Faculty Response to Library Technology: Insights on Attitudes

ACADFMIC LIBRARIESHAVP MADE A sI(:NIFIc:Awr investment in electronic information resources and associated computer-based technologies so that their users can gain access to those resources and services. The faculty response to the increase in these library technologies is not always known. Using an essential element from the theory of the diffusion of innovations (that individuals adopt innovations at different rates), the authors conducted a series of focus group sessions and personal interviews with university faculty to discover their attitudes regarding the computer-based information resources that academic libraries provide to meet their information needs. This article explores the differences between the level of adoption of information resources by selected faculty and their responses to these technologies, the impact of library technology on the way they use the library for research and teaching, and their interpretation of the role the library plays in this period of transition and change.