Changing Places: Personnel Issues of a Joint Use Library in Transition

A field study of a joint use library in transition was undertaken to identify personnel issues that arose when a public library program moved from a middle school setting to a college campus in the same community. Qualitative research methods were employed to collect data that would provide insight into the impact of change in employment status (from school board employees to college employees) and identify implications for staff adopting new work roles, management practices, and training models. The research was a follow-up of the 1995 doctoral dissertation that reported findings of a six-month field study of the combined Azalea Public Branch Library/Azalea Middle School Media Center in St. Petersburg, Florida, "Factors Affecting the Operation of a Combined School/Public Library: A Qualitative Study."