Libraries, as a component of cultural space, are ubiquitous to almost every society during almost every time period. However, as places of cultural and symbolic and intellectual meaning, they have varied greatly. To capture both aspects, this collection of 14 original papers covers library spaces old and new, real and imagined, large and small, public and private. Contributions range from a consideration of the Garrison library in the British Empire, to the Carnegie library as a social institution, to the imagined library in Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The result is a fascinating look at the library as a physical, social, and intellectual place within the hearts and minds of its clientele and the public at large.

From the educational space of UC Berkeley to a one-room library in Silverado Canyon, this tour of thirty-two California libraries explores the sense of space and unique atmosphere a structure can provide. Dividing California into eight distinct regions including the northern California coast, the San Francisco Bay area, Los Angeles County, and San Diego County, the work looks at a sampling of libraries from each area, discussing the surroundings, facilities and physical presentation of each building. Chosen libraries reflect the communities they serve as well as their particular missions. Entries include contact information for the selected library, a website address, and information regarding its size, circulation and the extent of its collection. Photographs of the libraries are also included.

The United States has more public libraries than it has McDonald’s restaurants. By any measure, the American public library is a heavily used and ubiquitous institution. Popular thinking identifies the public library as a neutral agency that protects democratic ideals by guarding against censorship as it makes information available to people from all walks of life. Among librarians this idea is known as the “library faith.” But is the American public library as democratic as it appears to be? In Main Street Public Library, eminent library historian Wayne Wiegand studies four emblematic small-town libraries in the Midwest from the late nineteenth century through the federal Library Service Act of 1956, and shows that these institutions served a much different purpose than is so often perceived. Rather than acting as neutral institutions that are vital to democracy, the libraries of Sauk Centre, Minnesota; Osage, Iowa; Rhinelander, Wisconsin; and Lexington, Michigan, were actually mediating community literary values and providing a public space for the construction of social harmony. These libraries, and the librarians who ran them, were often just as susceptible to the political and social pressures of their time as any other public institution. By analyzing the collections of all four libraries and revealing what was being read and why certain acquisitions were passed over, Wiegand challenges both traditional perceptions and professional rhetoric about the role of libraries in our small-town communities. While the American public library has become essential to its local community, it is for reasons significantly different than those articulated by the “library faith.”

Sheldon Webster’s recognition of our obligation to our veterans and particularly to Gold Star families who have sacrificed so much inspired Sheldon to create the Burton Place Veterans Chapel and Library. In this book, he not only tells the story of his remembrance of the service of our veterans and particularly the service of four of his close friends who made the ultimate sacrifice but he also relates his spiritual journey through the development of this project. Even though the hand of God is always at work in our lives, we often do not see it. But the reader will be amazed to see how God worked and who and what He used to fulfil His plans for the Burton Place Veterans Chapel and Library. Interspersed with stories of war heroes, interesting characters and others who provided funds, materials, and construction labor for the Chapel, Sheldon Webster’s narrative clearly identifies significant events that could only be the unseen hand of God working out the establishment and the completion of the Chapel. While any one of the events described by Sheldon may appear to some as having happened by chance, there occurred in succession too many events necessary to complete the Chapel that can only be explained by God being in every detail of the Burton Place Veterans Chapel and Library. The reader is left with not just this specific truth but also with the truth that God is good and seeks our good for us, which truth should encourage us in our faith and give us perseverance and hope in all matters, both small and great, not only for ourselves but for our nation and all mankind.