This study examines the evolution of services for young adults (defined as persons 14-18 years old) in the Miami-Dade (Florida) Public Library System from 1951, when the first Main Library opened and the first Young Adult Librarian was hired, up to 1984. These years were a time of rapid growth for both the library system and community, as well as a time when ideas about young adult services underwent a number of changes on the national level. The study places young adult services in the library within the context of community and national change during this period. Primary source materials for the historical case study were interviews with present and former librarians in the Miami-Dade system, as well as department reports. / The study found that the goals and problems of young adult services in the Miami-Dade system were remarkably consistent during much of this period. The most common goal was that of attracting young adults to the public library, although this was subordinated to encouraging reading for personal enrichment during the late 1950s and early 1960s, when large numbers of high school students were already using the library for school assignments. School work was both a source of problems and an opportunity to reach students, throughout the period. Outreach to teenagers outside the library became an interest in the 1970s. / The limited number of librarians assigned to young adult service, the high rate of turnover among them, and the assignment of librarians who had no background or interest in this area, formed the most significant problems. The situation with staffing seemed to improve with the opening of the large regional branch libraries in the late 1970s, but budgetary problems forced cutbacks that continued to create difficulties. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 47-10, Section: A, page: 3599. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1986.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:fsu.edu/oai:fsu.digital.flvc.org:fsu_75941 |
| Contributors | GAULT, ROBIN REED., Florida State University |
| Source Sets | Florida State University |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text |
| Format | 216 p. |
| Rights | On campus use only. |
| Relation | Dissertation Abstracts International |
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