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      • University of Waikato Theses
      • Masters Degree Theses
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      Collaborative and Social Interaction within Groups of Patrons in Academic and Public Libraries: Implications for Digital Libraries

      Alqurashi, Hayat
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      Alqurashi, H. (2014). Collaborative and Social Interaction within Groups of Patrons in Academic and Public Libraries: Implications for Digital Libraries (Thesis, Master of Science (MSc)). University of Waikato, Hamilton, New Zealand. Retrieved from https://hdl.handle.net/10289/8974
      Permanent Research Commons link: https://hdl.handle.net/10289/8974
      Abstract
      This Master’s thesis investigates patrons’ information-seeking behaviour in physical libraries. Information available to meet patron’s information needs, and constraints that limit the use of this information have been examined by a number of researchers in the last few years. However, there is a dearth of literature on the information-seeking processes, including the act of selecting books from shelves, and the kind of social interaction that may occur between patrons attending the library in groups. To address this gap we identified in the literature, this thesis used a qualitative method to investigate the behaviour of patrons when visiting libraries, and the way patrons within groups treat each other from the time they enter the library until they leave. 83 groups were observed in both public and academic libraries, totalling 217 participants. The observations and analysis of the study results increase our understanding of collaborative behaviour, group characteristics and other influential factors, such as location, time, physical environment, ambience and layout of the library. Our study also compared the findings with some previous work on similar concepts. Most findings highlight possible implications of social and book interaction in digital libraries, and emphasise the need to support more group collaboration among users of Digital Libraries, without limitations of shared time or location.
      Date
      2014
      Type
      Thesis
      Degree Name
      Master of Science (MSc)
      Supervisors
      Hinze, Annika
      Publisher
      University of Waikato
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      All items in Research Commons are provided for private study and research purposes and are protected by copyright with all rights reserved unless otherwise indicated.
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