A History of Modern Librarianship - Constructing the Heritage of Western Cultures

A broad, comparative history of librarianship, this intriguing work goes beyond the standard focus on institutions and collections to help you explore the part modern librarianship played-and continues to play-in forming Western cultures.

Previous histories of libraries in the Western world-the last of which was published nearly 20 years ago-concentrate on libraries and librarians. This book takes a different approach. It focuses on the practice of librarianship, showing you how that practice has contributed to constructing the heritage of cultures. To do so, this groundbreaking collection of essays presents the history of modern librarianship in the context of recent developments of the library institution, professionalization of librarianship, and innovation through information technology.

Organized by region, the book addresses the widely recognized, international impact of Anglo-American librarianship and its continuing influence over the past century, combining critical analysis with chronological histories of modern librarianship in Europe, North America, Australia/New Zealand, and Africa. An introductory chapter explains the origins of the project, and a concluding chapter examines the effects of digitization on modern librarianship in the 21st century.

List of contents

Contents

Preface

Introduction

Chapter One: Europe

Peter Hoare

Introduction

The Background to Modern European Librarianship

Libraries and Librarianship of Different Types

Conclusion

Bibliography

Chapter Two: The United States and Canada

Wayne A. Wiegand

Introduction

Colonial America to 1776

Canada to Confederation

United States, 1776-1876

U.S. and Canadian Librarianship, 1876-1893

U.S. and Canadian Librarianship, 1893-1914

Bridging the Wars, 1914-1945

Consolidating Gains, 1945-1970

After 1970: "The Information Age"

Bibliography

Chapter Three: Africa

Anthony Olden

Introduction

Education and Literacy

Publishing

Subscription Libraries

Public Library Service

The Academic Library

The Librarians

Professional Education and Training

Conclusion

Bibliography

Chapter Four: Australasia

Ross Harvey

Introduction

1788-1900: First Encounters to Federation

1901-1945: Federation to World War II

1945 to Date: Australia Since World War II

1945 to Date: New Zealand Since World War II

Conclusion

Bibliography

Chapter Five: Digital Convergence: The Past in the Present

Marija Dalbello

Introduction

Origins and Prototypes: 1890 to1960s

Online Catalogs and the World Wide Web: 1970s into the 1990s

Digital Libraries: mid-1990s to 2005

The "Semantic Web" and Social Media from 2005

Epilogue

Bibliography

Index

About the author

WAYNE A. WIEGAND is Associate Professor in the School of Library and Information Studies, University of Wisconsin-Madison. He is the widely acclaimed author of scores of articles and books on the library profession including Politics of an Emerging Profession: The American Library Association, 1876-1917 (Greenwood, 1986), which won the 1986 G.K. Hall Award for Outstanding Contribution to Library Literature. He is currently working on a biography of Melvil Dewey.
Marija Dalbello is Associate Professor of Information Studies at Rutgers University, USA.

Product details

• Authors: Wayne Wiegand
• Assisted by: Dalbello Marija (Editor), Pamela Richards (Editor), Richards Pamela Spence (Editor), Wayne Wiegand (Editor), Wayne A. Wiegand (Editor)
• Publisher: Bloomsbury
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Released: 26.05.2015
• EAN: 9781610690997
• ISBN: 978-1-61069-099-7
• No. of pages: 272
• Dimensions: 176 mm x 252 mm x 16 mm
• Weight: 520 g
• Subjects: Social sciences, law, business > Media, communication > Book trade, library system; 20th Century, 21st Century, 20th century, c 1900 to c 1999, 21st century, c 2000 to c 2100, Library & Information Sciences, Library and information sciences / Museology