Carl Martin Luck Memorial Library, San Juan Bautista, California: A case study

This thesis analyzes social factors influencing library development in San Juan Bautista, California; addresses the role of women in library establishment and maintenance; and constructs a narrative history of the library from the late 1800s through the present.; Library development in San Juan Bautista followed the pattern outlined by Lewis Stieg in 1952, and further developed by Ray Held in 1963. A major departure was found in the area of urban growth: San Juan Bautista's population has never reached two thousand, yet it has supported a public library for nearly one hundred years.; Research indicates that the role of women in founding a library began with a women's reading group in the 1880s. Creation of an all female library auxiliary in 1896; the philanthropy of a native daughter in 1974; and contemporary involvement of women offer evidence of sustained commitment by women to public library service in San Juan Bautista.