January 2019
Larson, Ronald. "Library Stakeholder Attitudes and New Technology" Library Management 40(1/2)(2019): 128 - 140. (https://www.emeraldinsight.com/doi/full/10.1108/LM-02-2018-0012). - A decision to adopt a new technology in a library may encounter unanticipated resistance. Consulting stakeholders beforehand reduces the likelihood that library users will be unhappy with a new technology, or reject it outright. A broad definition of stakeholders increases the chance that all possible opinions will be included in the decision. Besides library patrons, include stakeholder groups such as staff, board members, community members, funders and vendors. Stakeholder perspectives can be gathered using surveys, focus groups and advisory groups. While acknowledging that “developing a good survey is challenging,” the author reminds us that “… good survey design is still essential….” RFID as a mechanism for self-service checkout is surveyed here, but the principles apply to the adoption of any new technology or service. Patrons may have concerns about their ability to use a new technology, (“technology anxiety”), for example, the accuracy of their data, and whether their data will be kept private. An extensive list of “tips for survey design and implementation” and a shorter list of tips for focus groups will help librarians avoid pitfalls when implementing a new technology. - NN