Rationale: Theory as Related to Problem

The Diffusion of Innovations Theory was selected by Ms. Jele to solve the list serve implementation problem because it is well suited to the technical issues involved. At the foremost, a list serve is an innovation that needs to be diffused to the school families. During the process of diffusion, the patron's "current state of technical knowledge" (Carson, 2005) and their "current economic and social utilization" (Carson, 2005) parallel the project milestones and are critical to the successful implementation. Also, the "milestones of a proposal" (Carson, 2005) appropriately represents the process of implementing a list serve from the school's perspective. The representation includes a definition of need, the consideration of problems, and the introduction of the service. These elements of the Diffusion of Innovation are displayed in the Theory Flow Diagram.

Throughout the process of implementing a school list serve the librarian, Ms. Jele, needs to consider the various levels of users technical knowledge. For example, what percent of patrons are computer literate, do patrons know what a list serve is and how to use it. Likewise, the school families will have different levels of economic and social issues such as how many own a home computer, do they use email, and if so, will they be able to read messages written in English. In the Diffusion of Innovations Theory both of these issues feed into the milestones of implementing a list serve system. At the same time, the technical expertise available from school district staff is a consideration that feeds into the milestones of implementing a new program such as a list serve. Ms. Jele considered all of these factors as she decided which information theory to apply.

The issue of getting patrons to understand and use a list serve once it is available is defined in this theory as diffusion. Dissemination of list serve information to the families is an important consideration for successful implementation of the program. Announcements, education, and the sign-up process, are all methods of disseminating information that Ms. Jele can apply.

This theory also considers the adoption characteristics of the users for successful implementation of a list serve. To understand the user's likelihood of participating in the list serve Ms. Jele needs to consider the five types of adopters as defined by Everett Rogers Diffusion of Innovations theory. By the theory definition, a large percentage of the users have early majority and late majority characteristics. For best success, the needs of these individuals must be considered when planning list serve implementation. By Rogers' definition early majority individuals have contact with early adopters and would be willing to try the list serve with assistance. These early majority individuals might include families with a teenager who is computer savvy and would encourage the family to register. Similarly, a grandparent who cares for the children and who is still trying to catch up with today's technology would be considered a late majority user. These late majority adopters might be very interested in up-to-date school and library news, but are very uncomfortable with the sign-up and usage process. Ms. Jele's consideration of the users defined by Rogers' definitions of adopter characteristics will assure a more successful implementation of the list serve program.