ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book explores how natural and artificial illumination served to enable and articulate access to public libraries in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania and the 'Black Country' of Staffordshire, England in between 1889-1910. It asks to what extent these served to establish new norms of public experience internationally. The book evaluates the performance of case study buildings against both contemporary design theory and their respective local environmental contexts. It aims to read theoretical design intentions and pragmatic social agendas with respect to light directly and empirically when they are available. The book questions the extent to which environmental standards between British and American libraries were shared. It asks how differing values with respect to energy consumption affected architectural priorities for the provision of 'adequate' levels of natural and artificial lighting.
