Libraries In A World Of Cultural Change

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.

Liz Greenhalgh, Ken Worple, Charles Landry

Part 1 Introduction; Chapter 1 Introduction; Chapter 2 Key concepts; Part 2 Institutions in crisis; Chapter 3 The end of enlightenment; Chapter 4 The changing role of public institutions; Chapter 5 The modern library network; Chapter 6 Political invisibility; Part 3 The "libraryness" of libraries; Chapter 7 What makes libraries special?; Chapter 8 The era of light and glass; Part 4 Spheres of influence; Chapter 9 Libraries and urban vitality; Chapter 10 The invisible web: the public library and social policy; Chapter 11 Education and life-long learning; Chapter 12 Information and the right to know; Chapter 13 Other worlds: libraries, fiction and popular reading; Part 5 Tomorrow's world; Chapter 14 Past, present and future; Chapter 15 The modern state and new meanings of the public;