Library and Information Science Commons^™

Libraries And Digital Information: How Library Services Impact Digital Equity, Sheila Walton, Cristine Fowler

Educational and Organizational Learning and Leadership Dissertations

This mixed-method study explains how public library services impact patrons’ access to digital technology. Working with a county stakeholder, the research team developed an online questionnaire for distribution to library staff in two public library systems. The King County Library and Seattle Public Library executive administration representatives worked with the research team to determine the sample of participants: those library staff who regularly interface with patrons needing or requesting access and use of digital technology. Participants provided demographic, Likert scale agreement, and narrative responses to 29 questions. Using statistical software and hand-coding processes, responses were categorized to find alignment with …