Public Library Websites as Electronic Branches: A Multi-Country Quantitative Evaluation

Fuente: ERIC Institute of Education Sciences
Enregistré dans:
Détails bibliographiques
Auteurs principaux: Velasquez, Diane L., Evans, Nina
Format: Recurso educativo Open Access
Langue:en
Publié: 2018
Sujets:
Accès en ligne:
Tags: Ajouter un tag
Pas de tags, Soyez le premier à ajouter un tag!
_version_ 1867180883317882880
author Velasquez, Diane L.
Evans, Nina
author_facet Velasquez, Diane L.
Evans, Nina
Velasquez, Diane L.
Evans, Nina
collection Education Resources Information Center
contents Public Library Websites as Electronic Branches: A Multi-Country Quantitative Evaluation Velasquez, Diane L. Evans, Nina Public Libraries Web Sites Foreign Countries Comparative Education Electronic Libraries Access to Information Online Catalogs Library Services Statistical Analysis Spreadsheets Coding Evaluation Criteria User Satisfaction (Information) Usability Introduction: This paper describes the findings of a study of 1517 public library Websites in Australia, Canada, and the United States over a period of four years. These Websites are referred to as 'electronic branches' of the libraries, thereby extending the definition of physical library branches into the digital realm. The purpose of the research was to investigate the accessibility of public library Websites, the available online resources and whether library staff are available to respond to users' questions and concerns regarding the Website. Method: A quantitative study was conducted, using a spreadsheet protocol to determine if 18 criteria were present on the Websites. General comments about the Websites were also recorded and included in the analysis. Analysis: The quantitative data analysis for the 1517 Websites was done using Excel spreadsheets through formula manipulations. Descriptive statistics are used to report the findings. Results: The data revealed that the Websites of Canadian and USA libraries include more of the criteria than the Australian libraries. Overall many similarities were found between the accessibility of the Websites of the different countries. Conclusion: The study provides exemplars of an electronic branch of a public library and the services it can offer to its community members. These examples can be used to model ideal electronic branch libraries for library staff to improve their Websites.
format Recurso educativo Open Access
id eric_EJ1174237
institution ERIC Institute of Education Sciences
language en
publishDate 2018
record_format eric
spellingShingle Public Library Websites as Electronic Branches: A Multi-Country Quantitative Evaluation
Velasquez, Diane L.
Evans, Nina
Public Libraries
Web Sites
Foreign Countries
Comparative Education
Electronic Libraries
Access to Information
Online Catalogs
Library Services
Statistical Analysis
Spreadsheets
Coding
Evaluation Criteria
User Satisfaction (Information)
Usability
Public Library Websites as Electronic Branches: A Multi-Country Quantitative Evaluation Velasquez, Diane L. Evans, Nina Public Libraries Web Sites Foreign Countries Comparative Education Electronic Libraries Access to Information Online Catalogs Library Services Statistical Analysis Spreadsheets Coding Evaluation Criteria User Satisfaction (Information) Usability Introduction: This paper describes the findings of a study of 1517 public library Websites in Australia, Canada, and the United States over a period of four years. These Websites are referred to as 'electronic branches' of the libraries, thereby extending the definition of physical library branches into the digital realm. The purpose of the research was to investigate the accessibility of public library Websites, the available online resources and whether library staff are available to respond to users' questions and concerns regarding the Website. Method: A quantitative study was conducted, using a spreadsheet protocol to determine if 18 criteria were present on the Websites. General comments about the Websites were also recorded and included in the analysis. Analysis: The quantitative data analysis for the 1517 Websites was done using Excel spreadsheets through formula manipulations. Descriptive statistics are used to report the findings. Results: The data revealed that the Websites of Canadian and USA libraries include more of the criteria than the Australian libraries. Overall many similarities were found between the accessibility of the Websites of the different countries. Conclusion: The study provides exemplars of an electronic branch of a public library and the services it can offer to its community members. These examples can be used to model ideal electronic branch libraries for library staff to improve their Websites.
title Public Library Websites as Electronic Branches: A Multi-Country Quantitative Evaluation
topic Public Libraries
Web Sites
Foreign Countries
Comparative Education
Electronic Libraries
Access to Information
Online Catalogs
Library Services
Statistical Analysis
Spreadsheets
Coding
Evaluation Criteria
User Satisfaction (Information)
Usability
url https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1174237