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Although the Web is still evolving, it has accumulated enough history to permit meaningful analysis and evaluation of its use and influence in libraries. This study provides a deeper understanding of Web use in libraries and yields new insights into the future development of both libraries and Web technologies. It may also have relevance for policy makers evaluating and planning information policies at different levels, and system developers designing technology applications for use in libraries.
An interpretive and social constructionist approach was taken in the study. Studies examining the implementation and use of technologies often show that the same technology can be used in quite different patterns, each of which will yield both intended and unintended consequences (Barley, 1986; Bijker, Hughes, & Pinch, 1987; Orlikowski, 1992). Researchers have gradually realized that the adaptation process of an information technology in a social setting is interactive and its use is context dependent (e.g., Avegerou, 2001; Fulk, 1993; Leonard-Barton, 1988; Orlikowski, 1992). The development of an information technology is not inevitable; different actors may have used alternative ways to design and use the technology (Thomas & Wyatt, 1999). Assuming that the process of Web appropriation and use in American libraries is socially constructed, this process cannot be understood without an understanding of the social actors who are involved.