For well over one hundred years, libraries open to the public have played a crucial part in fostering in Americans the skills and habits of reading and writing, by routinely providing access to standard forms of print: informational genres such as newspapers, pamphlets, textbooks, and other reference books, and literary genres including poetry, plays, and novels. Public libraries continue to have an extraordinary impact; in the early twenty-first century, the American Library Association reports that there are more public library branches than McDonald's restaurants in the United States. Much has been written about libraries from professional and managerial points of view, but less so from the perspectives of those most intimately involved—patrons and librarians. Drawing on circulation records, patron reviews, and other archived materials, Libraries and the Reading Public in Twentieth-Century America underscores the evolving roles that libraries have played in the lives of American readers. Each essay in this collection examines a historical circumstance related to reading in libraries. The essays are organized in sections on methods of researching the history of reading in libraries; immigrants and localities; censorship issues; and the role of libraries in providing access to alternative, nonmainstream publications. The volume shows public libraries as living spaces where individuals and groups with diverse backgrounds, needs, and desires encountered and used a great variety of texts, images, and other media throughout the twentieth century.

Libraries and Archives analyses the facts and arguments behind an increasing debate as to what extent libraries and archives are fulfilling the same missions. Despite the fact that they have different legal statuses, legal frameworks, and the work-flow looks very different, some politicians and bureaucrats think that there is much to gain if the two institutions work closely together or even merge. To understand the present situation it is important to have an understanding of the role of libraries and archives and their shared history. Therefore the development up to the present day is analysed in the first chapters of the book. The book stimulates debate and brings forth valuable facts about the topic. The main focus is on national libraries and national and regional archives from an international point of view. Offers a simple but comprehensive background to explain key issues behind the current debate Provides librarians and archivists with arguments The author has more than 40 years experience on the national and international archive and library scene

Not only does the library have a long and complex history and politics, but it has an ambivalent presence in Western culture – both a site of positive knowledge and a site of error, confusion, and loss. Nevertheless, in literary studies and in the humanities, including book history, the figure of the library remains in many senses under-researched. This collection brings together established and up-and-coming researchers from a number of practices – literary and cultural studies, gender studies, book history, philosophy, visual culture, and contemporary art –with an effective historical sweep ranging from the time of Sumer to the present day. In the context of the rise of archive studies, this book attends specifically and meta-critically to the figure of the library as a particular archival form, considering the traits that constitute (or fail to constitute) the library as institution or idea, and questions its relations to other accumulative modes, such as the archive in its traditional sense, the museum, or the filmic or digital archive. Across their diversity, and in addition to their international standard of research and writing, each chapter is unified by commitment to analyzing the complex cultural politics of the library form.

Archival collections at public libraries present their own challenges distinct from other library materials, but they also offer the promise of unique connections between the library and its users, particularly when the archives relate to local history.

In "Preservation and Conservation," two experts show library administrators and decision makers optimal collection preservation techniques, what it takes to set up a conservation work area, and safe ways to mount a small exhibit. Includes illustrated, step-by-step instructions to repair and conserve books documents, and photos as well as lists of suppliers and additional resources.