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The Relationships Between the Internet, Community, and Public Libraries
An Annotated Bibliography
Ashley Reese
INFO 522
December 7, 2011
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Introduction:
The purpose of this bibliography is to explore how public libraries may work with the
Internet to serve their communities. The main question of this topic concerns how the Internet
and various Internet based tools might affect the communities of public libraries and the
interactions between community and public library. The articles contained in this bibliography
are all scholarly articles detailing scientific primary research. They have a range of publication
dates from 1999 to 2011. An effort was made to avoid articles that were published more than
fifteen years away from the present due to the quickly changing nature of the Internet and
Internet based tools. The articles are all written and published in the English language, so some
relevant, non-English speaking, results may have been ignored. The bibliography’s articles
contained data from studies conducted in a variety of locations, including China, the US, Canada,
New Zealand, and Europe. Only articles with electronic formats were included. In addition, only
articles published in peer reviewed journals were selected for this bibliography so as to ensure a
high level of scholarship and authority within the articles.
Description of Topic:
The Internet is a powerful resource for users, and may serve many information needs.
Some individuals fear that increased participation in the potentially anonymous and impersonal
Internet might cause heightened isolation and a weakening of community. These individuals
might also be concerned with the weakening of library communities. The initial question that
inspired the exploration detailed by this bibliography concerned this issue by asking how the
Internet and Internet based tools might change the way that public libraries interact with their
communities, and how library communities react to the overall presence of the Internet and
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Internet based tools. This question also concerned whether Internet based tools were commonly
used as library resources, and, if so, how.
To research these questions, three key concepts were identified: public libraries,
community, and, due to the overly broad focus of using “the Internet” as a search term, a variety
of Internet based tools. Many of these Internet based tools had an inherent social component.
Some fell under the category of “Web 2.0”, a general term for a variety of social networking
sites, tagging sites, blogs, and other technologies with interactive content. The three identified
main concepts of the research topic were then used to design searches for articles.
Literature Review:
These three main research topic concepts, Internet based tools, community, and libraries,
form the basis of the literature review. Each article contained in the bibliography has aspects that
facilitate a response to the main question of how Internet tools interact with community and
public libraries. Some articles, such as Kavanaugh (2005), provide a general overview of the
relationship between two of the main topics. Other articles, such as Chua (2010), discuss all three
topics together either as a major thesis or as a short subtopic within the piece. To analyze the
bibliography, the results will be presented by topic covered within the article. These topics will
have the main sections of Internet and Internet tools, community, and the library.
In general, the Internet came up as a subject in five articles, including Kavanaugh (2005),
Kwon (2005), Pettigrew (2002), Shen (2009), and Xie (2007). Eight articles discussed the
negatives of Internet oriented resources, while ten articles discussed the positives of Internet
oriented resources. These discussions generally occurred in tandem within the articles with the
exception of Chua (2010), Kavanaugh (2005), Rutherford (2008), and Leitzau (2009). The first
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three articles of that list had overall positive impressions of Internet oriented resources, while the
final article was neutral in outlook. As a whole, the articles were very positive concerning the
internet. Eight articles were positive in tone, one article, Kwon (2005), was negative in tone, four
articles were neutral in tone, and one article did not mention the Internet or Internet based
resources.
Web 2.0 or Library 2.0 references were very common as well. One article, Chua (2010),
stated that the presence of internet tools, such as Web 2.0 features, heralds a high quality library
website. Three articles discussed social software or social networking. Four articles explored
social tagging sites and social catalogs. As a subset of this group, two articles, Spiteri (2007) and
Weaver (2007), looked at folksonomy tags and tagging. Touted by Rutherford (2008) as the
predominant Web 2.0 technology in use in public libraries, four articles discussed blogs and
blogging. One of these articles, Oguz (2011), in contrast stated that the actual numbers of blog
comments submitted are fairly low, which implies a lack of blog popularity with the community.
The relationships between Internet technologies, community and public libraries are
complex, yet there is a general consensus that the Internet builds and strengthens communities.
Nine articles discuss the ways in which communities are strengthened in relation to Internet
based tools, while only two, Kwon (2005) and Xie (2007), discuss a lack of community building.
This community building in the literature often directly includes the communities of libraries,
though general rules concerning all communities should be able to be extrapolated onto more
specific library communities as well.
All of the articles but one, Leitzau (2009), in the bibliography deal with the topic of
community in some way. There are two main types of community, physical community and
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online community. Four articles mention physical communities, while seven articles deal with
online communities. From this distribution we can see that the Internet may promote online
communities more fluently than it does physical communities.
However, three articles, Pettigrew (2002), Kavanaugh (2005) and Xie (2007), discuss the
topics of building communities, physical communities, and the Internet, which may imply that
the Internet is not a negative influence towards building physical communities as well. Of the
fourteen articles present in the bibliography, nine discuss the building of communities, while
only two, Kwon (2005) and Xie (2007), discuss the lack of building communities. These
distributions reflect the distributions of positivity outlined above, as building community is
generally seen as a positive outcome in the Internet age.
Another community related group of topics is Community Information and Community
Networks. Community Information is a specialized term for information related and devoted to a
community. This topic occurs in two articles, Oguz (2011) and Yu (1999). Community Networks
are community oriented groups that provide services and information to members of the
community. In some ways, many social media sites could be seen as online Community
Networks. Public libraries provide services similar to those provided by Community Networks,
but differ on some key points. This topic occurs in three articles, Kwon (2005), Pettigrew (2002),
and Yu (1999). Community Networks are an important concept to cover because they are very
similar to public libraries in some of the services they provide: both promote community
information and offer internet access. The problems found in one group may also be found in the
other.
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One technical term that arose in the research was the term “weak ties.” This term
occurred in two articles, Kavanaugh (2005) and Xie (2007), and was used to denote a specific
type of social tie that promotes the connection of different groups, thereby forming communities.
Despite the apparent negative connotations of the term, it is in fact an extremely positive
phenomenon.
Apart from the Internet and community, the bibliography also contains multiple
references to libraries and public libraries. Four articles, Kwon (2005), Kavanaugh (2005), Xie
(2007) and Shen (2009), did not refer to libraries but they are present due to their general
explanatory nature concerning Internet tools and community. The general findings in these
articles have the ability to be applied to a variety of fields, including library science. They also
provide a good insight into two of the three main concepts of the exploratory topic.
While these articles did not refer to libraries, the other ten articles of the bibliography
referred to some form of library in their analysis. In general, the focus of this research was public
libraries, as stated in the description of the topic. Also, ten of the articles had direct references to
public libraries and there was an equal number of references to libraries in general.
Researching the three main concepts in relation to each other was the main goal of the
exploration resulting in the bibliography. As stated above, some articles only deal with two of
the subjects due to their generalizability or their usefulness as background for a subject. Others
dealt with all three concepts in a good synthesis. Many of the Internet oriented tools relevant to
this discussion are relatively new in generation, which makes this topic fairly new to the field of
Library and Information Science.
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There was also a preponderance of non-scholarly and non-scientific articles available in
the literature. Many short opinion pieces or descriptions of how Internet oriented tools have been
implemented in other libraries were present, but there have been relatively few studies based on
data or statistics published on this topic. This dearth of literature made locating appropriate
sources difficult. There should be more studies performed to measure the relationships between
community, Internet, and public libraries. The main concepts of my research topic are very
salient for today’s public libraries: the Internet and its related tools increase in popularity daily,
and a community’s use of these tools greatly affects how public libraries should engage the issue
of the evolving Internet age. As supported by the above discussions, public libraries would be
best served by adapting Internet related tools into their provided services, because many of these
tools may provide necessary community building functions.
Bibliography:
Entry 1:
Chua, A.Y., & Goh, D.H. (2010) . A study of web 2.0 applications in library websites. Library &
Information Science Research, 32, 203-211.
Abstract: “Web 2.0 represents an emerging suite of applications that hold immense potential in
enriching communication, enabling collaboration and fostering innovation. However, little work
has been done hitherto to research Web 2.0 applications in library websites. This paper addresses
the following three research questions: (a) To what extent are Web 2.0 applications prevalent in
libraries?; (b) In what ways have Web 2.0 applications been used in libraries?; and (c) Does the
presence of Web 2.0 applications enhance the quality of library websites? Divided equally
between public and academic, 120 libraries' websites from North America, Europe and Asia
were sampled and analyzed using a three-step content analysis method. The findings suggest that
the order of popularity of Web 2.0 applications implemented in libraries is: blogs, RSS, instant
messaging, social networking services, wikis, and social tagging applications. Also, libraries
have recognized how different Web 2.0 applications can be used complementarily to increase the
level of user engagement. Finally, the presence of Web 2.0 applications was found to be
associated with the overall quality, and in particular, service quality of library websites. This
paper concludes by highlighting implications for both librarians and scholars interested to delve
deeper into the implementation of Web 2.0 applications.”[Published abstract]
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Annotation: This article furthers my exploration of the topic by discussing how libraries
currently implement Web 2.0 technologies. In several sections it also states that Web 2.0
applications may serve to build communities. There are several useful appended data tables.
Table 5 has data specific to public libraries. In general, there is a good distribution of library
types and locations, with a fairly large sample size, so the results are relatively accurate.
However, since part of the study was qualitative, the data was subjective to the judgments of the
three graduate level research assistants employed by the study. One point contained in the study
was that while implementation of Web 2.0 applications in library websites heralded a high
quality website the quality of information within the Web 2.0 application is often low. This
article contains very current information due to its 2010 publication date.
Authority: The main author is affiliated with an institution of higher education, the Wee Kim
Wee School of Communication and Information. Library & Information Science Research is a
scholarly peer-reviewed journal according to Ulrich’s International Periodicals Directory.
Search Strategy:I chose Library Literature and Information Science in Dialog because of its
focus on Library issues. “survey?” was included in my search terms because I wanted to find
numerical studies on my topic. I also chose to search for variants of Web 2.0 because this term
encompasses a major section of my topic. I then searched “librar?” instead of “public librar?”
because I wanted to broaden my search. I also narrowed the first two terms to the descriptor field
to ensure precision of my search. This search occurred later in my experience with this file, so
descriptor searches were helpful.
Database:Library Literature and Information Science [Dialog file 438]
Method of Searching:A Mixture of Controlled Vocabulary and Keyword Searching.
Search String:
S1
S2
S3
S4
S5
S6
11081
934
9245
814
194096
24
SURVEY?
WEB()2 OR WEB2
S1/DE
S2/DE
LIBRAR?
S3 AND S4 AND S5
Entry 2:
Kavanaugh, A.L., Reese, D.D., Carroll, J.M., & Rosson, M.B. (2005). Weak ties in networked
communities. The Information Society, 21, 119-131.
Abstract: “Communities with high levels of social capital are likely to have a higher quality of
life than communities with low social capital. This is due to the greater ability of such
communities to organize and mobilize effectively for collective action because they have high
levels of social trust, dense social networks, and well-established norms of mutuality (the major
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features of social capital). Communities with “bridging” social capital (weak ties across groups)
as well as “bonding” social capital (strong ties within groups) are the most effective in
organizing for collective action. People who belong to multiple groups act as bridging ties. When
people with bridging ties use communication media, such as the Internet, they enhance their
capability to educate community members and to organize, as needed, for collective action. This
article summarizes evidence from stratified household survey data in Blacksburg, VA, showing
that people with weak (bridging) ties across groups have higher levels of community
involvement, civic interest, and collective efficacy than people without bridging ties among
groups. Moreover, heavy Internet users with bridging ties have higher social engagement, use the
Internet for social purposes, and have been attending more local meetings and events since going
online than heavy Internet users with no bridging ties. These findings may suggest that the
Internet—in the hands of bridging individuals–is a tool for enhancing social relations and
information exchange, and for increasing face-to-face interaction, all of which help to build both
bonding and bridging social capital in communities.”[Published abstract]
Annotation: In this article, “weak ties” strengthen communities, and the Internet provides “weak
ties”. While the article does not directly mention public libraries, these findings could be useful
in any community situation, including public libraries. The study involved the citizens of
Blacksburg and Montgomery counties. One hundred questionnaires were sent to members of
these counties, and one subgroup experienced group interviews while another subgroup had their
internet use monitored. This sample size is fairly reasonable. The article includes tables and
figures to illustrate key concepts and results. Published in 2005, this article is fairly current.
Authority: All four of the authors are affiliated with institutions of higher education. One is
from Virginia Tech, another is from Wheeling Jesuit University, and the final two are from Penn
State University. The Information Society is a scholarly peer-reviewed journal according to
Ulrich’s International Periodicals Directory.
Search Strategy: Due to its ease of citation searching, I chose to search the Web of Science. I
began with the citations for “Building participative library services: the impact of social software
use in public libraries” by Louise Rutherford. I then browsed the citations of this article and
other connected articles until I arrived at the above article.
Database: Web of Science
Method of Searching: A Mixture of Citation Searching and Browsing
Search String: Initially, “Rutherford L*” and “2008”
Entry 3:
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Kwon, N. (2005). Community networks: Community capital or merely an affordable internet
access tool? Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology,
56, 812-823.
Abstract: “In this study a perceived gap between the ideal and the reality of a community
network (CN) is examined. Most proponents of CNs state that building a better physical
community is their major service goal. However, there has been a concern that citizens might use
the service simply as a means to connect to the Internet rather than as a means to connect to their
communities. Using a survey research method (n = 213), users' perceptions of community
aspects of CN service and the influence of such perceptions on their use were investigated. User
demographics and alternative service accessibility were also examined as predictors of use. The
present study found that the respondents were using the service mainly for general Internet
features. More than two thirds of the respondents were not aware of the community content
aspect of the service. Approximately 20% of respondents were identified as those whose
perceptions of the community aspects actually affected their use of the service. They were both
aware of community contents and using an additional Internet service provider. Findings suggest
that the providers did not fully communicate the community aspects of the service with the users,
while the user perception of community aspects is a key to further promotion of the
service.”[Published abstract]
Annotation: This article discusses the impact of Community Network Internet services on
community building. It finds that the choice to use CN Internet services has little to do with
interest in community issues, and so has little to do with community building. The study only
surveyed one site, but the sample size was fairly large, with 218 respondents, thereby avoiding
data flaws. The survey is carefully designed and is well described in the study. The article
contains good figures and tables describing the numerical results. Published in 2005, this article
is fairly current.
Authority: The author is affiliated with the School of Library and Information Science from the
University of South Florida. The Journal of the American Society for Information Science and
Technology is a scholarly peer-reviewed journal according to Ulrich’s International Periodicals
Directory.
Search Strategy: I decided to use the Web of Science database due to its ability to easily utilize
citation searches. I found that several of the relevant articles that I saw during my research had J
Durance and K Pettigrew as authors. I therefore completed an author search in WOS, and
browsed the citation results of their jointly authored works. During this browsing I found the
above article.
Database: Web of Science
Method of Searching: Mixture of Author, Browsing, and Citation Searching
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Search String: “Durance J*” and “Pettigrew K*”
Entry 4:
Leitzau, Z. (2009). U.S. public libraries and the use of web technologies (closer look report).
Denver, CO: Colorado State Library, Library Research Service. Retrieved from
http://www.eric.ed.gov/PDFS/ED507817.pdf
Abstract: “It's well known that technology is changing at an increasingly rapid pace and that
many public libraries throughout the United States are attempting to adopt new technologies to
better reach their patrons. In trade journals, blogs, and at library conferences, professionals in the
field have continually discussed the best methods for using web technologies to enhance the
success of the public library. In keeping with this discussion, in late 2007 the Library Research
Service (LRS) designed the first iteration of the U.S. Public Libraries and the Use of Web
Technologies study. In the midst of a conversation largely focused on best practices, this study
was envisioned from its inception as a longitudinal study with several goals. Primarily, it
attempts to record the landscape of web technology adoption by public libraries in the United
States. While most of the discourse thus far has focused on what should and should not be done
to better use technologies, there has not yet been much research examining how and how many
libraries actually are adopting various web technologies. This study attempts to put that in
perspective. Another intention of this study is to examine the characteristics of the libraries that
are adopting technology in an attempt to tease out the factors that lead them to try out various
tools. We are also interested in determining whether or not the adoption of specific types of
technology leads to "success" as traditionally defined in public libraries. This report represents
the second iteration, and refinement, of the study. In the vein of the first study, this version was
conducted as a content analysis, as opposed to a survey to the field. Please see the first report for
an explanation of the benefits and drawbacks to this methodology. During the spring of 2010,
LRS staff members visited the web sites of 689 public libraries in the United States, searching
for the presence of various technologies. The national sample was comprised of 584 libraries,
while the remaining 105 were Colorado public libraries that had not been selected as part of the
national sample. This report captures a changing landscape of web technology adoption by
public libraries and looks further into the characteristics and successes of libraries that adopt
technology. Library 2.0 survey is appended.” [Published abstract]
Annotation: This article finds that US libraries on average have been slow to adopt web 2.0
technologies, and in some cases still have not adopted even the most basic web technologies such
as a website and an online catalog. Smaller libraries have fewer Internet technologies, while
large libraries have almost universally adopted web 2.0 technologies. This article is relevant to
my topic because it deals with two of my main concepts, Internet technologies and public
libraries. The findings contextualize the other articles in this bibliography by showing the
frequency of Internet technology implementation. The article contains nine tables and thirty one
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charts outlining the data results of the observational study. With a publication date of 2009, this
study is fairly up to date.
Authority: Author is affiliated with the government and with an institution of higher education.
The study is performed by the Library Research Service, which is a unit of the Colorado
Department of Education’s Colorado State Library that also is partnered with the Library and
Information Science program of the University of Denver. This is a government funded and
overseen publication.
Search Strategy: I chose to search ERIC due to the presence of Library and Information Science
records in that database. To further explore the relationship between Internet tools, public
libraries, and community I tried a very broad and general search to gain many results. In this
search I omitted “community” because I felt it might limit the search too much. “Web
technologies” seemed like a possible synonym for the Internet concept of my topic, so I
experimented with this term. Only one main result came up with this search, but the result was
on topic and reasonably scholarly.
Database: ERIC
Method of Searching: Keyword Searching
Search String: “web technologies” and “public libraries”
Entry 5:
Oguz, F.,& Holt, M. (2011). Library blogs and user participation: A survey about comment spam
in library blogs. Library Hi Tech, 29, 173-188.
Abstract: “Purpose – The purpose of this research is to identify and describe the impact of
comment spam in library blogs. Three research questions guided the study: current level of
commenting in library blogs; librarians' perception of comment spam; and techniques used to
address the comment spam problem. Design/methodology/approach – A quantitative approach
is used to investigate research questions. Informal interviews were conducted with four academic
and three public libraries with active blogs to develop a better understanding of the problem and
then to develop an appropriate data collection instrument. Based on the feedback received from
these blog administrators, a survey questionnaire was developed and then distributed online via
direct e-mailing and mailing lists. A total of 108 responses were received. Findings – Regardless
of the library type with which blogs were affiliated with and the size of the community they
served, user participation in library blogs was very limited in terms of comments left. Over 80
percent of libraries reported receiving five or fewer comments in a given week. Comment spam
was not perceived to be a major problem by blog administrators. Detection-based techniques
were the most commonly used approaches to combat comment spam in library blogs. Research
limitations/implications – The research focuses on the comment spam problem in blogs
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affiliated with libraries where the library is responsible for content published on the blog. The
comment spam problem is investigated from the library blog administrator's perspective.
Practical implications – Results of this study provide empirical evidence regarding level of
commenting and the impact of comment spam in library blogs. The results and findings of the
study can offer guidance to libraries that are reconsidering whether to allow commenting in their
blogs and to those that are planning to establish a blog to reach out to their users, while keeping
this online environment engaging and interactive. Originality/value – The study provides
empirical evidence that level of commenting is very limited, comment spam is not regarded as an
important problem, and it does not interfere with the communication process in library blogs.”
[Published abstract]
Annotation: The above article outlines the impacts of one problem with user generated content,
comment spam, in public libraries. It shows that no matter the size of community user
commenting in library blogs is fairly limited. This article states in one section that blogs may
serve to keep communities engaged in the library if sufficient amounts of library resources are
used. The study takes a quantitative approach in collecting its information. With 108 responses to
a survey, the sample size is sufficient to avoid bias. The authors used a mailing list to determine
recipients of the survey, which might cause inaccuracies in determining trends. There are nine
good tables presenting numerical data of the study results. This article, published in 2011, is very
current.
Authority: Both authors are affiliated with institutions of higher education. One author is from
the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, and the other is from Valdosta State University
in Georgia. Library Hi Tech is a scholarly peer-reviewed journal according to Ulrich’s
International Periodicals Directory.
Search Strategy: I chose the Social SciSearch due to the presence of Library Science oriented
entries within this Dialog file. This search occurred at the midpoint of my search experience with
this file. I wasn’t completely sure about how best to denote the Internet social tools topic, so I
used a broadly constructed keyword search: I wanted as many relevant results as possible, or, a
high recall. I then added the two other main concepts in my topic, public libraries and
community, to ensure that the results of the search were on topic.
Database: Social SciSearch [Dialog file 7]
Method of Searching: Keyword Searching
Search String:
S1
S2
S3
17444
SOCIAL()TECHNOLOG? OR SOCIAL()MEDI? OR SOCIAL()NETWORK? OR
WEBLOG? OR BLOG? OR TWEET? OR TWITTER? OR FACEBOOK? OR WIKI? OR WEB 2.0 OR SOCIAL()BOOKMARK? OR SOCIAL()SOFTWARE? OR INTERNET()RESOURCE? OR DELICIOUS OR FOLKSONOM? OR TAG?
2844
PUBLIC()LIBRAR?
187553
COMMUNIT?
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S4
10
S1 AND S2 AND S3
Entry 6:
Pettigrew, K.E., Durrance, J.C., & Unruh, K.T. (2002). Facilitating community information
seeking using the internet: Findings from three public library-community network
systems. Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, 53,
894-903.
Abstract: “We report findings from a recent study of how public libraries are using on-line
community networks to facilitate the public's information seeking and use in everyday situations.
These networks have been lauded for their potential to strengthen physical communities through
increasing information flow about local services and events, and through facilitating civic
interaction. However, little is known about how the public uses such digital services and what
barriers they encounter. This article presents findings from a 2-year study that comprised a
national survey with public library staff, followed by extensive case studies in three states. At
each site, data were collected using on-line surveys, field observation, in-depth interviews, and
focus groups with Internet users, human service providers, and library staff. The on-line surveys
and the follow-up interviews with respondents were based on sense-making theory. In our article
we discuss: (1) how the public is using networked community information systems and the
Internet for daily problem solving, (2) the types of barriers users encounter, and (3) the benefits
for individuals and physical communities from public library–community networking initiatives
and the emergence of “information communities.””[Published abstract]
Annotation: The above article questions how the Internet in public libraries may strengthen
physical communities. This topic is very relevant to my explorative subject. In many parts it
discusses issues concerning community information (CI). It also has two main sections that deal
with Internet based CI building communities. The authors find that the Internet both strengthens
physical communities and builds non-geographic communities. This is a broad yet intensively
designed study. It is generally a qualitative study. The data was only subjective to the
respondents, of which there was a large number. This created a fairly bias free study. While raw
data was collected in this study, the article does not directly report it, only verbally describing
trends. This article may contain slightly out of date information due to its 2002 publishing date.
Authority: All three of the authors are affiliated with institutions of higher education. Two are
from “The Information School” of the University of Washington, and the other is from the
“School of Information” of the University of Michigan. The Journal of the American Society for
Information Science and Technology is a scholarly peer-reviewed journal according to Ulrich’s
International Periodicals Directory.
Search Strategy: This was a later search in this file, and searching by descriptor provided a
more precise list of results. I chose “library-community relations” and “internet” for my search
terms because they were applicable to my topic and afforded a large pool of results to review.
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These terms were found through a thesaurus search of the non-dialog version of the database,
and were confirmed as descriptors through further Dialog exploration. I chose Library Literature
and Information Science in Dialog because of its focus on Library issues.
Database: Library Literature and Information Science [Dialog file 438]
Method of Searching: Controlled Vocabulary Searching
Search String:
S1
S2
S3
S4
S5
1074
28428
1073
25226
35
LIBRARY()COMMUNITY()RELATIONS
INTERNET
S1/DE
S2/DE
S3 AND S4
Entry 7:
Rutherford, L.L. (2008). Building participative library services: the impact of social software use
in public libraries. Library Hi Tech, 26, 411-423.
Abstract: “Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the adoption of social software in
public libraries and to explore its impact. Design/methodology/approach – This research uses a
qualitative methodology and took the form of open-ended interview questions using an e-mail
format. The research uses Rogers' diffusion of innovations theory as a framework. Findings –
This research found that participants consistently described social software as a means to deliver
a library service that truly reflected their users' wants and needs. Participants indicated that social
software would help achieve this goal in two ways. Firstly, participants felt that social software
enabled users to interact with the library in the ways they wanted to. Secondly, the participative
elements of social software made it easier for users to provide feedback on all aspects of the
library service. The study also revealed that while social software is not currently being used to
its fullest extent in public libraries, public librarians are exploring the meaning and potential of
this new technology. Originality/value – This paper advances the discussion on social software
by providing concrete examples of its impact in practice. It is a resource for public librarians
considering the potential impact of implementing social software in their own library which will
allow them to learn from the experiences of others.” [Published Abstract]
Annotation: I am choosing this article because it presents primary research concerning the
implementation of social software in public libraries and its effect on the users of those libraries,
including in some cases the formation of communities. There is a large amount of discussion
concerning the effect of libraries and social software upon the formation or strengthening of
communities. The effect of social media on public library communities is central to my interest
in the possible role of the internet in the continuation of library communities. Part of a pair of
articles outlining different parts of a study, this article outlined a qualitative study with only
seven respondents providing data through an email interview. In general, the study is well
designed and carefully defended within the article. Published in 2008, this article is fairly
current.
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Authority: The article is published in a journal that Ulrich’s International Periodicals Directory
terms a scholarly peer reviewed journal. The author is affiliated with an institution of higher
education, the Victoria University of Wellington, in Wellington New Zealand.
Search Strategy: I searched LISTA because of its wealth of information concerning Library and
Information Science. In LISTA I used the search “ DE “online social networks” and DE “public
libraries”” and then limited the results by scholarly journals. I used a descriptor search because I
already had looked at the thesaurus and had performed several other preliminary searches. These
preliminary searches suggested some good descriptors through articles in the search results, and I
used those descriptors in the above search.
Database: LISTA
Method of Searching: Controlled vocabulary search
Search String: DE “online social networks” and DE “public libraries”
Entry 8:
Rutherford, L.L. (2008). Implementing social software in public libraries: An exploration of the
issues confronting public library adopters of social software. Library Hi Tech, 26, 184200.
Abstract: “Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to report the results of a research project
designed to identify the kinds of social software that public libraries are using and to explore the
issues confronting public library adopters of social software. Design/methodology/approach –
This research uses a qualitative methodology and takes the form of open-ended interview
questions using an e-mail format. The research uses Rogers' Diffusion of Innovations theory as a
framework. Findings – The research found that blogs were the most popular social software tool
being used in public libraries and that people-related issues were the most important issue for
librarians to take into account when implementing social software. Library staff acceptance of
social software was the most crucial success factor for social software. Other important issues
included staff training, the steep learning curve involved in becoming a social software user, and
human resource constraints. Originality/value – This paper provides public librarians with a
basis on which to assess potential adoption decisions for social software and to learn from the
experiences of others.” [Published abstract]
Annotation: This article discusses a variety of concerns inherent to choosing to adopt social
software tools in a public library. It mentions the relationship between community and social
software several times, stating that social software serves the information needs of the
community, that it may help enhance community participation and that it serves as a place for the
community to gather. One issue with this study is that there were only 7 respondents to the email
interview central to data collection. The study was qualitative, but was carefully designed and
assiduously defended within the article. Most of the data is reported verbally in the form of
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trends, but some raw data is present in the article through Figure 1, which shows use of social
software in the selected libraries. This article is fairly up to date with a publishing date of 2008.
Authority: The author is affiliated with an institution of higher education: Victoria University of
Wellington in Wellington New Zealand. Library Hi Tech is a scholarly peer-reviewed journal
according to Ulrich’s International Periodicals Directory.
Search Strategy: This search occurred early in my Dialog search experience, so I used a
keyword search. I chose Library Literature and Information Science in Dialog because of its
focus on Library issues. I determined that Internet social tools, public libraries, and community
were the three main components of my topic, and designed my search with this in mind. Due to
the huge variety of Internet social tools available I endeavored to find good synonyms to use for
search terms.
Database: Library Literature and Information Science [Dialog file 438]
Method of Searching: Keyword Searching
Search String:
S1
1934
S2
S3
S4
S5
S6
S7
25272
1934
25272
104
5633
15
SOCIAL()MEDIA? OR SOCIAL()NETWORK? OR FACEBOOK? OR TWITTER?
OR DELICIOUS OR WEB 2.0
PUBLIC()LIBRAR?
S1/TI,DE,AB
S2/TI,DE,AB
S3 AND S4
COMMUNIT?
S5 AND S6
Entry 9:
Shen, C.C., & Chiou, J.S. (2009). The effect of community identification on attitude and
intention toward a blogging community. Internet Research, 19, 393-407.
Abstract: “Purpose – Internet portals have long been providing free services (e.g. e-mail, blog)
to attract new users and retain existing customers. However, it is uncertain whether the users will
continue to use the present free service over time. Blog enables people to interact with others
extensively and the population of blog users has been skyrocketing in recent years. This paper
aims to investigate the impacts of virtual community on a user’s attitude and intention to
continually use the current blog service. Design/methodology/approach – The conceptual
empirical model has been developed on the foundation of social psychology, relationship
marketing, and transaction cost analysis (TCA). Users of blogging communities who have
frequent experience of interacting with other members were the objects for this study. In total,
243 valid samples were obtained for empirical testing by employing structural equation model.
Findings – Results show that asset specificity and community pressure play mediating roles in
the relationship between community identification and attitude toward using blog services, which
in turn affects intention to stay with a blogging community. Perceived usefulness is successful in
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determining the attitude of using blogging community. Originality/value – This paper is believed
to be the first that uses a sociology view of community and asset specificity to investigate its
impacts on online consumer loyalty. The study advances the relationship marketing literature in
explaining user’s new service adoption behavior by adding community identity and community
pressure generated through the process of using web-based services. The paper concludes with
implications for web-based service providers, and additional extended research relevant to the
study of virtual community and asset specificity is also provided.”[Published abstract]
Annotation: This article discusses the relationship between community identification and
attitude towards blogging. It finds that greater community identification increases or stabilizes
blog use. They state that users must be shown that the blogging product is easy to use and is
useful to the user. These findings may be helpful to public libraries that are endeavoring to
implement blogs in their array of social internet tools. Many of the blogging portals studied were
often Internet portal service providers, mirroring the function of many current libraries as
providers of Internet portals and blogging communities. The article includes two tables detailing
results. There was a sufficient sample size, 243 respondents, to avoid sampling error. The study
was conducted in Taiwan, so some of the results may be specific to that area only. Published in
2009, this study is fairly current.
Authority: Both authors are affiliated with institutions of higher education. One is from the
National Chiayi University of Taiwan, with experience with business administration, and the
other is from the Chengchi University of Taiwan, with experience with commerce. Internet
Research is a scholarly peer-reviewed journal according to Ulrich’s International Periodicals
Directory.
Search Strategy: Due to its ease of citation searching, I chose to search the Web of Science. I
began with the citations for “Building participative library services: the impact of social software
use in public libraries” by Louise Rutherford. I then browsed the citations of this article and
other connected articles until I arrived at the above article.
Database: Web of Science
Method of Searching: A Mixture of Citation Searching and Browsing
Search String: Initially, “Rutherford L*” and “2008”
Entry 10:
Spiteri, L.F. (2007). The structure and form of folksonomy tags: The road to the public library
catalog. Information Technology and Libraries, 26 (3), 13-25.
Abstract: “This article examines the linguistic structure of folksonomy tags collected over a
thirty-day period from the daily tag logs of Del.icio.us, Furl, and Technorati. The tags were
Reese - 19
evaluated against the National Information Standards Organization (NISO) guidelines for the
construction of controlled vocabularies. The results indicate that the tags correspond closely to
the NISO guidelines pertaining to types of concepts expressed, the predominance of single terms
and nouns, and the use of recognized spelling. Problem areas pertain to the inconsistent use of
count nouns and the incidence of ambiguous tags in the form of homographs, abbreviations, and
acronyms. With the addition of guidelines to the construction of unambiguous tags and links to
useful external reference sources, folksonomies could serve as a powerful, flexible tool for
increasing the user-friendliness and interactivity of public library catalogs, and also may be
useful for encouraging other activities, such as informal online communities of readers and userdriven readers' advisory services.” [Published Abstract]
Annotation: This article was chosen because it discusses the possible implementation of social
tagging sites in public libraries and mentions the possible community building effects of adding
tagging systems to public library catalogs. The article presents primary research that allows the
author to make observations of tagging in general and recommendations on some procedures
concerning the implementation of folksonomies in public libraries. There are several helpful
tables presenting the numerical results of the study. Published in 2007, this article is fairly
current.
Authority: The author is an associate professor at the School of Information Management at
Dalhousie University, Canada. The article is published in a journal that Ulrich’s International
Periodicals Directory terms a scholarly peer reviewed journal.
Search Strategy: I initially searched LISTA due to its wealth of information concerning Library
and Information Science. In LISTA I searched “ DE “virtual communities”” and limited the
search by scholarly journals. I found an article titled “The intersection of virtual organizations
and the library: A case study” written by J. Carlson and J.K. Yatcilla. This article focused on
academic libraries. However, in its footnotes I found the above Spiteri article. I noted its citation
and went to the Drexel libraries website where I searched the eJournals section for a full text
edition of the journal “Information Technology and Libraries.” When I found the full text journal
I used the index to locate Volume 26 Issue 3 and clicked on the link to the article.
Database: Initially LISTA
Method of Searching: Footnote chasing
Search String: Initially “DE “virtual communities””
Entry 11:
Spiteri, L.F. (2009). The impact of social cataloging sites on the construction of bibliographic
records in the public library catalog. Cataloging & Classification Quarterly, 47, 52-73.
Abstract: “This article examines and evaluates the social features and comprehensiveness of the
catalog records of sixteen popular social cataloging Web sites to determine whether their social
and cataloging features could or should impact the design of library catalog records. Selected
Reese - 20
monograph records were evaluated to determine the extent to which they contained the standard
International Standard Bibliographic Description elements used in Anglo-American Cataloguing
Rules–based cataloging practice. The heuristics Communication, Identity, and Perception were
used to evaluate the sites’ social features. Although the bibliographic content of most of the
catalog records examined was poor when assessed by professional cataloging practice, their
social features can help make the library catalog a lively community of interest where people can
share their reading interests with one another.” [Published abstract]
Annotation: Social communities based in the Web are very popular. They are robust Internet
communities. This article asks whether public libraries should engage these communities,
strengthening their own community ties, by using web technologies in their catalogs. The study
analyzes 16 social cataloging sites. This is a reasonable sample size. There are also figures and
tables illustrating data results. The study found that while the sites do not keep properly detailed
catalog records, some social aspects of the sites could be beneficially adopted by libraries. Social
cataloging sites could also be used by libraries for advertising, thereby increasing the community
using the library. This article, published in 2009, is fairly up to date.
Authority: The author is affiliated with Dalhousie University of Halifax, NS. Cataloging &
Classification Quarterly is a scholarly peer-reviewed journal according to Ulrich’s International
Periodicals Directory.
Search Strategy: I chose to search LISTA due to its preponderance of Library and Information
Science records. While browsing the results of another search, I found the descriptor term
“online social networks.” I felt this was promising, so I combined this term with the keyword
“public librar*”. The keyword contained a truncation symbol to ensure the greatest number of
relevant results.
Database: LISTA
Method of Searching: Combination of Controlled Vocabulary Searching and Keyword
Searching
Search String: DE “ONLINE social networks” and “public librar*”
Entry 12:
Weaver, M. (2007). Contextual metadata: faceted schemas in virtual library communities.
Library Hi Tech, 25, 579-594.
Abstract: “Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the information needs of one user
group, public library fiction readers, in order to reveal a design of an online community at the
local level. Examination of user-generated metadata can reveal new approaches to information
architecture. Design/methodology/approach – A literature review into behaviors of virtual
communities; surveying public library readers regarding search behavior characteristics – the
Reese - 21
survey included a sample “tagging” exercise to determine whether public library communities
could create meaningful metadata for retrieval purposes. Findings – The use of relevance as an
indicator of tag quality is flawed: in a survey, public library readers “tagged” the novel The Da
Vinci Code. The resulting collection of tags provided a richer description of the book than did the
social book-related web site www.librarything.com. Tag collections can be broken down into
different categories, each reflecting a different “facet” of the novel: character, plot, subject/topic,
setting, and genre. Faceted structure to tags enables users to choose the context of the tag to the
novel. Research limitations/implications – This research is relevant in the world of social
networking sites, online communities, or any other such system where users generate descriptive
metadata. Examination of such metadata can reveal facets, which can guide the
architect/librarian in the design of a versatile architecture. Originality/value – This research
resulted in a manifold design for a public-library-based online community that allowed for the
full expression of users' information needs. This research introduces a faceted structure to current
approaches for user-generated metadata, adding versatility to search terms.” [Published Abstract]
Annotation: This article is a good choice because it presents original research concerning the
effect of tagging on the relationship between the user and the library. The author also has a
community focus in his research in this article, stating that “public libraries are uniquely
positioned to build meaningful, lasting online communities” (Weaver, 2007, p. 592) and that the
research’s aim is the “design of an online community at the local level” (Weaver, 2007, p. 579).
With a large sample size of 137 completed surveys, the data is fairly accurate in its collection.
However, the data is limited to the users of a single library, which might mean the data may be
biased towards local issues. The surveys were distributed in two forms, print and online, and
small differences between the formats may have affected the answers given. Published in 2007,
this article is fairly current in its information.
Authority: The article is published in a journal that Ulrich’s International Periodicals Directory
terms a scholarly peer reviewed journal. The author is affiliated both with the School of
Information Studies at Syracuse University, USA, and with the Westlake Porter Public Library in
Ohio, USA.
Search Strategy: I chose LISA due to its large amount of information concerning Library and
Information Science. I used a keyword search, “social networking and public libraries”, because
this was an early search in this database. I then clicked on the peer reviewed journals tab, and
scrolled down until I found the article.
Database: LISA
Method of Searching: Keyword
Search String: “social networking and public libraries”
Entry 13:
Xie, B. (2007). Using the internet for offline relationship formation. Social Science Computer
Review, 25, 396-404.
Reese - 22
Abstract: “This study examines the impact of the Internet on the online and offline social
interactions and relationships of members of a senior-oriented computer club. Twenty
semistructured, openended interviews were conducted in February 2005 to collect data.
Grounded theory was used to guide data analysis. Major findings include the following: First,
within this particular group of older American Internet users, there is little online interaction. The
Internet is used primarily as a handy tool to obtain information rather than for developing online
relationships. Second, weak tie relationships that develop as a result of face-to-face interactions
in computer club meetings facilitate the exchange of information among members. Third, social
interactions in the offline environment also provide rich opportunities for older adults to form
and maintain companionship relationships. These findings reveal a previously ignored
phenomenon: In addition to creating online social relationships, the Internet can also affect
relationship formation in the physical world.”[Published abstract]
Annotation: The findings of this study show that the Internet does not necessarily weaken
community relationships, and may in fact strengthen physical community relationships. This
article discusses the interaction between the Internet and community, and while public libraries
are not mentioned, the article discusses communities in general. Thus, communities inherent to
public libraries would also be applicable to the article’s findings. The qualitative study consists
of twenty interviews held in Oklahoma City. The sample size is fairly small, but still sufficient,
while the findings may have aspects that are only valid in Oklahoma City. Published in 2007,
this article is moderately recent.
Authority: The author has a PhD in Science and Technology Studies, and is an Assistant
Professor in the College of Information Studies at the University of Maryland. Social Science
Computer Review is a scholarly peer-reviewed journal according to Ulrich’s International
Periodicals Directory.
Search Strategy: Due to its ease of citation searching, I chose to search the Web of Science. I
began with the citations for “Building participative library services: the impact of social software
use in public libraries” by Louise Rutherford. I then browsed the citations of this article and
other connected articles until I arrived at the above article.
Database: Web of Science
Method of Searching: A Mixture of Citation Searching and Browsing
Search String: Initially, “Rutherford L*” and “2008”
Entry 14:
Yu, L., Dempsey, L., & Ormes, S. (1999). Community networking: Development, potentials and
implications for public libraries. Journal of Librarianship and Information Science, 31,
71-83.
Reese - 23
Abstract: “Examines the nature of community networks and how they developed, in order to
provide public librarians and decision makers with a view of emerging trends and of points of
contact and comparison within the area of community information services. The research took
the form of an extensive literature review, focusing on the period between 1992 and 1997,
backed up by a number of community network Web sites randomly selected from the
Communities Online Forum. At a later stage, a number of librarians were interviewed
concerning their perception of the use of networks in public libraries’ community information
services. These interviews supported the literature survey in a number of ways and unearthed
some relevant literature in obscure sources that might otherwise have been overlooked. Some
evidence from the interviews caused a reappraisal of the literature. The survey covered: the
concept of community networks; development of community networks in the UK and USA; UK
community networks using non Internet technologies; UK community networks on the World
Wide Web and on intranets; the role of community networks in communication and education;
and the recurrent suggestion that community networks might foster people’s social participation
through electronic mail, discussion forums, online voting systems and through greater access to
legislation and other government information. Concludes that the emerging network services
bring together previously distinct participants and services and may lead to a new division of
labour in libraries in such activities as document delivery. As public libraries build the ‘people’s
network’ it will be important to learn from and build on community networking
experiences.”[Published abstract]
Annotation: Part of this article contains results of a survey concerning librarians’ perceptions of
the use of community networks in public libraries. The article generally introduces the concept
of community networks, and puts them in context with public libraries. While it is not directly
stated, these community networks could encompass online social networks and other Internet
social tools. This article also discusses how internet communities may affect libraries. The article
does not go into a lot of detail concerning the design and methodology of the interviews present
in the study. Published in 1999, this article is fairly out of date in terms of Internet developments.
Authority: One of the authors is affiliated with an institution of higher education, the Nankai
University of China. The other two authors are affiliated with a Library and Information Science
research organization called UKOLN. The Journal of Librarianship and Information Science is a
scholarly peer-reviewed journal according to Ulrich’s International Periodicals Directory.
Search Strategy: I decided to use the Web of Science database due to its ability to easily utilize
citation searches. I found that several of the relevant articles that I saw during my research had J
Durance and K Pettigrew as authors. I therefore completed an author search in WOS, and
browsed the citation results of their jointly authored works. During this browsing I found the
above article.
Database: Web of Science
Reese - 24
Method of Searching: Mixture of Author, Browsing, and Citation Searching
Search String: “Durance J*” and “Pettigrew K*”
Personal Statement:
I learned many things from this assignment. The assignment required me to look at the articles
critically and try to evaluate the positives and negatives of each study. The subsequent evaluation
helped my selection of articles, and refreshed the analytical perspective that I had gained in my
undergraduate experiences.
Prior to this quarter I had only used MLA formats while writing papers. This assignment gave
me a great experience with citing journal articles in APA format. I followed the available
examples of APA formats to the best of my ability, and I feel fairly confident that my citations
are at least close to proper APA style. This will help me in later LIS courses.
As stated above in another section, the majority of articles on my topic were short opinion pieces
or simple “what our library did” pieces. These were not examples of primary research presented
in a scholarly journal. Though these short pieces were published in scholarly journals they were
far from academic, and were extremely frustrating to wade through. I eventually learned that any
article under five pages in length will not be a presentation of primary research, and therefore
subsequently avoided all short articles published in scholarly journals.
In addition to this problem with available content, I also had some issues with the databases,
promoting personal adaptation. Some databases did not have controlled vocabulary terms that
properly described the concept that I was searching for. As an example, many databases did not
have terms for “public library” or any of its variants. “Community” was rarely a term on its own.
Also, “Internet” was far too broad, necessitating narrower terms that often did not exist.
Depending upon the database I had only a limited resource in terms of controlled vocabulary.
This limitation was often best supplemented through keyword searches. This would then
necessitate the exhaustive inclusion of the synonyms in the search, creating very long search
terms. My difficulties in this area show that controlled vocabulary cannot be relied upon for all
situations.
I also learned that many authors make up their own original pieces of terminology that are
specific to the contents of a particular article. When a field is new, it is difficult to determine
what terms will become accepted terminology. This new terminology may only appear in the one
article, but it may also represent a condensation of many desired concepts into a single term.
Since this term is singular to the article, finding these articles using regular keyword searches is
tantamount to a needle in the haystack hunt.
In addition to this confusion, some articles contain terms in their bodies that do not appear in the
descriptor fields, making searches difficult. Also, in some cases the abstract of a viable article is
Reese - 25
not included in the database, making keyword searches much less effective. The majority of
databases should be either full text or should always offer complete abstracts. Overall, this
assignment expanded my understanding of APA formats, database searching, research design,
and article selection.
I certify that:



This assignment is entirely my own work.
I have not quoted the words of any other person from a printed source or website
without indicating what has been quoted and providing an appropriate citation.
I have not submitted this assignment to satisfy the requirements of any other course.
Signature
Date
___Ashley C. Reese_______________________
_______12/7/11_________________