University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Broadcasting the Profession: The American Library Association and the National Children's Radio Hour

Welch, Cindy C.

Content Files
Welch_GSLIS_Dissertation.pdf

Permalink

https://hdl.handle.net/2142/14436

Description

Title
Broadcasting the Profession: The American Library Association and the National Children's Radio Hour
Author(s)
Welch, Cindy C.
Issue Date
2008
Director of Research (if dissertation) or Advisor (if thesis)
Rayward, W. Boyd, 1939-
Doctoral Committee Chair(s)
Jenkins, Christine A.
Committee Member(s)
  • Hearne, Elizabeth G.
  • Schiller, Daniel T.
Department of Study
Graduate School of Library and Information Science
Discipline
Library and Information Science
Degree Granting Institution
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Degree Name
Ph.D.
Degree Level
Dissertation
Date of Ingest
2009-12-07T15:33:44Z
Keyword(s)
  • American Library Association
  • National Children's Hour
  • Radio Broadcasting
  • Public Libraries - American - History
  • 1930s
  • Children's Librarians
  • Library publicity
  • Children's programming
Language
en
Abstract
This dissertation is an historical study of an attempt, from 1930 to 1936, by the American Library Association to harness the latest technology of the time (radio) in the service of public library outreach, literacy and information dissemination. While public librarians had varying degrees of success broadcasting from local stations across the country, the American Library Association unsuccessfully attempted to create and broadcast a national children's radio program. The bulk of the dissertation maps the trajectory of the project, from its association with the National Advisory Council on Radio in Education (NACRE) and the National Broadcasting Company (NBC), to the offer of a script created by Newbery Award winner Hendrik Van Loon, and the program's eventual demise due to political and economic pressures. It reveals parallels between librarians of the 1930s and librarians of the early 1990s, who wrestled with radio and the Internet respectively, suggesting a series of overlapping phases of library technology adoption. The phases are (1) discussion, where librarians debate the opportunities and limitations of using the technology in a library setting and for the library mission; (2) exploration, during which librarians make tentative use of the technology and provide directory-type information using it; (3) mediation, wherein librarians bring to bear their profession-specific skills of selection and evaluation; and (4) access, during which librarians acknowledge the economic and social implications of technology, and provide access to it for those who are unable to obtain it for themselves.
Type of Resource
text
Permalink
http://hdl.handle.net/2142/14436
Copyright and License Information
Copyright 2008 Cindy C. Welch

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