Libraries and the Reading Public in Twentieth-Century America

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Author :
Publisher : University of Wisconsin Pres
ISBN 13 : 0299293238
Total Pages : 292 pages
Book Rating : 4.2/5 (992 download)

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Book Synopsis Libraries and the Reading Public in Twentieth-Century America by : Christine Pawley

Download or read book Libraries and the Reading Public in Twentieth-Century America written by Christine Pawley and published by University of Wisconsin Pres. This book was released on 2013-09-13 with total page 292 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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.

Enrichment

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Author :
Publisher : Scarecrow Press
ISBN 13 : 9780810847545
Total Pages : 220 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (475 download)

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Book Synopsis Enrichment by : Lowell Martin

Download or read book Enrichment written by Lowell Martin and published by Scarecrow Press. This book was released on 2003 with total page 220 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Overviews the notable events and underlying trends that either furthered or deterred the growth of the institution. For each of six periods during the century, summarizes the social, cultural, and political characteristics then reviews the broad thrust of library service and details notable professional developments. The introduction provides the 19th-century background. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

Part of Our Lives

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Publisher : Oxford University Press, USA
ISBN 13 : 0190248009
Total Pages : 345 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (92 download)

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Book Synopsis Part of Our Lives by : Wayne A. Wiegand

Download or read book Part of Our Lives written by Wayne A. Wiegand and published by Oxford University Press, USA. This book was released on 2015 with total page 345 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Challenges conventional thinking and top-down definitions, instead drawing on the library user's perspective to argue that the public library's most important function is providing commonplace reading materials and public space. Challenges a professional ethos about public libraries and their responsibilities to fight censorship and defend intellectual freedom. Demonstrates that the American public library has been (with some notable exceptions) a place that welcomed newcomers, accepted diversity, and constructed community since the end of the 19th century. Shows how stories that cultural authorities have traditionally disparaged- i.e. books that are not "serious"- have often been transformative for public library users.

Institutions of Reading

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Author :
Publisher :
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 388 pages
Book Rating : 4.X/5 (3 download)

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Book Synopsis Institutions of Reading by : Thomas Augst

Download or read book Institutions of Reading written by Thomas Augst and published by . This book was released on 2007 with total page 388 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Tracing the evolution of the library as a modern institution from the late eighteenth century to the digital era, this book explores the diverse practices by which Americans have shared reading matter for instruction, edification, and pleasure. Writing from a rich variety of perspectives, the contributors raise important questions about the material forms and social shapes of American culture. What is a library? How have libraries fostered communities of readers and influenced the practice of reading in particular communities? How did the development of modern libraries alter the boundaries of individual and social experience, and define new kinds of public culture? To what extent have libraries served as commercial enterprises, as centers of power, and as places of empowerment for African Americans, women, and ...

The 100 Most Influential Books Ever Written

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Author :
Publisher : Citadel Press
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 532 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 ( download)

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Book Synopsis The 100 Most Influential Books Ever Written by : Martin Seymour-Smith

Download or read book The 100 Most Influential Books Ever Written written by Martin Seymour-Smith and published by Citadel Press. This book was released on 2001 with total page 532 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The hundred books discussed here have radically altered the course of civilisation , whether they have embodied religions practised by millions, achieved the pinnacle of artistic expression, pointed the way to scientific discovery of enormous consequence, redirected beliefs about the nature of man, or forever altered the global political landscape. For each there is a historical overview, an analysis of the work's effect on our lives today and a lively discussion of the reasons for inclusion.

Part of Our Lives

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Author :
Publisher : Oxford University Press
ISBN 13 : 0190248025
Total Pages : 480 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (92 download)

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Book Synopsis Part of Our Lives by : Wayne A. Wiegand

Download or read book Part of Our Lives written by Wayne A. Wiegand and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2015-09-10 with total page 480 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Despite dire predictions in the late twentieth century that public libraries would not survive the turn of the millennium, their numbers have only increased. Two of three Americans frequent a public library at least once a year, and nearly that many are registered borrowers. Although library authorities have argued that the public library functions primarily as a civic institution necessary for maintaining democracy, generations of library patrons tell a different story. In Part of Our Lives, Wayne A. Wiegand delves into the heart of why Americans love their libraries. The book traces the history of the public library, featuring records and testimonies from as early as 1850. Rather than analyzing the words of library founders and managers, Wiegand listens to the voices of everyday patrons who cherished libraries. Drawing on newspaper articles, memoirs, and biographies, Part of Our Lives paints a clear and engaging picture of Americans who value libraries not only as civic institutions, but also as public places that promote and maintain community. Whether as a public space, a place for accessing information, or a home for reading material that helps patrons make sense of the world around them, the public library has a rich history of meaning for millions of Americans. From colonial times through the recent technological revolution, libraries have continuously adapted to better serve the needs of their communities. Wiegand demonstrates that, although cultural authorities (including some librarians) have often disparaged reading books considered not "serious," the commonplace reading materials users obtained from public libraries have had a transformative effect for many, including people such as Ronald Reagan, Bill Moyers, Edgwina Danticat, Philip Roth, Toni Morrison, Sonia Sotomayor, and Oprah Winfrey. A bold challenge to conventional thinking about the American public library, Part of Our Lives is an insightful look into one of America's most beloved cultural institutions.

The New York Public Library's Books of the Century

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Author :
Publisher : Oxford University Press, USA
ISBN 13 : 0195117905
Total Pages : 253 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (951 download)

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Book Synopsis The New York Public Library's Books of the Century by : Elizabeth Diefendorf

Download or read book The New York Public Library's Books of the Century written by Elizabeth Diefendorf and published by Oxford University Press, USA. This book was released on 1997 with total page 253 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Documents an exhibition created to celebrate the one hundredth anniversary of the New York Public Library in 1995, profiling books that had a significant influence, consequence, or resonance during the library's first century. Lists over 150 titles, grouped within eleven categories.

Institutions of Reading

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Author :
Publisher :
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 392 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (91 download)

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Book Synopsis Institutions of Reading by : Thomas Augst

Download or read book Institutions of Reading written by Thomas Augst and published by . This book was released on 2007 with total page 392 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Tracing the evolution of the library as a modern institution from the late eighteenth century to the digital era, this book explores the diverse practices by which Americans have shared reading matter for instruction, edification, and pleasure. Writing from a rich variety of perspectives, the contributors raise important questions about the material forms and social shapes of American culture. What is a library? How have libraries fostered communities of readers and influenced the practice of reading in particular communities? How did the development of modern libraries alter the boundaries of individual and social experience, and define new kinds of public culture? To what extent have libraries served as commercial enterprises, as centers of power, and as places of empowerment for African Americans, women, and ...

Reader in American Library History

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Author :
Publisher : Washington : Microcard Editions
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 262 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (91 download)

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Book Synopsis Reader in American Library History by : Michael H. Harris

Download or read book Reader in American Library History written by Michael H. Harris and published by Washington : Microcard Editions. This book was released on 1971 with total page 262 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Carnegie Libraries Across America

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Publisher :
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 208 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (91 download)

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Book Synopsis Carnegie Libraries Across America by : Theodore Jones

Download or read book Carnegie Libraries Across America written by Theodore Jones and published by . This book was released on 1997-04-07 with total page 208 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: And with the help of original documents, including letters of petition by schoolteachers, bankers, and civic leaders from across the United States, he provides valuable insights into life in turn-of-the-century American towns and the values and aspirations of their citizens.

Reading Publics

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Publisher : Fordham Univ Press
ISBN 13 : 0823262650
Total Pages : 460 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (232 download)

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Book Synopsis Reading Publics by : Tom Glynn

Download or read book Reading Publics written by Tom Glynn and published by Fordham Univ Press. This book was released on 2015-01-22 with total page 460 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: On May 11, 1911, the New York Public Library opened its “marble palace for book lovers” on Fifth Avenue and 42nd Street. This was the city’s first public library in the modern sense, a tax-supported, circulating collection free to every citizen. Since before the Revolution, however, New York’s reading publics had access to a range of “public libraries” as the term was understood by contemporaries. In its most basic sense a public library in the eighteenth and most of the nineteenth centuries simply meant a shared collection of books that was available to the general public and promoted the public good. From the founding in 1754 of the New York Society Library up to 1911, public libraries took a variety of forms. Some of them were free, charitable institutions, while others required a membership or an annual subscription. Some, such as the Biblical Library of the American Bible Society, were highly specialized; others, like the Astor Library, developed extensive, inclusive collections. What all the public libraries of this period had in common, at least ostensibly, was the conviction that good books helped ensure a productive, virtuous, orderly republic—that good reading promoted the public good. Tom Glynn’s vivid, deeply researched history of New York City’s public libraries over the course of more than a century and a half illuminates how the public and private functions of reading changed over time and how shared collections of books could serve both public and private ends. Reading Publics examines how books and reading helped construct social identities and how print functioned within and across groups, including but not limited to socioeconomic classes. The author offers an accessible while scholarly exploration of how republican and liberal values, shifting understandings of “public” and “private,” and the debate over fiction influenced the development and character of New York City’s public libraries in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Reading Publics is an important contribution to the social and cultural history of New York City that firmly places the city’s early public libraries within the history of reading and print culture in the United States.

Books and Blueprints

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Author :
Publisher : Praeger
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 208 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (91 download)

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Book Synopsis Books and Blueprints by : Donald Oehlerts

Download or read book Books and Blueprints written by Donald Oehlerts and published by Praeger. This book was released on 1991-12-11 with total page 208 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The only comprehensive treatment of American library architecture, this work details the evolution of the modern public library from 1850 to the present. Oehlerts examines the influences on the professions of public architecture and librarianship that shaped America's library buildings.

Reading Places

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Publisher :
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 348 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (555 download)

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Book Synopsis Reading Places by : Christine Pawley

Download or read book Reading Places written by Christine Pawley and published by . This book was released on 2010 with total page 348 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Examines the role of public libraries during a time of national anxiety.

Libraries, Archives, and Museums

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Publisher : Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN 13 : 1538118912
Total Pages : 281 pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (381 download)

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Book Synopsis Libraries, Archives, and Museums by : Suzanne M. Stauffer

Download or read book Libraries, Archives, and Museums written by Suzanne M. Stauffer and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2021-08-17 with total page 281 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is the first book to consider the development of all three cultural heritage institutions – libraries, archives, and museums – and their interactions with society and culture from ancient history to the present day in Western Europe, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The text explores the social and cultural role of these institutions in the societies that created them, as well as the political, economic and social influences on their mission, philosophy, and services and how those changed throughout time. The work provides a thorough background in the topic for graduate students and professionals in the fields of library and information science, archival studies, and museum resource management, preservation, and administration. Arranged chronologically, the story begins with the temple libraries of ancient Sumer, followed the growth and development of governmental and private libraries in ancient Greece and Rome, the influence of Asia and Islam on Western library development, the role of Christianity in the preservation of ancient literature as well as the skills of reading and writing during the Middle Ages, and the coming of the Renaissance and the rise of the university library. It continues by tracing the gradual division between archives and libraries and the growth of governmental and private libraries as independent institutions during and after the Renaissance and through the Enlightenment, and the development of public and private museums from the “cabinets of curiousities” of private collectors beginning in the 17th century. Individual chapters explore the further growth and development of libraries, archives, and museums in the 19th and 20th centuries, exploring the public library and public museum movements of those centuries, as well as the rise of the governmental and institutional archive. The final chapter discusses the growing collaboration between and even convergence of these institutions in the 21st century and the impact of modern information technology, and makes predictions about the future of all three institutions.

Book Banning in 21st-Century America

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Author :
Publisher : Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN 13 : 1442231688
Total Pages : 187 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (422 download)

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Book Synopsis Book Banning in 21st-Century America by : Emily J. M. Knox

Download or read book Book Banning in 21st-Century America written by Emily J. M. Knox and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2015-01-16 with total page 187 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Requests for the removal, relocation, and restriction of books—also known as challenges—occur with some frequency in the United States. Book Banning in 21st-Century American Libraries, based on thirteen contemporary book challenge cases in schools and public libraries across the United States argues that understanding contemporary reading practices, especially interpretive strategies, is vital to understanding why people attempt to censor books in schools and public libraries. Previous research on censorship tends to focus on legal frameworks centered on Supreme Court cases, historical case studies, and bibliographies of texts that are targeted for removal or relocation and is often concerned with how censorship occurs. The current project, on the other hand, is focused on the why of censorship and posits that many censorship behaviors and practices, such as challenging books, are intimately tied to the how one understands the practice of reading and its effects on character development and behavior. It discusses reading as a social practice that has changed over time and encompasses different physical modalities and interpretive strategies. In order to understand why people challenge books, it presents a model of how the practice of reading is understood by challengers including “what it means” to read a text, and especially how one constructs the idea of “appropriate” reading materials. The book is based on three different kinds sources. The first consists of documents including requests for reconsideration and letters, obtained via Freedom of Information Act requests to governing bodies, produced in the course of challenge cases. Recordings of book challenge public hearings constitute the second source of data. Finally, the third source of data is interviews with challengers themselves. The book offers a model of the reading practices of challengers. It demonstrates that challengers are particularly influenced by what might be called a literal “common sense” orientation to text wherein there is little room for polysemic interpretation (multiple meanings for text). That is, the meaning of texts is always clear and there is only one avenue for interpretation. This common sense interpretive strategy is coupled with what Cathy Davidson calls “undisciplined imagination” wherein the reader is unable to maintain distance between the events in a text and his or her own response. These reading practices broaden our understanding of why people attempt to censor books in public institutions.

FoolÕs Gold

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Author :
Publisher : McFarland
ISBN 13 : 9780786453931
Total Pages : 199 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (539 download)

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Book Synopsis FoolÕs Gold by : Mark Y. Herring

Download or read book FoolÕs Gold written by Mark Y. Herring and published by McFarland. This book was released on 2009-08-12 with total page 199 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This work skeptically explores the notion that the internet will soon obviate any need for traditional print-based academic libraries. It makes a case for the library’s staying power in the face of technological advancements (television, microfilm, and CD-ROM’s were all once predicted as the contemporary library’s heir-apparent), and devotes individual chapters to the pitfalls and prevarications of popular search engines, e-books, and the mass digitization of traditional print material.

Libraries, Immigrants, and the American Experience

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Author :
Publisher : Praeger
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 266 pages
Book Rating : 4.F/5 ( download)

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Book Synopsis Libraries, Immigrants, and the American Experience by : Plummer A. Jones

Download or read book Libraries, Immigrants, and the American Experience written by Plummer A. Jones and published by Praeger. This book was released on 1999-01-30 with total page 266 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is the first full-length, national scope treatment of American public library service to immigrants, which was a central and continuing mission from 1876, when the American Library Association (ALA) was founded, through 1948, when the ALA Committee on Work with the Foreign Born (ALA CWFB) disbanded. It focuses on the leaders of the movement who provided immigrants with information, personal attention, and the guidance they needed to adjust, survive, and thrive.