ABSTRACT
In The Fair Garden and the Swarm of Beasts: The Library and the Young Adult, by Margaret Edwards, which was first published in 1969, Edwards identifiessome ways the public library has failed young people. In Margaret Edwards's time, she lamented the fact that most libraries focused only on helping youth with school assignments and neglected to address other needs and interests of youth. In Margaret Edwards's time, the card catalog was one of the most prominent features in the library. By focusing first on young people, libraries can create a welcoming, inclusive space that not only meets the needs of youth but cultivates future library advocates. The notion that the curriculum for preprofessionals in libraries is increasingly out of line with the knowledge and skills library staff need to be successful on the front line is fairly common throughout the profession. While today's libraries are facing many challenges, they have a window of opportunity to reinvent themselves.
