Interviews (public library staff)

Institute of Museum and Library Services

University of Washington Information School

The Impact of Free Access to Computers and the Internet in Public Libraries

Interview Guide for Public Library Board of Directors/Trustees/Friends of the Library

“Hello! My name is [name]. I’m working with a research project being conducted by the University of Washington’s Information School and sponsored by the US government’s Institute for Museum and Library Services. We’re interested in finding out how your Library’s free to computers and the Internet has affected the community. Your responses will help us evaluate and improve library computer services in libraries all across country. Information about you is confidential except as provided by law. The interview will take approximately 30 minutes. You can learn more about this project at http://www.depts.washington.edu/imlspac

Staff Alias: Library Code:

Date: Time: Day: Place of Interview:

Length of Interview: Interviewer Name:

Notes:

Questions:

1. How long have you been involved with your library?

2. What is your role at the library?

3. What other role(s) do you play in the the community? (if retired, roles played in the community?)

4. What is your library’s free computer and Internet service’s role in your community? What is its niche? (Prompt: What is your elevator speech?)

5. What organizations do you interact with in the community around free computer and Internet access? How important to you is your relationship with other organizations?

6. Who knows about free access to computers and the Internet? How?

7. Who else would you like to reach/draw in? What are the challenges in reaching them?

8. How would you characterize the successes of the public library? How about non-successes/failures?

9. How have individual users been helped? (Prompt: What is your typical example/story?)

10. In what ways have benefits been accrued by users’ families? What is your evidence for these observations? (seen families here, users told us, etc) (Prompt: What is your typical example/story?)

11. In what ways have benefits been accrued by the community at-large? What is your evidence for these observations? (Prompt: What is your typical example/story?)

12. Why is your library’s free access to computers and the Internet important to policy and decision makers?

13. What challenges/barriers do your computer and Internet users face?

14. How would you like to see free access to computers and the Internet develop in the future?

15. What is needed to make this happen with the external world, especially policy and decision makers, funding agencies?

16. How else could your library promote their computer and Internet services in the community? If so, please describe (e.g. posters place outside the library, advertise in local paper, others?)

17. Other comments?

Demographics:

What is your profession:

Years in Profession:

Gender:

Interview Guide for Public Library Board of Directors/Trustees/Friends of the Library IMLS | 2