A history of modern librarianship: Constructing the heritage of Western cultures

摘要

The completion of a project conceived in 1992, A History of Modern Librarianship: Constructing the Heritage of Western Cultures aims to give an overview of the history of Western libraries from the late 18th century through the beginning of the 21st century. As revolution came in 1776 to the future United States and later to France in 1789, rights and freedoms were demanded for the common man, not just the wealthy. This included library use, which previously had been limited to those with money and the time to read. The late 1700s is when A History of Modern Librarianship: Constructing the Heritage of Western Cultures begins. The book is broken into chapters that examine each section of the Western world: Europe, the United States and Canada, Africa, and Australasia. The concluding chapter on digital convergence, the blending of two or more media and making them available on a single device, provides a nice synopsis of how libraries and technology have co-existed from the very beginning of modern libraries to the present day. Extensive bibliographies at the end of each chapter provide additional reading for those interested in further research into the topic.