ASSESSING THE EFFECTIVENESS OF A MODEL FOR EDUCATING RURAL LIBRARIANSIN USING INTERNET RESOURCES

Findings from a study that evaluated a model for educating rural libra ry professionals in the promotion and use of Internet resources sugges ted that the model was effective for empowering rural librarians to ac t as change agents in their communities. When compared, over a one-yea r period, with similar professionals who had not participated in the m odel training program, participants showed a significantly greater inc rease in their perceived level of technical knowledge over that of non -participants. Also, these participants were far more likely to have a form of direct connectivity for Internet access. Participants, on the average, undertook more steps to both promote and implement Internet access and use of electronic resources. They were significantly more l ikely to serve as change agents, achieve new access to the Internet, p ublish articles and news releases, and give talks, demonstrations, and training sessions, than those who had not participated in the study. Key features of the model are described and recommendations have been made for further research.