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Books, Buildings and Social Engineering

Early Public Libraries in Britain from Past to Present

Books, Buildings and Social Engineering
  • Imprint: Ashgate
  • Published: June 2009
  • Format: 244 x 172 mm
  • Extent: 486 pages
  • Binding: Hardback
  • ISBN: 978-0-7546-7207-4
  • Price : £65.00 » Online: £58.50
  • BL Reference: 727.8'2441
  • LoC Control No: 2008049046
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  • Alistair Black, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, USA, Simon Pepper, Liverpool University, UK and Kaye Bagshaw, Liverpool University, UK

  • Public libraries have strangely never been the subject of an extensive design history. Consequently, this important and comprehensive book represents a ground-breaking socio-architectural study of pre-1939 public library buildings. A surprisingly high proportion of these urban civic buildings remain intact and present an increasingly difficult architectural problem for many communities. The book thus includes a study of what is happening to these historic libraries now and proposes that knowledge of their origins and early development can help build an understanding of how best to handle their future.

  • Contents: Preface; Introduction; Part 1 Contexts: The public library and society, 1850–1939: Periodisation, social control and social engineering. Part 2 Periods of Public Library Design: Pioneer public library buildings, 1850–1883; Public library buildings in the age of serial philanthropy, 1883–1914; Modernism and the public library between the wars. Part 3 Thematic Studies: Readers help themselves: the open access revolution; Children's libraries; The library as monument and machine. Part 4 The Past in the Present: New for old?; Conclusion; Appendix; Select bibliography; Index.

  • About the Author: Alistair Black is Professor in the Graduate School of Library and Information Science, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, USA, Simon Pepper is Professor of Architecture, Liverpool University, UK and Kaye Bagshaw is the Research Officer for the AHRB-funded project 'Early public libraries in Britain' at Liverpool University.

  • Reviews: ‘By providing pictures from the past and vivid descriptions of library buildings that are still in use, Black, Pepper and Bagshaw…have written a book that will encourage members of both professions to look at public libraries in a new way. Their enthusiasm for their topic springs from the page and it will make you want to visit and/or revisit the places they describe…Architects, librarians and those with an intelligent interest in cultural history will find it a volume to cherish and enjoy.’
    Bob Usherwood, The University of Sheffield, UK

  • Extracts from this title are available to view:

    Full contents list

    Preface

    Index