TY - JOUR
AU - Alice I. Bryan
AB - Drawing on her experience as a participant in the Public Library Inquiry (PLI) research team, the author begins by briefly discussing the purpose of the study in relationship to the postwar planning efforts of ALA. She notes that commissioning a team of social scientists rather than librarians to carry out this major research project required considerable courage on the part of the ALA leadership, whose goal was to establish a foundation of reliable, objective knowledge for policy making. After reviewing the scope and objectives of the Inquiry, the author describes key researchers and staff members and then outlines the nature of the working relationships that were maintained between the project director, the advisory council, and the twelve largely autonomous research teams. She also discusses some of the Inquiry's findings, including those of her 1948 library personnel survey which revealed the extent to which discrimination against female middle managers prevailed in libraries. Following a discussion of both librarians' and scholars' reactions to the recommendations and findings of the Inquiry, she concludes with an affirmation of the importance of librarianship and library education.
BT - Libraries & Culture
IS - 1
LA - English
N1 - Part of special issue: "The Public Library Inquiry: Reminiscences, Reflections, and Research"
N2 - Drawing on her experience as a participant in the Public Library Inquiry (PLI) research team, the author begins by briefly discussing the purpose of the study in relationship to the postwar planning efforts of ALA. She notes that commissioning a team of social scientists rather than librarians to carry out this major research project required considerable courage on the part of the ALA leadership, whose goal was to establish a foundation of reliable, objective knowledge for policy making. After reviewing the scope and objectives of the Inquiry, the author describes key researchers and staff members and then outlines the nature of the working relationships that were maintained between the project director, the advisory council, and the twelve largely autonomous research teams. She also discusses some of the Inquiry's findings, including those of her 1948 library personnel survey which revealed the extent to which discrimination against female middle managers prevailed in libraries. Following a discussion of both librarians' and scholars' reactions to the recommendations and findings of the Inquiry, she concludes with an affirmation of the importance of librarianship and library education.
PY - 1993
SP - 12
EP - 25
T2 - Libraries & Culture
TI - The Public Library Inquiry: Purpose, Procedures, and Participants
VL - 29
ER -