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| Format: | Recurso educativo Open Access |
|---|---|
| Language: | en |
| Published: |
1973
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED088456 |
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Table of Contents:
- Project Aurora; An Experiment in Expanding Library Awareness, July 1970 to June 1972. Final Report. Attitude Change Home Visits Information Needs Library Extension Nonprofessional Personnel Program Costs Program Evaluation Public Libraries Questionnaires Tables (Data) Training Methods With Project Aurora, the Elyria, Ohio, Public Library tested an alternative form of library extension, as possibly more effective and economical than a branch or bookmobile. Between July 1970 and June 1972, four nonprofessional library representatives made monthly visits to homes, to provide books, to stimulate interest in the library, and to discover local needs. The representatives completed a six-week training course in library services and collections and in visitor techniques. Using the social work caseload approach, each visitor was assigned about 250 families, who had agreed to participate in the Project. The target families represented a socio-economic cross-section of the community, and included both library users and non-users. Toward the end of the project, a questionnaire was distributed to the patron families. It was found that the personal caseload service often stimulated interest in reading, but not necessarily in library use. A need for library service was established for a previously unserved group--the "functionally homebound" who, while not handicapped, are kept from the library by lack of transportation or family responsibilities. But the caseload approach proved to be a prohibitively expensive technique for library extension. (SL)