Abstract

This study was conducted to determine the characteristics of a learning-centered library from the perspective of the libraries in the 12 Vanguard Learning Colleges which were participants in the Learning College Project sponsored by the League for Innovation in the Community College. The 12 Vanguard Learning Colleges were: Cascadia Community College (WA), Community College of Baltimore County (MD), Community College of Denver (CO), Humber College, (Ontario), Kirkwood Community College (IA), Lane Community College, OR), Madison Area Technical College (WI), Moraine Valley Community College (IL), Palomar College (CA), Richland College (TX), Sinclair Community College (OH), and Valencia Community College (FL). Furthermore, the researcher was interested in discovering the extent to which the learning-centered concept had been implemented in these libraries as it related to the objectives of the Learning College Project and to chronicle the journeys of the libraries to become more learning-centered. The case study methodology was selected as the most appropriate method for collecting data from the libraries. The researcher interviewed the library administrators or their designees using a semi-structured telephone interview format. The interview questions were open-ended in nature and were developed based on the objectives of the Learning College Project under the guidance of a panel of experts from the fields of information studies and qualitative research. An analysis of the data derived from the telephone interviews and archival documents was analyzed using qualitative analysis strategies. The researcher sought to identify recurring patterns. Findings indicated that a learning-centered library: (a) supports the teaching and learning processes of the college, (b) empowers library staff to be facilitators of learning, (c) conducts strategic planning and assessment, (d) markets its services and resources to its learning community, (e) has facilities that are welcoming and conducive to the learning needs of its users, and (f) uses benchmarking with peer libraries and other organizations to improve its resources and services. When the library administrators or their designees rated the level of learningcenteredness attained by their libraries on a scale of one to ten with one being lowest and ten being highest, the most frequently reported level was 7 and the mean was 6.75. Findings on the implementation of the objectives of the Learning College Project suggested that while the libraries had made tremendous strides in this endeavor, their journeys were not yet completed.

Notes

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Graduation Date

2004

Semester

Spring

Advisor

Magann, Douglas

Degree

Doctor of Education (Ed.D.)

College

College of Education

Department

Educational Research, Technology, and Leadership

Format

application/pdf

Identifier

CFE0000045

URL

http://purl.fcla.edu/fcla/etd/CFE0000045

Language

English

Release Date

January 2004

Length of Campus-only Access

None

Access Status

Doctoral Dissertation (Open Access)

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