ABSTRACT
A study of libraries and the role they play in both inner city areas and dispersed rural communities. It examines the library as a cultural institution, considering its spatial and symbolic presence and exploring its public service remit. The book is intended for undergraduates and postgraduates on library and information science courses and as supplementary reading for cultural and communications studies, tourism and recreation, human geography and sociology - as well as for public and academic librarians.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
part 1|16 pages
Introduction
chapter Chapter 1|7 pages
Introduction
chapter Chapter 2|7 pages
Key concepts
part 2|32 pages
Institutions in crisis
chapter Chapter 3|7 pages
The end of enlightenment
chapter Chapter 4|11 pages
The changing role of public institutions
chapter Chapter 5|6 pages
The modern library network
chapter Chapter 6|6 pages
Political invisibility
part 3|22 pages
The “libraryness” of libraries
chapter Chapter 7|9 pages
What makes libraries special?
chapter Chapter 8|11 pages
The era of light and glass
part 4|66 pages
Spheres of influence
chapter Chapter 9|16 pages
Libraries and urban vitality
chapter Chapter 10|11 pages
The invisible web: the public library and social policy
chapter Chapter 11|12 pages
Education and life-long learning
chapter Chapter 12|18 pages
Information and the right to know
chapter Chapter 13|7 pages
Other worlds: libraries, fiction and popular reading
part 5|31 pages
Tomorrow's world