The Meaning of the Library: A Cultural History - Softcover

Crawford, Alice

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0691175748 ISBN 13: 9780691175744

Publisher: Princeton University Press, 2017

Synopsis

From Greek and Roman times to the digital era, the library has remained central to knowledge, scholarship, and the imagination. The Meaning of the Library is a generously illustrated examination of this key institution of Western culture. Tracing what the library has meant since its beginning, examining how its significance has shifted, and pondering its importance in the twenty-first century, notable contributors--including the Librarian of Congress and the former executive director of the HathiTrust--present a cultural history of the library. In an informative introduction, Alice Crawford sets out the book's purpose and scope, and an international array of scholars, librarians, writers, and critics offer vivid perspectives about the library through their chosen fields. The Meaning of the Library will appeal to all who are interested in this vital institution's heritage and ongoing legacy.

About this title

About the Author

Alice Crawford is digital humanities research librarian at the University of St Andrews Library in Scotland. Her books include Paradise Pursued: The Novels of Rose Macaulay.

From the Back Cover

"This wide-ranging survey of the long and tumultuous history of libraries contains at least a dozen tantalizing bits of information per page. I was fascinated and enriched. And because these essays began as lectures delivered in a library, they illustrate beautifully one of the library's most important roles--as a stage set for writers to share what they've learned about various subjects, including Roman bathhouses, Victorian fumigators, plunder, lust, and the eighteenth-century librarian upon whose death, it was said, 'The books are grievin, 'mang themselves.'"--Marilyn Johnson, author of This Book Is Overdue!: How Librarians and Cybrarians Can Save Us All

"The Meaning of the Library covers the history of the library from antiquity to the present day. This is a very good collection of essays."--Colin Burrow, editor of Metaphysical Poetry

"The library as a topic is currently of increasing cultural interest. I enjoyed The Meaning of the Library and learned a lot from the book's eclectic and interesting mix of essays."--Richard Ovenden, Bodley's Librarian, University of Oxford

Edition details

• Publisher: Princeton University Press
• Publication date: 2017
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0691175748
• ISBN 13: 9780691175744
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 336