| This study was designed to (1) examine the current community services offered by academic libraries in Thailand, (2) to determine the level of adequacy of existing community services, (3) to determine the desired community services to be offered by academic libraries, and (4) to determine the differences between community services offered by academic libraries in Bangkok and in the provinces.;The questionnaires were mailed to 50 academic libraries in governmental and private universities in Thailand. Forty-eight respondents, which include 42 library directors or head librarians, four head librarians for public services, one community service librarian, and one unidentified position respondent, returned the questionnaires. Descriptive statistics including frequencies, means, standard deviations; Chi-square; and independent t tests were calculated using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSSX) to analyze the data.;The findings were: (1) Reading services, reference and information services, library tours, photocopying services, and exhibitions were major services that most academic libraries offered to the community inside the library, whereas non-print material services, circulation services, research services, book repair services, and services outside the library were available in few libraries. (2) Most community services were offered to the community, but they were in between inadequate and adequate. Services outside the library, especially, were considered inadequate. (3) Academic librarians agreed that most listed services were desirable to be offered to the community. (4) Community services offered by academic libraries in Bangkok were not significantly different from the services offered by the provincial academic libraries although academic libraries in Bangkok emphasized inside services more than outside services, in contrast, academic libraries in the provinces emphasized outside services more than the inside ones. |
