Libraries talked about in weblogs

An interesting local weblog posting on the Madison Public Librarymakes me wonder how today's blog musings will work as the primary sources of tomorrow's library histories. For example:

At the library again. The computers are all taken up by Madison's homeless, who spend most of their time playing online video games until their two hours are up. I'm not exactly sure why the library allows this; it seems like it should be against some kind of rule. There is a small, hooded Asian kid to my right watching Wrestlemania clips, and an elderly black man to my left doing his taxes. His half-hour session is almost up, and he's not finished. Across the aisle, a stubble-cheeked guy with a stack of VHS is looking at Craigslist postings of sublets. Every so many minutes I hear a different person complaining to the young woman at the tech desk about how the computer won't let them log on, and she has to explain about the two hour limit. Again. Everyone turns around to watch because the tech desk girl is pretty. The Asian kid just got busted for using multiple cards to log in past his limit. I had no idea the library was such a hotbed of intrigue.

The Public Library Inquiry

This article by Robert Leigh describes the results of a study investigating the status of public libraries in the 1950s completed by a group of social scientists. The questions below come from Molly, Alycia, and Tonia.

The social scientists who performed the inquiry into the public library system entered into their research with a set of basic assumptions and premises about the public library system based on their conceptualizations of the type of society our library system had originated from. The author outlined his six basic assumptions in regards to freedom of communication, the opportunity to learn, popular control and expert direction, special groups and mediating function, centralization and local participation, and technological change and institutional tradition. Are these issues still the six most important issues when looking at the functionality of libraries? Have the interactions between these factors changed due to changes in our legislation, level of technological advancement and popular culture?

The study also predicted that “conflicting concepts and values will appear in the description of library policy and practice,” and that many of the public library’s main problems would arise out of their attempt to reconcile those conflicts (11). Are any of the conflicts and problems later discussed in the study “new,” or are these problems that have also been coming up within the profession in library history up to this point?

What does the Leigh article, which describes the status of public libraries at the end of the 1940's tell us about who was using the library in the Barelson article? Does Leigh's article add any perspective as to why some groups would or would not appear prominently at the library, or do you think Leigh's perspective differs from librarians of this period in terms of what he thinks is valuable reading material? How do the problems or controversies regarding popular fiction (that we have discussed in the past and that are
mentioned here) inform us about who might use the library in this time period or about who might find the library the most useful?

From Christine Pawley's book we know that there were often many diverse groups of people within one geographic area served by a public library, and that within a larger community there may be smaller "imagined" communities networked through commonalities in thought or opinion. Do you feel that Leigh or Barelson are making assumptions here about who they are referring to when they talk about the "community" or were users of the library (any readers of these articles) predominantly white, middle class urban folks so that it is justified to use assumed values of the middle class in arguing against having popular culture, fiction and "trashy" or "unorthodox" materials widely available in the library? Does the dominant culture (whatever it may be within different libraries or areas) always dictate what is found in the library rather than "imagined" communities or minority groups and values? Does the Library Bill of Rights have any effect on this?

What does it mean that Leigh's study was 1. completed by sociologists
(or non-librarians) within a sociological framework 2. requested by the
ALA and 3. funded by the Carnegie Corporation, if anything at all? How
should these facts inform our reading from what we have learned of
these aspects in class thus far?

Do the social scientists’ conclusions about public libraries differ from the perceptions provided by librarians? How does their conclusion regarding library schooling that “it would seem desirable to distinguish sharply between instruction for nonprofessional technical jobs…and graduate instruction for the professional degree” compare with our knowledge of library schools and the desire of librarians to establish themselves as professionals up to this point? Consider the conflict between the status of professionals and paraprofessionals in libraries today. Has the social scientists’ recommendation for library schools been resolved?

Book for final project

I just realized I forgot to post this! Sorry! I'll be reading "Privacy in the 21st Century: Issues for Public, School, and Academic Libraries" by by Helen R. Adams, Robert F. Bocher, Carol A. Gordon, and Elizabeth Barry-Kessler. It is a brand new book that just came out about two months ago, so I'm looking forward to being on the cutting edge of relevency.

Berelson, "Who Uses the Public Library?" II

"By and large, the older the people, the less they use the public library." (p. 23)

Berelson uses a good deal of his article to discuss age as a determinative factor of who uses the public library. Through several figures, he rigorously illustrates that in 1949, a large proportion of library users were school-age youths, between the ages of 5 and 15. He states one possible reason for this could be the physical ailments associated with age, i.e., lessened energy or "eyestrain." I wasn't really buying that reasoning.

Yet, he makes a much more compelling argument when he links age and education. He states that increasingly, younger adults have had more formal education than their elders and therefore more experience with written material in general, and the public library specifically. He even speculated that as the number of people exposed to formal education increased, the age of patrons would correspondingly rise. I am curious about the progression from Berelson's observations in 1949 on age, education level, and the public library to age and education level in the public library today. Do school-aged youths still make up a higher proportion of public library patronage today? If Berelson's predictions have turned out correct (and I think it seems that they have at least in part) is it solely due to the proliferation of formal education in our society? Is this a strictly linear progression or have other factors played a role in raising the age of patrons?

Nuns vs. Librarians

The today show did a segment about a week ago on a spelling bee between a group of nuns and librarians. It's pretty entertaining and the clip itself is only 2 minutes long. To see it, go to msn.com, click on video highlights, and where it says "MSN Video Search," replace with "nuns". The video is titled "Spelling nuns get the buzz for bees again". Click and enjoy.

"Who Uses the Public Library?"

"It is also relevant, and perhaps more important, to inquire into the relationship of the occupational composition of the public library's clientele to that of the population as a whole. Is the library's clientele a representative sample of the total adult population by occupation? Again the answer is "No." Professional and managerial people, students, and white-collar workers make greater use of the public library, relatively speaking, than do the other occupational groups." (pp.33-34)

"The young use the library more than the old, the better-educated more than the lesser educated and women more than, and differently from, men. The public library serves the middle class, defined either by occupation or by economic status, more than either the upper or lower classes."
(pp.49-50)

Good social progressives that most librarians are, it is taken a priori that the number of working-class and poor people who use the library should be increased. But working people, as a single homogenous group, generally do not go to libraries. The homeless go there; some immigrants go there; and often the children of the poor (especially the children of recent immigrants) go there. But the people librarians most desperately want to reach out to--working-class adults--never do.

Is that a problem? Are we wasting our time, having been chasing these people now for almost a century?

Discussion on Libraries & War

In class on 3/23, we will be giving you some time for small group discussions on one or both of the following questions. We would like you to start thinking about these issues, but please do NOT post anything about it here to the weblog until after class.

Question 1: How does the ALA response to censorship, loyalty investigations and other privacy issues from 1930-1950 as discussed in this week’s readings compare and contrast to what you know of the ALA’s response to the current Iraq war and specifically the Patriot Act?

Question 2: The weblog discussion of our last reading (Pawley’s book) raised the question of how future historians can do research on patrons’ reading habits given the lack of current library records that link an item to a patron’s record. How do you think we can balance patrons’ privacy concerns in the 21st century (particularly in the current climate with the Patriot Act laws) and the desire of future library and print culture historians to study reading trends for our time?

book review part deux

On the other hand, I may just look at Unprofessional behavior : confessions of a public librarian by Will Manley. It sounds pretty interesting and I'm sure there may be some insightful reflections on the trials and tribulations of a public librarian. So yeah, maybe that's the way to go...

book review

I think I will most likely look at portions of "Patience and Fortitude: Wherein a Colorful Cast of Determined Book Collectors, Dealers, and Librarians Go About the Quixotic Task of Preserving a Legacy." I would like to look at the library's role in preservation of information in contrast to access of information. Does that make sense?

Book Review

I keep changing my mind, but I think that I am going to read Defining Print Culture for Youth edited by Lundin and Wiegand. We have touched on this subject a little bit with previous readings, but I thought it would be interesting to read more about children's lit in depth.

Library Bill of Rights

I'm just throwing this out there, but it sounds like the Library Bill of Rights is similar to a kind of legislation or constitution of some sort. Is there any sort of punishment though if libraries don't uphold these rights? It seems like there is a problem with the actual following through of ideas and organizations, despite the fact that they are "official" or in print. Their reality isn't always as effective as their ideals. Should their be some sort of accountability for libraries nationwide? or is this ridiculous?

Final Book Review

I'm going to read An active instrument for propaganda" : the American public library during World War I by Wayne Wiegand. I'm an advertising major so propaganda really interests me. I'm thinking this book is going to be great and, you've gotta support Wayne :)

book for final report

For the final book report, I intend to read Robert Putnam's Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community. I think Putnam's book will be a good match to what we have read in class in general and Pawley specifically and I will consider what role libraries and print culture have had in light of the arguments Putman makes. I also think that Putnam can provide some valuable insight into the roles of libraries in the future, as growth of technology creates a society that is interlinked even more, but paradoxically feels more physically isolating.

Book selection: Running a Message Parlor

I've selected Gordon McShean's Running a Message Parlor: A Librarian's Medium-rare Memoir about Censorship because it reminds me of the "Radical Librarian" articles and it presents a librarian's view of the Swinging '60s/'70s and his struggle against the unhip censors from the DAR and John Birch Society.

This is probably also the only book about librarianship with a cartoon of a naked man on the cover.

final paper book selection

I have chosen A Splendor of Letters: The Permanence of Books in an Impermanent World by Nicholas A. Basbanes for my final paper. I chose this book because I am interested in archives, preservation, and book collecting. I'm hoping to be able to draw parallels between A Splendor of Letters, Double Fold, and possibly Reading on the Middle Border.

final paper

For my final paper I'm looking at reading Making the List: A Cultural History of the American Bestseller by Micheal Korda. I'm interested in looking closely into why people read what they do, and how current events affects people's choices- or, if it is more closely linked to longevity of popular authors, or popular series (ie: Grisham, Steele, etc). A common thread in our readings so far this semester is our excitement over what people considered "good" and "bad" reading, as we've looked over books that were considered risque at some point, or in some locations. I think Korda's book is going to be interesting in that regards, to show how what might be considered controversial might still be popular. I think libraries really need to be in touch with what people are interested in, and alot of times I think they rely on the bestseller lists to show them what to order- Korda uses the Bookman lists and Pub. Weekly, so it might also be interesting to find circulation records on those books deemed popular in a year, as well as to examine if some genres are represented more often than others, if there are "male" and "female" books still today, and overall, how today's society, and past societies have shaped and reflected (or not) what people read.

Final Book Review

I will be reviewing Reading Sites: Social Difference and Reader Response, ed. by Partocinio Schweikart and Elizabeth Flynn. I chose this book because I am very interested in the issues of reading practices and gender, race, ethnicity, class and other "social categories" as they relate to librarianship and the history of libraries and librarianship. This book "examines a host of genres, from nineteenth-century working-class autobiographies and twentieth-century women's confessional magazines to detective fiction and book-club selections, to question how various groups of readers and authors identify with competing social hierarchies." I think it will be very interesting to apply the theories and issues discussed in this book to library history and the themes we have examined in this class.

Final Book Review

For the final paper I will be reading The World is Flat by Thomas Friedman. As I am sure most people are aware, this book discusses the 'flattening' of the world that is occuring with the internet spreading information more quickly that ever before. I'm not completely familiar with Friedman's entire thesis, but I believe he proposes that information is now spread by multinational corporations rather than countries. Due to economics, political/government control over the spread of information is weakening, while the internet and corporations are spreading information faster than ever.

I'm interested in exploring how the spead of information and the multinational corporation's control over information is affecting libraries and patrons. Additionally, I would like to explore how users interpret a library's function/usefulness in light of the internet and economic influences on information.

Final Book Review

I chose Censorship and the American Library: The American Library Association's Response to Threats to Intellectual Freedom 1939-1969 by Louise Robbins for the final review. In this book Louise Robbins examines how the ALA addressed censorship and challenges to intellectual freedom, but she also traces how the profession developed as it responded to these issues. I wanted to read this because these issues are so fundamental to library and U.S. history. In addition, library science and history are still very new to me and I wanted to read a book a could provide a good foundation.

Final Book Review

For my final book review, I will be reading Carnegie Denied: Communities Rejecting Carnegie Library Construction Grants 1898-1925 edit by Robert Sidney Martin. This is a collection of seven stories of communities that rejected Carnegie funding for their public libraries. The communities discussed in this compellation include a wide geographic scope and encompass a range of reasons for rejecting Carnegie's money. I am particularly interested in the communities where unionized labor was vocal is the rejection of this money after the Homestead strike of 1892.