TY - JOUR
T1 - The use of public computing facilities by library patrons
T2 - Demography, motivations, and barriers
AU - DeMaagd, Kurt
AU - Chew, Han Ei
AU - Huang, Guanxiong
AU - Khan, M. Laeeq
AU - Sreenivasan, Akshaya
AU - LaRose, Robert
PY - 2013/1
Y1 - 2013/1
N2 - Public libraries play an important part in the development of a community. Today, they are seen as more than store houses of books; they are also responsible for the dissemination of online, and offline information. Public access computers are becoming increasingly popular as more and more people understand the need for internet access. Using a series of surveys conducted in 12 libraries across the state of Michigan, the current study is a step towards understanding why the computing facilities are widely used, and what are the motivations behind their use. In addition, barriers and other factors that hinder usage are also discussed. The findings from this study will help policy makers and library administrators evaluate the current allocation of scarce resources, help them promote greater use of the library's resources, and guide their future course of action. The study is conducted as part of a federally funded public computing center grant. © 2012 Elsevier Inc.
AB - Public libraries play an important part in the development of a community. Today, they are seen as more than store houses of books; they are also responsible for the dissemination of online, and offline information. Public access computers are becoming increasingly popular as more and more people understand the need for internet access. Using a series of surveys conducted in 12 libraries across the state of Michigan, the current study is a step towards understanding why the computing facilities are widely used, and what are the motivations behind their use. In addition, barriers and other factors that hinder usage are also discussed. The findings from this study will help policy makers and library administrators evaluate the current allocation of scarce resources, help them promote greater use of the library's resources, and guide their future course of action. The study is conducted as part of a federally funded public computing center grant. © 2012 Elsevier Inc.
KW - Barriers
KW - BTOP
KW - Libraries
KW - Motivation of users
KW - Public computing
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84870340859&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - https://www.scopus.com/record/pubmetrics.uri?eid=2-s2.0-84870340859&origin=recordpage
U2 - 10.1016/j.giq.2012.07.009
DO - 10.1016/j.giq.2012.07.009
M3 - RGC 21 - Publication in refereed journal
SN - 0740-624X
VL - 30
SP - 110
EP - 118
JO - Government Information Quarterly
JF - Government Information Quarterly
IS - 1
ER -
