Before the Public Library explores the emergence of community-based lending libraries in the Atlantic World before the advent of the Public Library movement in the mid-nineteenth century. Essays by eighteen scholars from a range of disciplines seek to place, for the first time, community libraries within an Atlantic context over a two-century period. Taking a comparative approach, this volume shows that community libraries played an important – and largely unrecognized – role in shaping Atlantic social networks, political and religious movements, scientific and geographic knowledge, and economic enterprise. Libraries had a distinct role to play in shaping modern identities through the acquisition and circulation of specific kinds of texts, the fostering of sociability, and the building of community-based institutions.
Before the Public Libraryexplores the emergence of community-based lending libraries in the Atlantic World before the advent of the Public Library movement in the mid-nineteenth century. Essays by eighteen scholars from a range of disciplines seek to place, for the first time, community libraries within an Atlantic context over a two-century period. Taking a comparative approach, this volume shows that community libraries played an important - and largely unrecognized - role in shaping Atlantic social networks, political and religious movements, scientific and geographic knowledge, and economic enterprise. Libraries had a distinct role to play in shaping modern identities through the acquisition and circulation of specific kinds of texts, the fostering of sociability, and the building of community-based institutions.
This is the first fully illustrated, popular history of one of the great knowledge institutions of the world. The New York Public Library comprises simultaneously a set of scholarly research collections that rank with those of the British Library, the Library of Congress, and the Bibliotheque Nationale de France, as well as a network of community libraries with vast popular neighbourhood collections - and all of its resources are open to all comers, a degree of access perhaps unique in the world. How it came to be, how it grew and developed its unique character, and how it came to be a refuge and essential resource for generations of New Yorkers and scholars from around the world are some of the pieces of the fascinating story told here.
Excerpt from The Function of a Public Library and Its Value to a Community: A Paper Read Before "the Round Table," at St. Louis Club, Saturday, Nov. 8, 1884 The United States report of 187 6 gives a list of libraries, containing an aggregate of over twelve million vol umes, with permanent funds estimated at The private benefactions to libraries reported at that time amounted to and it was estimated on good grounds that there was as much more which had not been reported. Five sixths of the whole sum has been given within the last thirty fivc years. The statistics soon to be published by the Government will, I think, show a still larger-proportionate aggregate for the last eight years. The most notable dona tion is that of Enoch Pratt of nearly for the foundation of a public library for the city of Baltimore. A citizen of Providence gives for a new building for the public library of that city and there have been numerous endowments and bequests throughout New England. The collected statistics of twenty-three libraries show that out of a total circulation of volumes in the year 1875, were lost through borrowers and were worn out, being a total loss of volumes, or less than two-tenths of one per cent, a considerably smaller percentage than the loss of a like amount of paper currency in circulation during the same period and it appears that nearly three times as many books wear out in honorable service as are lost through carelessness and dishonesty. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.
The New York Public Library AMAZING scientists Discover the moons of Jupiter with Galileo. Uncover the science of radiation with Madame Curie. Travel forward in time with Einstein. Find out how scientists learned to cure diseases, how they discovered gravity, and how they determined the structure of the atom. Fact-filled and fun, this book's question-and-answer format lets you explore the discoveries of some of the world's greatest scientists. What is the Hippocratic Oath? See page 11. How did archimedes single-handedly hold off the entire Roman army? See page 13. Which famous physician learned about human anatomy in a gladiator ring? See page 19. What is natural selection? See page 36. What was the worst disease of all time? See page 40. Who discovered over 300 uses for peanuts? See page 48. Which founder of chemistry lost his head in the French Revolution? See page 65. What Nobel Prize-winning physicist escaped the Nazis in 1933? See page 109. Also in The New York Public Library Answer Books series: Amazing Explorers Amazing Native American History Amazing Hispanic American History Incredible Earth Amazing Space Amazing Mythology Amazing Women in American History Amazing African American History
A fascinating and informative read for librarians, library staff, and MLIS students, this book offers practical information and professional guidelines to examine current issues in censorship and libraries while also enabling readers to consider their own opinions about intellectual freedom. This book addresses contemporary issues in censorship and intellectual freedom and can serve as an invaluable resource for librarians and other library staff and as an eye-opening read for MLIS students. It covers the waterfront of intricate and thorny issues regarding intellectual freedom, including determining strategies for patron privacy, deciding how to filter public computers, handling challenges to items in a collection, and recognizing and eliminating under-the-radar self-censorship during collection development and weeding. Readers will also gain an understanding of the perils of over-reliance on community assessments and other evaluative tools and consider important concerns of public library employees, such as whether to restrict borrowing privileges of R-rated movies and M-rated video games to patrons of various ages, and the legalities that surround these questions. Each chapter blends instructive background narrative with practical advice, research findings, and relevant information about librarianship's professional guidelines, including the ALA's Library Bill of Rights and the Freedom to Read Statement. Vignettes, "what would you do?" examples, effective nonconfrontational techniques for conflict resolution, and lists of tips and traps help readers to think critically about their own biases and rehearse possible responses to controversial situations. Librarians, library staff, and MLIS students can use this book for personal professional development, as supplemental reading for MLIS courses or professional training workshops, or as a resource for library policy-planning discussions.
