Motivation to Select Books: A Study of Annotated and Unannotated Booklists in Public Libraries
Golden, Gary A.
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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/69481
Description
Title
Motivation to Select Books: A Study of Annotated and Unannotated Booklists in Public Libraries
Author(s)
Golden, Gary A.
Issue Date
1983
Department of Study
Library Science
Discipline
Library Science
Degree Granting Institution
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Degree Name
Ph.D.
Degree Level
Dissertation
Keyword(s)
Library Science
Abstract
This study tested the effect of annotated and unannotated booklists on the circulation of non-fiction books by adult public library patrons. It was hypothesized that the circulation of a given group of books in a public library will be significantly greater when a booklist is present than when no booklist has been used, because booklists are an effective way to bring to the attention of adult patrons a finite number of books within a much larger collection and will motivate them to borrow these books. In addition, it is hypothesized that an annotated booklist will increase circulation of the books on that list significantly more than an unannotated booklist, because the use of annotations gives an adult patron a description of the content of the books.
"An experimental pretest-posttest control group design was employed using seven public libraries in Illinois. Three libraries received annotated booklists, three unannotated booklists, and one acted as a control and received no booklists. During the three-month pretest period no booklists were distributed in any of the libraries and at the start of the three month experimental period each of the six treatment libraries distributed 1,200 copies of a printed booklist titled ""Books to Help You Cope with Inflation"". The same twenty books were studied in all the libraries with the number of times each title circulated being counted."
The conclusion reached was that both types of booklists, annotated and unannotated, significantly increased the circulation of books on those lists. Adult patrons had been motivated to borrow a book because of an increased knowledge of that book's existence. The use of annotations in a booklist did not significantly increase circulation over those same books on an unannotated booklist. An additional three-month post-experimental period was conducted in three libraries. There was a continued significant effect on circulation in one library using an unannotated booklist and no significant effect in two libraries using an annotated booklist. This study suggests that booklists lead to an increased circulation in public libraries.
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