The boat library of Bangprok community in Thailand

Abstract

PurposeThe main purpose of this paper is to identify Bangprok community's information needs and to evaluate the performance and impact of its boat library.Design/methodology/approachThe research methodology included a complementary two‐stage process. First of all, a house‐to‐house survey was conducted to construct profile of Bangprok dwellers. At the same time, the key informant from each household was interviewed to find out the information needs and seeking patterns. The second part of the research involved a point of exit interview with Bangprok boat library users to undertake user profile and to gather their opinion on the library's performance and impact on community development.FindingsThe results showed that a small‐scaled community library has the potential to make a positive impact on the community. The results also yielded several implications for the boat library, including how its collections and services could be improved to make an equal impact on the community.Originality/valueThis is the first time an effort has been made to assess a community‐based library service in Thailand. This study may trigger more such research on evaluating rural community libraries in Thailand and beyond.