LAssessing Public Library Services to Homeschoolers - Thesis Example

Other objectives will be to investigate how libraries attempt to respond to the needs of homeschoolers, the challenges for libraries in delivering services to homeschoolers, and discerning what might constitute best future service improvements for librarians. The level of services offered to homeschoolers is uneven in the United States; this may be due to the philosophical or political stance of institutions, personal bias, resource availability, lack of information or absence of a communicated need.

Requests by homeschoolers for library services are occasionally denied and homeschoolers do experience a negative reception in some cases. This research will seek to gain an understanding of how homeschoolers use and perceive the public library. It will also look at how effectively library staff responds to the needs of homeschoolers as a user group. Proposals and recommendations for service improvements are also included. Participatory observation of participants and staff, over an eleven-week observation period, during which, a six-session targeted homeschooling program was conducted, at Manross Memorial Library was used.

A questionnaire for participants in this program was also administered on-site at the beginning of the observation/program period. The sample population consisted of 21 children and 10 families. I would like to thank the faculty and staff of Aberdeen Business School for their responsiveness and helpfulness during the course of my degree program—absolutely priceless to a distance learner from across the ocean! I am especially grateful to Dr. Peter Reid who went to bat for me more than once when it counted.

Thank you. I would also like to thank my advisor Roddy Smith for his advice and feedback during the dissertation process. Homeschooling is generally defined as the home-based education of a preschool or school-age child, by a parent or guardian,