Every profession should remember its beginnings, the origins of its
ideals and the difficulties and circumstances of their forging. Patty
Campbell traces the lives and careers of two early pioneers of young
adult librarianship, Mabel Williams and Margaret Edwards. The first
section draws upon an interview with Mabel Williams conducted by Mary K.
Chelton in 1975, in which Williams talks candidly about her career and
how young adult library services became a reality in the first half of
the 20th century. The second section consists of an essay entitled
Reconsidering Margaret Edwards: The Relevance of The Fair Garden for the
Nineties. Sections of this essay were originally published in the Wilson
Library Bulletin in June 1994, but the entire essay appears here for the
first time. In the essay, Campbell evaluates The Fair Garden and the
Swarm of Beasts, first published in 1969, against a backdrop of changing
times and changing ideas in librarianship. An important and interesting
work for academics and professionals in YA librarianship, this book
presents a coherent look at the past, present, and future of the field.