ATTITUDES TOWARD AUTOMATION: HOW THEY AFFECT THE SERVICES LIBRARIES PROVIDE.

Automation has been shaping major changes in libraries for some time. Its scope has expanded in rates and directions that have been unprecedented. Throughout our long involvement with automation - an association that predates the introduction of the computer - human skills and attitudes have played an integral role in its development. While considerable attention has been devoted to users, there has been little examination of how our own attitudes toward technological changes affect the presentation of services to users. An examination of how we present technological changes effectively illustrates how our attitudes dictate the types and levels of the services we make available. This paper explores how individual attitudes can result in prescriptive or limiting service development and provision. By examining the value we place on technological achievements, we may be able to understand our resulting attitudes and avoid limiting our services based on these preconceptions.