Public Libraries and Internet Service Roles - Softcover

American Library Association

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0838935761 ISBN 13: 9780838935767

Publisher: ALA Editions, 2009

Synopsis

The Internet is not a one-way street in terms of library service as it challenges any traditional notion of its use for collecting or managing information. The information is constantly changing. It is not a static and reliable source like a book, nor is the content necessarily correct all of the time. In this resource, authors Charles McClure and Paul T. Jaeger speak to the ways in which the Internet has had more impact on public libraries than any other technology since the creation of the book. The issues presented are vital to library service, planning, evaluation, research and education - and most significantly how effectively libraries service the general public.This title helps you: learn the importance of measuring and maximizing library service through internet services; analyze new and unique Internet-enabled service roles of public libraries - expanding on the Web 2.0 environment; and, gain insight in selecting and creating Internet-enabled service roles. Public Libraries and Internet Service Roles will help ensure that public libraries remain a vibrant marketplace of ideas freely accessible to all members of the library community.

About this title

About the Author

Paul T. Jaeger, PhD, JD, is co-director of the Information Policy and Access Center and assistant professor in the College of Information Studies at the University of Maryland.

Reviews

According to McClure and Jaeger, “The Internet is more significant to libraries than has been any technology since the book—changing social roles, expectations, and impacts of libraries in the eyes of patrons, communities, and governments.” Here they summarize the existing research on the meanings of social roles and expectations of public libraries and the results of studies detailing those roles and expectations in relation to the Internet; patron, community, and government expectations of Internet access provided by public libraries; and new areas for further research. McClure is one of the original authors of Public Libraries and the Internet, a national survey begun in 1994 and still being conducted annually. Jaeger’s main area of research focuses on the effect of public policy and law in public libraries. Their book raises our awareness of some very critical issues and is required reading for anyone who cares about public libraries. --Carolyn Mulac

Edition details

• Publisher: ALA Editions
• Publication date: 2009
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0838935761
• ISBN 13: 9780838935767
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 124