THE LIBRARY QUARTERLY
information providers [1–6]. There have been various partnership efforts
between libraries and community networks over the past decade due to
their shared organizational goals: informing and empowering local citizens
by providing information.
Despite active discussions on community networks both in and out of
the LIS discipline [6–12], little is known about the general characteristics
of their users or the factors affecting their use of the service. Since an
important motivation for promoting the service was to reduce the digital
divide caused by users’ socioeconomic status, researchers have been primarily
interested in identifying demographic characteristics of the users.
One of the earlier community network user studies reported significant
influences of demographic factors on use by describing the typical users
as “educated young males with higher incomes” [13, p. 1], contrasting
strongly with the target audience. However, this description may no longer
fit into the current user population, considering the rapid diffusion of the
Internet and the considerable social efforts to reduce the digital divide
[14–17]. In a recent study, Karen Pettigrew, Joan Durrance, and Kenton
Unruh [6] reported that there was no such typical community network
user that could be characterized by his/her demographics. These developments
suggest that demographic variables may no longer be the primary
predictors of use; therefore, continued, exclusive focus on demographic
factors alone would be problematic in adequately explaining the current
use of community networks. This problem indicates a need to reexamine
the influence of demographic factors on use and to explore other, previously
overlooked, predictors of use.
The current study investigated two other factors along with demographic
factors. The first factor was the psychological factor. A few anecdotal and
qualitative case studies have suggested the possible influence of psychological
factors on use [11, 18–21]; people seemed to use a community
network service more when they had a favorable attitude toward the service
or when they perceived the service quality positively. So far, few studies
have empirically tested the relationships between those psychological factors
and use.
Another factor that the previous literature has largely overlooked is alternative
service accessibility. This factor has to do with the fast-changing
Internet and community network service environment. That is, since the
late 1990s, an increasing number of community network users have begun
subscribing to other commercial Internet service providers as those faster
and more reliable services became readily available in the market. It is
easily conceivable that the users who have an additional service compare
both services, and this comparison could influence the way they perceive
and use their community network. It can be contended that alternative
service accessibility could influence use, but this speculation had not been