Abstract:
ICT developments and internet technologies have changed the way public libraries serve
their community. The volume of information found via the internet has grown
enormously, there is increased use of internet enabled communication methods and
librarians are becoming involved in the creation and preservation of material in a digital
format. For the public libraries of New Zealand to meet the needs of its users and support
Government strategies to create digitally literate communities it is important that the
public service library staffs have the ICT skills and are in a position to take advantage of
internet technologies. This study investigates the development of public service library
staffs ICT skills, exploring attitudes towards the adoption of new technologies and
highlighting ICT barriers and enablers. A self administered postal questionnaire was
used to gather both quantitative and qualitative data. 440 questionnaires were issued with
a response rate of 31.6%.
Results showed that the majority of staff have a positive attitude regarding the usefulness
of internet technologies. It was found that the distribution of adopter categories within
the public library closely resembles Rogers (1995) normal adopter categories, indicating
that new innovations have a positive diffusion and adoption potential. The research
found that perceived skill and experience levels of internet technologies were low in
some areas requiring increased training and development opportunities. Barriers to
perceived skill levels were found to exist within the typical New Zealand public library
staffing structure, where a relationship was found between gender, length of service,
educational background and perceived internet technology skill levels.
