ABSTRACT
Library service in the United States, as we all know, is now among the most advanced in the world, with full use being made of automation, robotics, and other aspects of contemporary technology to insure that all citizens have free, full, and equal access to information services. Training A few library buildings of all kinds from the late 19th and early 20th century, including a variety of the so-called Carnegie libraries, have been preserved for historical purposes, or as libinfomuseums, to demonstrate the antiquated techniques of librarianship. The original building of the Library of Congress, dating back to the 1890s, serves, for example, both roles and is, additionally, one of the country’s major repositories of the book as a physical object. Jared Bean, the “librarian,” for so he styled himself, explained how he had decided several years ago that a more personal approach to librar- ianship, patterned on the techniques of almost 200 years ago, was appropriate for East Machias.
