A Study of Retirement Community In-House Libraries

by Gibson, Jessica C.

Jessica C. Gibson. A Study of Retirement Community In-House Libraries. A Master’s Paper for the M.S. in L.S degree. July, 2007. 37 pages. Advisor: Claudia Gollop

The purpose of this paper is to study the libraries in five retirement communities, and to describe the history, collections, circulation practices, interlibrary lending practices, cataloging or organizational systems, staffing, and physical space of these libraries. The researcher conducted interviews with one contact at each of the five libraries. In addition, the researcher observed the library settings in order to gain an understanding of the context in which services and use is conducted.

The study found that all of the libraries have some system for organizing the collections, although the extent of organization varies; all of the libraries include at least some donated materials; the libraries all include a variety of materials; four of the libraries have some circulation procedure; and three of the four libraries expressed a need for more space.

Headings:

Aged/Information Services

Library Schools/Theses/University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill