George D'Elia

The impact of the internet on public library use: an analysis of the current consumer market for library and internet services

The potential impact of the Internet on the publics demand for the services and resources of public libraries is an issue of critical importance. The research reported in this article provides baseline data concerning the evolving relationship between the publics use of the library and its use of the Internet. The authors developed a consumer model of the American adult market for information services and resources, segmented by use (or nonuse) of the public library and by access (or lack of access) to, and use (or nonuse) of, the Internet. A national Random Digit Dialing telephone survey collected data to estimate the size of each of six market segments, and to describe their usage choices between the public library and the Internet. The analyses presented in this article provide estimates of the size and demographics of each of the market segments; describe why people are currently using the public library and the Internet; identify the decision criteria people use in their choices of which provider to use; identify areas in which libraries and the Internet appear to be competing and areas in which they appear to be complementary; and identify reasons why people choose not to use the public library and/or the Internet. The data suggest that some differentiation between the library and the Internet is taking place, which may very well have an impact on consumer choices between the two. Longitudinal research is necessary to fully reveal trends in these usage choices, which have implications for all types of libraries in planning and policy development.

The Implementation of the Integrated Information Center at the University of Minnesota.

The implementation and operation of the Integrated Information Center (IIC) can be divided into three, relatively distinct phases corresponding roughly to the 3 years of the grant, from October 1990 to September 1993. This article presents the story of each phase of the implementation.

Technical session on: The impact of the Internet on users

The online information environment has changed dramatically since the earliest online systems emerged in the 1960s. Growth has occurred both in the number of users of online information as well as in the number of online information resources and providers. The rate of growth in each of these areas increased exponentially with the availability of the public Internet and the World Wide Web. These foundational technological developments created an environment in which almost anyone can “publish” or function as an information provider and have virtually instantaneous access to massive volumes of information.

Challenges Encountered During the Implementation of the Integrated Information Center at the University of Minnesota.

This article describes the significant challenges that were encountered during the implementation of the Integrated Information Center (IIC). These challenges were of three kinds: Those in the environment and beyond the control of the project, those in the mission of the project, and those inherent in the design of the IIC.

The evaluation of the IIC project

The authors provide their evaluation of the success of the project.