| This study investigated the relationship between the attitudes of academic librarians toward computers and their backgrounds. The purposes of the study were to identify: (1) the relationship between academic librarians' attitudes toward computers and demographic variables, (2) the relationship between the academic librarians' attitudes toward computers and their background in information science related courses, and (3) the dimensions of academic librarians' attitudes toward computers.;The results reveal that, overall, the librarians showed positive attitudes toward computers. It was found that most of the demographic variables including gender, age, the highest degree obtained, collection size, functional areas in which the librarians were engaged in the current library, and length of library experience, were not significantly related to their attitudes toward computers. Also, neither formal nor informal education in information science were related to academic librarians attitudes toward computers. Experience with computers and the knowledge of a programming language were significantly related to a positive attitude toward computers.;A total of 244 librarians working in academic libraries in the States in universities or colleges that also have ALA-accredited library science programs were surveyed. Out of the 195 responses (79.9 percent response rate), 190 were usable for data analysis. The respondents were mostly female, over forty years old, had an MLS degree, and had more than ten years of library experience with an average of 16.1 years of experience and an average of 10.7 years of experience in their current library. In addition, most of them were currently using computers at work and were working in libraries where their primary functional area was computerized. |
