Leadership Role of School Librarians in the Adoption of Digital Textbooks

In our fast-paced, high-tech society, school librarians' leadership role in technology integration has been receiving particular attention. Because school libraries are usually the first place to introduce new educational technologies, school librarians are expected to have a positive attitude and perspective regarding the effectiveness and merits of new technologies. Meanwhile, simultaneous implementation of digital textbooks is planned in K-12 schools in the U.S. state of Florida and the country of South Korea, and school librarians are supposed to play a pivotal role in this adoption. However, there have been very few studies conducted to identify any patterns or consistencies in librarians' perceptions of innovation. The purpose of this study is to identify and describe the concerns of Floridian and South Korean librarians during the initial phases of the implementation of digital textbooks. For each setting, the study not only determines the stages of concern as per school librarians' practices and experiences, but also classifies those stages of concern by demographic backgrounds. This study used the Concerns-Based Adoption Model (CBAM) as a theoretical framework. The comparative research design applying a survey method was used, incorporating the Stages of Concern Questionnaire (SoCQ) with other demographic questions. The SoCQ percentile scores were used to identify school librarians' Stages of Concern (SoC) in Florida and South Korea. T-tests explored the similarities and differences of SoC in two locations. The study revealed that school librarians in both places expressed the highest response in Stage 0, Unconcerned, implying they were more concerned about a multitude of other obligations, activities, or innovations. The CBAM theory anticipates that there will be potential resistance from school librarians towards digital textbook implementation in two locations, as the SoC from Florida school librarians presented a Negative One-Two Split user pattern and those from South Korea presented a typical non-user pattern. Also, this study found that, according to their characteristics, school librarians showed the biggest gaps of concerns in the Impact stages (Stages 4, 5, and 6) while having relatively high concerns in the Self stages (Stages 0, 1, and 2). In Florida's case, all profiles presented a relationship between SoC and participants' characteristics, with the biggest gaps occurring in Stage 5, Collaboration. South Korean school librarians' SoC profiles found the largest gaps in the Impact stages. Research Question 3 revealed that South Korean school librarians expressed more concern over the three stages: 0, Unconcerned; 1, Informational; and 2, Personal. Based on the CBAM theory, the findings underscore a need for various interventions. Since school librarians' were found to be apathetic even though digital textbook integration will be put into effect soon, an intervention to inform them of the characteristics and strong points of digital textbooks, as well as restrictions for using them, is urgent (Stage 0). Moreover, the study findings argue that it is urgent to introduce various interventions for specific groups of participants. For example, South Korean school librarians, who had the second-highest concern in Stage 1, Informational, need to receive general information including benefits and costs of digital textbooks. Florida school librarians, who had the second-highest concern in Stage 2, Personal, need guidance to prioritize digital textbooks, and they also need continuous encouragement. The results from the study stress the importance of professional development for school librarians. Data from the study provides administrators with information regarding interventions that were targeted and customized according to school librarians' characteristics. Moreover, for policy makers, the theory recommends gradual implementation of digital textbooks in Florida and pilot test opportunities in South Korea. Lastly, the study urges library and information science education to have short- and long-term strategies for embracing digital textbooks.