Part of our lives : a people's history of the American public library

Wiegand, Wayne A. 1946- (Author).

Summary: "Part of Our Lives challenges the conventional idea that public libraries are valuable mostly because they are essential to democracy. Instead, this book uses the voices of generations of public library users to argue that Americans have loved their libraries for the useful information they make accessible; the public spaces they provide; and the commonplace reading materials they supply that help users make sense of the world around them"--

Record details

ISBN: 0190248009 (cloth : acid-free paper)
ISBN: 9780190248000 (cloth : acid-free paper)
Physical Description: 331 pages : illustrations ; 26 cm
print
Publisher: Oxford ; New York : Oxford University Press, [2015]

Content descriptions

Bibliography, etc. Note:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 273-310) and index.

Formatted Contents Note:

So much more than information -- "Improv'd the general conversation of Americans" : social libraries before 1854 -- For "plain people" : the American public library, 1854-1876 -- "The best reading for the greatest number at the least cost", 1876-1893 -- "The liberty to read what they will and when" : the Carnegie era, 1893-1917 -- "Habitations on a literary map", 1917-1929 -- "One island of refuge" : the Great Depression and World War II, 1929-1945 -- "Winning the battles of daily life", 1945-1964 -- "An individual meaning to each user", 1964-1980 -- "Library paste is a precious part of social glue", 1981-2000 -- Information, reading, and place, 2001-present.