Public Libraries and Their Communities - by Kay Ann Cassell (Paperback)

About the Book

This is the first public library text to look at the administration of the public library as essentially different from that of other library types. It also emphasizes the crucial nature of advocacy, promotion, and marketing and demonstrates how each public library can identi...

Book Synopsis

Thisis the first public library text to look at the administration of the public library as essentially different from that of other library types. It also emphasizes the crucial nature of advocacy, promotion, and marketing and demonstrates how each public library can identify and meet the needs of its own particular community.

Review Quotes

As advocacy and constituency engagement are now more essential than ever in securing the future of public libraries, Cassell has provided a valuable primer for anyone needing a broad and contextual understanding of public libraries and the communities they serve.

Professional first-aid for new and experienced public librarians seeking to provide quality service in a sometimes splintered America. A most useful text for a course in public librarianship.

Public Libraries and Their Communities offers a robust representation of the countless changing aspects of public libraries. Cassell provides a concise history of public libraries, the development of different services specific to the communities they serve, and the continued influence of public libraries in enhancing educational programs and life-long learning skills. It is a clearly written source that explores many of the components necessary for public libraries to operate efficiently. Areas examined include financial aspects and budgeting, staffing at all levels, services to designated age groups, collection development, and community involvement. A guide to understanding the meaning, organization, and resilience of public libraries, this book is for anyone interested in public librarianship, public librarians regardless of specialization (children, young adult, adult), clerical staff at branch libraries, and the services public libraries offer. Recommended. Graduate students, professionals, and general readers.

Public Libraries and Their Communities provides a comprehensive introduction to public libraries and how they have evolved over time. Kay Cassell writes clearly and knowledgably about the various aspects of public library work, from governance to programming to strategic planning. This book should be required reading not only for students, but administrators, board members, and all who wish to develop a deeper understanding of our uniquely American institution.

Public Libraries and Their Communities: An Introduction, by Kay Ann Cassell, is a comprehensive, step-by-step guide to understanding how libraries build the services they provided for public library communities. The book is a great resource not just for professional librarians, but for all who care and invest in public libraries and want to learn the myriad of activities that go into building today's public library.

About the Author

Kay Ann Cassell is adjunct professor at the Rutgers University Department of Library and Information Science where she teaches a variety of courses including reference and information services, collection development and public libraries. She has worked in public and academic libraries. She has been the director of the Bethlehem (NY) Public Library, the director of the Huntington (NY) Public Library, the director of the New School for Social Research library and the associate director for collections and services at the New York Public Library. As NYPL's associate director of collections and services she oversaw the development of reference services, collections, programs and services for all branches. She has also worked as a coordinator for public library services at the New Jersey State Library and the Westchester Library System. Kay Ann Cassell is the coauthor of Reference and Information Services, an Introduction and the author of Managing Reference Today.