The history of the St. Petersburg Public Library is undertaken not only for the benefit of the community it serves, but also as an example of American attitudes towards library service, and as a representative of the Carnegie Libraries. The development of the community itself is also discussed, taking into consideration the major events and activities which affected its growth and created its particular characteristics. The causes and effects of events have influenced the library as well as the city. / Typescript. / "August, 1960." / "Submitted to the Graduate School of Florida State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science." / Advisor: Ruth H. Rockwood, Professor Directing Paper.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Indiana University, 1970. / Vita. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 212-215).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Florida State University, 1990. / eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 414-430).

A report of the investigation of Mississippi's regional library program. This paper first outlines briefly cultural factors and conditions in Mississippi in relation to library development; then, because a knowledge of the legal basis of the library program in Mississippi aids in understanding of the regional program, a brief history of the legal development of library service is given. Following this background material, the paper contains a summary of the development of the regional program and concludes with a report of the program in operation in the two existing regions. / Typescript. / "August, 1952." / At head of title: Florida State University. / "Submitted to the Graduate Council of Florida State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts." / Advisor: Mary Edna Anders, Professor Directing Paper. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 54-56).

Thesis (M.A.)--Kent State University, 2008. / Title from PDF t.p. (viewed Jan. 22, 2010). Advisor: Steven Brown. Keywords: public library; Q methodology; patron perception of library. Includes bibliographical references (p. 80-88).

Research is divided about the potential of e-service to bridge communication gaps, particularly to diverse user groups. According to the existing body of literature, e-service may increase or decrease the quality of service received. This study analyzes the level of service received by different genders and ethnic groups when public librarians answer online reference queries. Quality of e-service was evaluated along three dimensions: responsiveness, reliability, and courtesy. This study found no significant differences among different user groups along any of these dimensions, supporting the argument that the virtual environment facilitates equitable service and may overcome some challenges of diverse user groups.

Research is divided about the potential of e-service to bridge communication gaps, particularly to diverse user groups. According to the existing body of literature, e-service may increase or decrease the quality of service received. This study analyzes the level of service received by different genders and ethnic groups when public librarians answer online reference queries. Quality of e-service was evaluated along three dimensions: responsiveness, reliability, and courtesy. This study found no significant differences among different user groups along any of these dimensions, supporting the argument that the virtual environment facilitates equitable service and may overcome some challenges of diverse user groups.

No description available.

This thesis aims to investigate the development and functions of public libraries in Rome and the Roman world. After a preface with maps of libraries in Rome, Section I discusses the precursors for public library provision in the private book collections of Republican Rome, and their transfer into the public domain with the first public libraries of Asinius Pollio and Augustus. Section II contains three 'case studies' of public libraries' different roles. The Augustan library programme is used in Ch.II.l to examine the role of imperial public libraries in literary life and the connections between Rome's libraries and those of Alexandria. Chapter II.2 concentrates on the libraries of Trajan's Forum to explore the intersection of imperial public libraries and monumental public architecture. This chapter responds to an important recent article by arguing for the continued identification of the Forum's libraries with twin brick buildings at its northern end, and suggests a series of correspondences between these libraries and its other monumental components. The conclusions of this chapter are important when considering the public libraries of the wider empire, several of which seem to have been inspired by the Trajanic libraries. Chapter II.3 considers imperial public libraries and leisure by looking at the evidence for libraries within bath-house complexes, concluding that their presence there is consistent with the archaeological and epigraphic evidence and fits in well with what we know of the intellectual and cultural life of these structures. Section III examines various aspects of the practical function of Roman public libraries: their contents (books and archives), division into Latin and Greek sections, provisions for shelving and cataloguing, staff, usership, architectural form, decoration, and housing of works of art. The picture that emerges is of carefully designed and functional buildings intended to sustain public, monumental, and practical functions. Section IV uses a variety of texts to examine the way in which libraries were viewed and used. Ch. IV. 1 discusses the evidence for use of libraries by scholars and authors such as Gellius, Galen, Josephus, and Apuleius. Ch. IV.2 examines parallels between library collections and compendious encyclopaedic elements within Roman literature and considers how library collections came to be canon-forming institutions and vehicles for the expression of imperial approval or disapproval towards authors. The channels through which this imperial influence flowed are investigated in Ch. IV.3, which looks at the directors and staff of the public libraries of Rome. The final section (V) of the thesis concerns public libraries outside the city of Rome. Provincial libraries provide a useful case study in 'Romanisation': they reveal a range of influences and are shown to embody local, personal, and metropolitan imperial identities. There follows a brief conclusion, and a bibliography. There are also five appendices of numismatic and epigraphic material discussed in the text. This material has not been adequately or completely gathered elsewhere and is intended to assist the reader; where appropriate it includes illustrations, transcriptions, and translations.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of New South Wales, 1989. / Also available online.