Download or read book A Social History of Books and Libraries from Cuneiform to Bytes written by Patrick M. Valentine and published by Scarecrow Press. This book was released on 2012-09-27 with total page 223 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: While the importance of writing has often been recognized, the role of books and especially that of libraries has just as often been slighted. Knowledge, once generated, has to be communicated, preserved, and accessible. Books in their varying formats—from clay tablets to scrolls and manuscripts to pixels—have been instrumental in spreading knowledge, although relatively little attention has been given to the story of books themselves. A Social History of Books and Libraries from Cuneiform to Bytes traces the roles of books and libraries throughout recorded history and explores their social and cultural importance within differing societies and changing times. It presents the history of books from clay tablets to e-books and the history of libraries, whether built of bricks or bytes. Following an introduction that sets the theoretical basis for the historical importance of books and libraries, chapters alternate between the history of the book and the history of libraries. Included within the chapters are short excursions on some particular development, such as book emblems or cataloging. Case studies are given as thematic illustrations of libraries everywhere. Patrick M. Valentine argues that social and cultural forces have been more influential in determining the nature and status of information, books, and libraries than has technology. But A Social History of Books and Libraries is far from a jeremiad against technology; rather it presents history within the subtle yet shifting context of time and place. Although written primarily for librarians and library students, it will also be of interest to a wider audience of scholars and those interested in books, libraries, and cultural history.
Download or read book The Library written by Arthur der Weduwen and published by Profile Books. This book was released on 2021-10-14 with total page 425 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: LONGLISTED FOR THE HISTORICAL WRITERS' ASSOCIATION NON-FICTION CROWN A SUNDAY TIMES BOOK OF THE YEAR 'A sweeping, absorbing history, deeply researched, of that extraordinary and enduring phenomenon: the library' Richard Ovenden, author of Burning the Books: A History of Knowledge under Attack Famed across the known world, jealously guarded by private collectors, built up over centuries, destroyed in a single day, ornamented with gold leaf and frescoes or filled with bean bags and children's drawings - the history of the library is rich, varied and stuffed full of incident. In this, the first major history of its kind, Andrew Pettegree and Arthur der Weduwen explore the contested and dramatic history of the library, from the famous collections of the ancient world to the embattled public resources we cherish today. Along the way, they introduce us to the antiquarians and philanthropists who shaped the world's great collections, trace the rise and fall of fashions and tastes, and reveal the high crimes and misdemeanours committed in pursuit of rare and valuable manuscripts.
Download or read book Ancient Libraries written by Jason König and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2013-04-25 with total page 501 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The circulation of books was the motor of classical civilization. However, books were both expensive and rare, and so libraries - private and public, royal and civic - played key roles in articulating intellectual life. This collection, written by an international team of scholars, presents a fundamental reassessment of how ancient libraries came into being, how they were organized and how they were used. Drawing on papyrology and archaeology, and on accounts written by those who read and wrote in them, it presents new research on reading cultures, on book collecting and on the origins of monumental library buildings. Many of the traditional stories told about ancient libraries are challenged. Few were really enormous, none were designed as research centres, and occasional conflagrations do not explain the loss of most ancient texts. But the central place of libraries in Greco-Roman culture emerges more clearly than ever.
Download or read book Library An Unquiet History written by Matthew Battles and published by W. W. Norton & Company. This book was released on 2011-02-07 with total page 257 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Splendidly articulate, informative and provoking....A book to be savored and gone back to."—Baltimore Sun On the survival and destruction of knowledge, from Alexandria to the Internet. Through the ages, libraries have not only accumulated and preserved but also shaped, inspired, and obliterated knowledge. Matthew Battles, a rare books librarian and a gifted narrator, takes us on a spirited foray from Boston to Baghdad, from classical scriptoria to medieval monasteries, from the Vatican to the British Library, from socialist reading rooms and rural home libraries to the Information Age. He explores how libraries are built and how they are destroyed, from the decay of the great Alexandrian library to scroll burnings in ancient China to the destruction of Aztec books by the Spanish—and in our own time, the burning of libraries in Europe and Bosnia. Encyclopedic in its breadth and novelistic in its telling, this volume will occupy a treasured place on the bookshelf next to Baker's Double Fold, Basbanes's A Gentle Madness, Manguel's A History of Reading, and Winchester's The Professor and the Madman.
Download or read book A Brief History of the Bodleian Library written by Mary Clapinson and published by . This book was released on 2020 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: How did a library founded over four hundred years ago grow to become the world-renowned institution it is today, home to over thirteen million items? From its foundation by Sir Thomas Bodley in 1598 to the opening of the Weston Library in 2015, this illustrated account shows how the Library's history has been involved with the British monarchy and political events throughout the centuries. The history of the Library is also a history of collectors and collections, and this book traces the story of major donations and purchases, making use of the Library's own substantial archives to show how it came to house key items such as early confirmations of the Magna Carta, Shakespeare's First Folio, and the manuscript of Jane Austen's earliest writings, among many others. This revised edition brings the history of the Bodleian Library up to the present moment. Beautifully illustrated with prints, portraits, manuscripts, and archival material, this book is essential reading for anyone interested in the history of libraries and collections.
Download or read book Books on Fire written by Lucien X. Polastron and published by Lucien X. POLASTRON. This book was released on 2007-08-13 with total page 396 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Almost as old as the idea of the library is the urge to destroy it. Author Lucien X. Polastron traces the history of this destruction, examining the causes for these disasters, the treasures that have been lost, and where the surviving books, if any, have ended up. Books on Fire received the 2004 Societe des Gens de Lettres Prize for Nonfiction/History in Paris.
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.
Download or read book A Companion to the History of the Book written by Simon Eliot and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2009-03-30 with total page 617 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A COMPANION TO THE HISTORY OF THE BOOK A COMPANION TO THE HISTORY OF THE BOOK Edited by Simon Eliot and Jonathan Rose “As a stimulating overview of the multidimensional present state of the field, the Companion has no peer.” Choice “If you want to understand how cultures come into being, endure, and change, then you need to come to terms with the rich and often surprising history Of the book ... Eliot and Rose have done a fine job. Their volume can be heartily recommended. “ Adrian Johns, Technology and Culture From the early Sumerian clay tablet through to the emergence of the electronic text, this Companion provides a continuous and coherent account of the history of the book. A team of expert contributors draws on the latest research in order to offer a cogent, transcontinental narrative. Many of them use illustrative examples and case studies of well-known texts, conveying the excitement surrounding this rapidly developing field. The Companion is organized around four distinct approaches to the history of the book. First, it introduces the variety of methods used by book historians and allied specialists, from the long-established discipline of bibliography to newer IT-based approaches. Next, it provides a broad chronological survey of the forms and content of texts. The third section situates the book in the context of text culture as a whole, while the final section addresses broader issues, such as literacy, copyright, and the future of the book. Contributors to this volume: Michael Albin, Martin Andrews, Rob Banham, Megan L Benton, Michelle P. Brown, Marie-Frangoise Cachin, Hortensia Calvo, Charles Chadwyck-Healey, M. T. Clanchy, Stephen Colclough, Patricia Crain, J. S. Edgren, Simon Eliot, John Feather, David Finkelstein, David Greetham, Robert A. Gross, Deana Heath, Lotte Hellinga, T. H. Howard-Hill, Peter Kornicki, Beth Luey, Paul Luna, Russell L. Martin Ill, Jean-Yves Mollier, Angus Phillips, Eleanor Robson, Cornelia Roemer, Jonathan Rose, Emile G. L Schrijver, David J. Shaw, Graham Shaw, Claire Squires, Rietje van Vliet, James Wald, Rowan Watson, Alexis Weedon, Adriaan van der Weel, Wayne A. Wiegand, Eva Hemmungs Wirtén.
Download or read book Encyclopedia of Library History written by Wayne A. Wiegand and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2015-01-28 with total page 740 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: First Published in 1994. This book focuses on the historical development of the library as an institution. Its contents assume no single theoretical foundation or philosophical perspective but instead reflect the richly diverse opinions of its many contributors. This text is intended to serve as a reference tool for undergraduate and graduate students interested in library history, for library school educators whose teaching requires knowledge of the historical development of library institutions, services, and user groups, and for practicing library professionals.
Download or read book A History of Medical Libraries and Medical Librarianship written by Michael R. Kronenfeld and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2021-02-11 with total page 365 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A History of Medical Libraries and Librarianship in the United States: From John Shaw Billingsto the Digital Era presents a history of the profession from the beginnings of the Army Surgeon General’s Library in 1836 to today’s era of the digital health sciences library. The purpose of this book is not only to make this history available to the profession’s practitioners, but also to provide context as medical librarians and libraries enter a new age in their history as the digital information environment has undercut the medical library’s previous role as the depository of the print based KBI/information base. The book divides the profession’s history is divided into seven eras: 1. The Era of the Library of the Office of the Army Surgeon General and John Shaw Billings – 1836 – 1898 2. The Era of the Gentleman Physician Librarian – 1898 to 1945 3. The Era of the Development of the Clinical Research Infrastructure (NIH), the Rapid Expansion in Funded and Published Clinical Research and the Emergence of Medical Librarianship as a Profession – 1945 – 1962 4. The Era of the Development of the National Library of Medicine, Online digital Subject Searching (Medline) and the Creation of the National Health Science Library Infrastructure– 1962 – 1975 5. The Medline Era – A Golden Age for Medical Libraries – 1975 – 1995 6. The Era of Universal Access to Information and the Transition from Paper to Digitally Based Medical Libraries – 1995 – 2015 7. The Era of the Digital Health Sciences Library – 2015 – Each era is reviewed through discussing the developments in the field and the factors which drove those developments. The book will provide current and future medical librarians and information specialists an understanding of the development of their profession and some insights into its future.
Download or read book Jefferson s Legacy written by John Young Cole and published by Washington : Library of Congress. This book was released on 1993 with total page 108 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Inside Roman Libraries written by George W. Houston and published by UNC Press Books. This book was released on 2014 with total page 349 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Inside Roman Libraries: Book Collections and Their Management in Antiquity
Download or read book The First White House Library written by Catherine M. Parisian and published by Penn State Press. This book was released on 2010 with total page 416 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The First White House Library is the first book to consider the history of books and reading in the Executive Mansion.
Download or read book The Meaning of the Library written by Alice Crawford and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2017-03-07 with total page 332 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Tracing what the library has meant since its beginning, examining how its significance has shifted, and pondering its importance in the twenty-first century, significant contributors--including the librarian of the Congress and the former executive director of the HathiTrust--present a cultural history of the library"--Dust jacket flap.
Download or read book The Cambridge History of Libraries in Britain and Ireland written by Elisabeth Leedham-Green and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2014-02-27 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume is the first detailed survey of libraries in Britain and Ireland up to the Civil War. It traces the transition from collections of books without a fixed local habitation to the library, chiefly of printed books, much as we know it today. It examines changing patterns in the formation of book collections in the earlier medieval period, traces the combined impact of the activities of the mendicant orders and the scholarship of the universities in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, and the adoption of the library room and the growth of private book collections in the fourteenth and fifteenth. The volume then focuses upon the dispersal of the monastic libraries in the mid-sixteenth centuries, the creation of new types of library, and finally, the steps whereby the collections amassed by antiquaries came to form the bases of the national and institutional libraries of Britain and Ireland.
Download or read book Library 3 0 written by Tom Kwanya and published by Elsevier. This book was released on 2014-12-09 with total page 187 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The emerging generation of research and academic library users expect the delivery of user-centered information services. 'Apomediation' refers to the supporting role librarians can give users by stepping in when users need help. Library 3.0 explores the ongoing debates on the "point oh phenomenon and its impact on service delivery in libraries. This title analyses Library 3.0 and its potential in creating intelligent libraries capable of meeting contemporary needs, and the growing role of librarians as apomediators. Library 3.0 is divided into four chapters. The first chapter introduces and places the topic in context. The second chapter considers "point oh libraries. The third chapter covers library 3.0 librarianship, while the final chapter explores ways libraries can move towards '3.0'. - Focuses on social media in research and academic libraries - Gives context to the discussion of apomediation in librarianship and information services provision - Provides a balance between more traditional and more progressive approaches
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.
