THE ROLE OF ACADEMIC LIBRARY ADMINISTRATORS IN ACADEMIC LIBRARY CONSORTIA: A STUDY OF PERCEPTIONS

• Other Authors: BAUGHMAN, STEVEN ALAN.
• Format: Others
• Subjects: Library Science
• Online Access: http://purl.flvc.org/fsu/lib/digcoll/etd/3085984

This survey study of the directors of academic libraries that participate in academic library consortia was conducted to provide a description of their roles in these cooperatives as well as to assess the impact participation has on their libraries and their own work. The total identifiable population of consortium participating academic library administrators was polled. === Dependent variables included: areas of benefit resulting from consortium participation, areas of problems and costs of participation, and the effects of budget constraints. Independent variables included sizes and types of institutions, control status of institution, consortium organization, and presence of a consortium director. === Findings indicated that: (1) Consortium governance is still the province of the library administrators. It requires commitments of their time but is not viewed as burdensome. Presence of a consortium director made no difference in perceptions of time commitment. (2) The major area of benefit identified is interlibrary loan. Other services seen to benefit include: reference and circulation. Presence of a consortium director increases perceptions of benefit. (3) Areas of cost associated with consortium activity were not preceived as heavy. The most cited area was the increased workload for the administrators themselves. Presence of a consortium director increases perceived cost. (4) No major problem areas were identified. The most often cited area was insufficient consortium funding. Fewer problems are seen when a consortium director is present. (5) Management skills identified as more important for the consortium setting included the communication skills. (6) Budgetary constraints were perceived as an impetus towards increased cooperation. === Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 46-01, Section: A, page: 0008. === Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1984.