Dr. Sara Fine, professor emeritus of information sciences at the University of Pittsburgh, brought her background as a licensed psychologist to her research, teaching, and publications in the field of information science. Her work explored many facets of human interaction with information and technology and how the technological revolution affects individuals, organizations, and societies. She conducted a series of national research studies sponsored by the United States Office of Education on the human aspects of technological innovation, and she worked with libraries as well as a variety of other organizations on preparing staff for new technological events.
Fine earned her BA, MA, and PhD in Education from the University of Pittsburgh. She also served as a professor at the School of Information Sciences until her retirement in 1999. Most recently, she held the position of professor of information science at Bar Ilan University.
Fine passed away on February 3, 2012 in Tel Aviv. Those interested in supporting the continuation of her work might consider making a memorial donation to the Sara Fine Institute, which was created to honor and extend her work studying the relationship between people and technology. We invite you to contact Terri Taylor, Director of Development at SCI.
A Selective Bibliography of Sara Fine’s Publications
Fine, S. (1978). The Librarian as Youth Counselor. Drexel Library Quarterly, 14(1), 29-44.
Fine, S. (1979). Resistance to Technological Innovation in Libraries: Part III: Reviews of the Study. Final Report (pp. 1-82, Rep.). (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED310776)
Fine, S. (1979). Resistance to Technological Innovation in Libraries: Research Report, Part II: Data Analysis and Statistical Report. Final Report. (Rep.). (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED226730)
Fine, S. (1979). Resistance to Technological Innovation in Libraries. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Dept. of Health, Education and Welfare. Office of Education. Office of Libraries and Learning Resources.
Fine, S. (1980). Developing career information centers: A guide to collection building and counseling. New York: Neal-Schuman.
Fine, S. (1980). Library Education and Resistance to Technology. Supplementary Progress Report [and] Background Papers(Rep.). (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED309776)
Fine, S. (1981). Library Education and Resistance to Technology. Final Report. (pp. 1-143, Rep.). (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED309777)
Fine, S. (1984). Research and the psychology of information use. Library Trends, 32(4), 441-460.
Fine, S. F. (1986). Before the trainer comes: A group approach to technological change. Journal for Specialists in Group Work, 11(1), 42-47.
Fine, S. (1986). Technological Innovation, Diffusion and Resistance. Journal of Library Administration, 7(1), 83-108.
Fine, S. (1990). The role of libraries in economic restructuring. International Library Review, 22(4), 201-211.
Fine, S. (1992). Change and Resistance: The Cost/Benefit Factor. The Bottom Line, 5(1), 18-23.
Fine, S. (1994). A psychologist’s response. The Journal of Academic Librarianship, 20(3), 138-
Fine, S. (1995). Reference and resources: The human side. The Journal of Academic Librarianship, 21(1), 17-20.
Fine, S. (1996, January). How the mind of a censor works. School Library Journal, 42(1), 23.
Fine, S., & Glasser, P. H. (1996). The first helping interview: Engaging the client and building trust. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
Fine, S. (1997). Librarians and the Art of Helping. The Reference Librarian, 28(59), 77-91.
Fine, S. (1998, January). Censorship as a human dynamic: An international perspective. In International Association of School Librarianship. Selected Papers from the… Annual Conference (p. 9). International Association of School Librarianship.
Jin, Z., & Fine, S. (1996). The Effect of Human Behavior on the Design of an Information Retrieval System Interface. The International Information & Library Review, 28(3), 249-260.
Penland, P. R., & Fine, S. (1974). Group dynamics and individual development. New York: M. Dekker.
Porat, L., & Fine, S. (2009). Factors and characteristics of interlibrary loan use and non‐use. Interlending & Document Supply, 37(1), 20-27.
Shachak, A., Shuval, K., & Fine, S. (2007). Barriers and enablers to the acceptance of bioinformatics tools: A qualitative study. Journal of the Medical Library Association, 95(4), 454-458.
Shachak, A., & Fine, S. (2008). The Effect of training on biologists acceptance of bioinformatics tools: A field experiment.Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, 59(5), 719-730.