissertation investigated the impact of technology on organization change in public libraries. Over the past 12 to 15 years, public access computers have been introduced into public libraries of all sizes. Once these public access computers were connected to the Internet, the computers attracted patrons who had not previously used the public library services. The main themes were technology with facilities and services, city government, and people. The main research questions were 1) How has public library culture changed since the introduction of computers for patron use? 2) What adjustments were necessary to deal with the influx of computers and other technology in public libraries? 3) Have public access computers changed the way the libraries are organized and how they are staffed.Includes bibliographical reference

Romance promotion in American public libraries

Almost all libraries collect romance novels, but not all libraries engage in promotion or programming geared toward romance novels. Reader advisory services specific to romance tend to be secondary to general reader advisory services. With the increase in Web 2.0 book promotion, though, the time could be right for promoting the romance genre.Post-printIncludes bibliographical references

Relations between librarians and romance readers: A Missouri survey.

Romance novels have traditionally been derided in academic literature and while recent LIS literature has been supportive of romance, previous articles indicated considerable disdain for the genre. Criticism raised in the literature suggests that romance readers are less educated than other women and that romance novels portray women as passive recipients of men's actions. Do public librarians subscribe to these attitudes? In order to find out, we surveyed public librarians in the State of Missouri to gauge their attitudes and beliefs about romance novels and romance readers.Post-printIncludes bibliographical references

Perception of Romance Readers: An Analysis of Missouri Librarians

PowerPoint presentation presented on the perception of romance readers by Missouri Librarians.PowerPoint presentation related to the perception of romance readers by Missouri librarians

"Wasting time on romances" : uncommon ground in reader advisory education and professional practice [paper]

Do we teach our masters' students about reader advisory services? Well, the majority of schools offer a class that is either explicitly oriented toward Reader Advisory or includes Reader Advisory as a significant element. We conducted an informal review of course descriptions at 50 out of 56 LIS programs, and of those 50, 30 programs offered a total of 48 reader advisory or reader-advisory related courses. Eleven of those courses were specifically titled "Reader Advisory," and the 38 "related" courses generally had titles like "Materials and Services for Adults" or "History of the Book."Presentatio

Romance novels in American public libraries : A study of collection development practices.

In library literature, the collection of romance novels has produced a fairly vociferous debate that has not surrounded other genres. However, there is relatively little in the literature that examines current practices. The authors conducted a national survey, asking libraries how they acquired romance novels for their libraries, what their proportional expenditures were for romance, and the extent of their romance collections. Responses suggested that libraries in general have sizeable romance collections. Some libraries do indeed have smaller collections and spend little or no money on the romance genre. Little is known about public libraries’ collection development practices for any genre, and these results help fill that gap in the library literature. Results also suggest that library and information science education, beyond supporting leisure reading, ought to emphasize the roles that leisure reading serves for readers.Post-printIncludes bibliographical references

"Wasting time on romances" : uncommon ground in reader advisory education and professional practice [handout]

Two page presentation handout distributed at the Association for Library and Information Science Education Conference in Seattle, Washington on January 16, 2007.Presentation handout for "Wasting Time on Romances": Uncommon Ground in Readers Advisory Education and Professional Practice. Presented on January 16, 2007 in Seattle, Washington, for the Association of Library and Information Science Education Conference

Perceptions of Romance Readers : An Analysis of Missouri Librarians

The romance novel is a form of literature geared toward women, which presents a love story with a central female character and a focus on that character's emotional state. Feminist scholarship and library-related literature from the 1980s and 1990s suggests a bias against romance novels on the part of librarians. Some of the reasons for this opinion include the marketing of romance novels as commodities rather than literature, the presence of sexuality in those novels, and the suggestion that romance novels undercut the goals of feminism by maintaining that the key to women's happiness lies in male domination.PresentationIncludes bibliographical references