Li, B. (2004). The social construction of Web appropriation and use in American libraries: An interpretive and longitudinal approach. Poster session presented at the 2004 Annual Conference of Association for Library and Information Science Education, San Diego, CA.
Abstract:
The expanding use of the World Wide Web in our society has provided both opportunities and challenges to libraries of all kinds. On one hand, libraries have been a source of inspiration for Web development, and provided access, collection, training and added-value tools for the use of the Web. On the other hand, libraries have undergone massive changes, such as new ways to serve patrons or redefined roles of librarianship in society. If we want to have a better understanding of the Web, we cannot overlook the roles libraries/librarians have played in its development and use, and the interactions between them.
Previous studies have shown the knowledge, perceptions, and
expectations people have about a technology may influence the ways they
understand and use the technology. The
process of Web appropriation and use in American libraries may be socially
constructive, and cannot be understood without an understanding of the social
actors involved. The purpose of this
dissertation is to understand how librarians have perceived the Web over the
past decade (1994-2003), and how the Web has been appropriated and used in
libraries. One theoretical
framework, the Social Construction of Technology, will be used for the study (Bijker,
1995), together with other sensitizing concepts from information systems
research. A content analysis of
representative library-oriented professional journals and listservs will be
examined to find out perceptions of the Web among librarians and other
professional staff, and to identity relevant social groups within them, if any.
Key informants may then be interviewed to triangulate and validate
findings from the content analysis.
Reference:
Bijker, W. E. (1995). Of bicycles, Bakelites, and bulbs:
Toward a theory of sociotechnical change.