Article Searching

I can already tell that my lit. review is going to be kind of interesting.  The research is going sorta well, but to be honest, for such a hot topic I am not finding a whole slew of information out there.  Well, let me correct myself. I am not finding a ton of information on the privatization of public in the U.S.  If I were looking at U.K. libraries I would be golden.  Anyways, I wanted to post my Livebinder where I am gathering articles that I will be reviewing.  While this site might look kind of pathetic at the moment, I do have five article (yes, two don't come up on screen but they are there, believe me. )

http://livebinders.com/edit?id=185791

Topic Finally Picked

So I know my topic and here is the working title: Privatizing Libraries: Should it Happen?

I know that this topic is going to require fixed experiments/research and it will probably be measured in the “nominal” or “ordinal” ways. 

I have a strong argument (I believe) on why we they should go private with a few examples to back it up. 

Here are a few questions I will be keeping in mind as I research this topic.

1. What are the benefits of privatizing libraries? What are its drawbacks?

2. How to finance a private library.

   a. by subscription

    b. by local funding, such as a charter school using local school funds?

    c. Libraries in Regency England were pay only for use. Would the historic model work today, or would it make books available only to the elite who could pay for access?

 3. Would large foundations, such as the Bill and Melinds Gates group, be interested in private libraries in disadvantaged areas, such as Appalachia, where public funding for libraries is minimal? Research the levels of funding for libraries in rural areas v. big cities to see if this is true.

4. If the federal, state, and local governments are cutting costs everywhere, and we have seen in Chesterfield County that libraries are open just four days a week, is the only solution to a minimal library system privatizing libraries?

I know that I have intervening variables as part of my theory which I will piece together in time. 

So far how does this sound?

Deciding a Topic

Ok. So this is the hard part. I have been doing a lot of thinking, talking with a friend who happens to be doing surveys, lit reviews, and research for her "socol" thesis, and now I am feeling a bit more comfortable about the work I will be doing over the next few months. Here are two main topic that I think I would really like to do.

1. I want to study the effects hunger has on learning/literacy
2. The use and effects of after school programs for teens.
3. What do patrons really want out of their public library.

Ok, so this last one might be a bit vague, but sometimes I feel like a public library can do so much more than what it does, and sometimes it's doing something that people just don't want