The Cambridge History of Libraries in Britain and Ireland: Volume 3, 1850–2000: (Series Number 3 The Cambridge History of Libraries in Britain and Ireland)

Since the mid-nineteenth century an unprecedented expansion and diversification of library activity has taken place. The Public Libraries Act of 1850 founded a tradition of public provision and service which continues today, and national and academic libraries have grown and multiplied. Libraries have become an industry rather than a localised phenomenon, and librarianship has developed from a scholarly craft to a scientific profession. The essays in this volume present a picture of great diversity, covering public, national, academic, subscription and private libraries. The users of libraries are an important part of their history and are considered here in detail, alongside the development of the library profession and the impact of new information technologies. The place of the library within society and the growth of a professional structure to manage new demands on information are the central concerns of this volume, which celebrates the diversity of the modern library world.

Table of Contents:
Preface; 1. Libraries and the modern world Alistair Black and Peter Hoare; Part I. Enlightening the Masses: 2. Introduction Alistair Black; 3. The people's university: models of public library history Alistair Black; 4. Libraries for leisure time Robert Snape; 5. High seriousness: the reference and information role of the public library 1850–2000 Bob Duckett; 6. Extending the public library 1850–1930 Martin Hewitt; 7. Public library outreach and extension 1930–2000 Dave Muddiman; 8. Public library services for children Debbie Denham; 9. Public library people 1850–1919 Paul Sturges; Part II. The Voluntary Ethic: 10. Introduction Alistair Black; 11. Circulating libraries in the Victorian age and after Simon Eliot; 12. The subscription libraries and their members Geoffrey Forster and Alan Bell; 13. Radical reading? Working class libraries in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries Chris Baggs; 14. Private libraries and the collecting instinct David Pearson; Part III. Libraries for National Needs: 15. Introduction Peter Hoare; 16. The library scene in an English city: Newcastle upon Tyne libraries 1850–2000 John Day; 17. Public libraries in Wales since 1862 Philip Henry Jones; 18. The National Library of Wales Lionel Madden; 19. The Scottish library scene John C. Crawford; 20. The National Library of Scotland Ian McGowan; 21. The Irish library scene Catherine Moran and Pearl Quinn; 22. The National Library of Ireland Gerard Long; Part IV. The Nation's Treasury: 23. Introduction Graham Jefcoate; 24. The British Museum Library 1857–1973 P. R. Harris; 25. The British Library and its antecedents John Hopson; Part V. The Spirit of Enquiry: 26. Introduction Peter Hoare; 27. The libraries of the ancient universities to the 1960s Peter Hoare; 28. The libraries of the University of London to the 1960s Bernard Naylor; 29. The civic universities and their libraries F. W. Ratcliffe; 30. Academic libraries and the expansion of higher education since the 1960s Ian Mowat; Part VI. The Rise of Professional Society: 31. Libraries and information for specialist areas Jack Meadows; 32. The scientist and engineer and their need for information Jack Meadows; 33. Information in the service of medicine Antonia J. Bunch; 34. Lawyers and their libraries Guy Holborn; 35. Spreading the word: religious libraries in the ages of enthusiasm and secularism (1850–2000) Alan Jesson; 36. Government and Parliamentary libraries Chris Murphy; 37. Company libraries Alistair Black; 38. Rare-book libraries and the growth of humanities scholarship B. C. Bloomfield; Part VII. The Trade and its Tools: 39. Introduction Peter Hoare; 40. The interpretation of professional development in librarianship since 1850 Ian Cornelius; 41. Education for librarianship Dave Muddiman; 42. Women and libraries Julia Taylor; 43. The feminisation of librarianship: the writings of Margaret Reed Evelyn Kerslake; 44. Sharing the load: libraries in co-operation Antonia J. Bunch; 45. Organising knowledge: cataloguing, classification and indexing in the modern library Rodney M. Brunt; 46. Storehouses of knowledge: the free library movement and the birth of modern library architecture Simon Pepper; Part VIII. Automation Pasts, Electronic Futures: 47. Introduction: The digital revolution in society and in libraries Graham Jefcoate; 48. Automating the library process Eric Hunter; 49. Informatisation: libraries and the exploitation of electronic information systems Alistair Duff; 50. Libraries and librarians in the information age Liz Chapman and Frank Webster; Bibliography.

About the Author :
Alistair Black is Professor of Library and Information History in the School of Information Management at Leeds Metropolitan University. Peter Hoare is former University Librarian at the University of Nottingham.

Review :
'The Purpose of the Cambridge History of Libraries in Britain and Ireland is to be a survey. It succeeds admirably. … Some essays, such as Chris Bagg's essay on working-class libraries and Simon Eliot's on subscription libraries, present excellent new research. The bibliography is full, helpful and thorough.' Rare Books Newsletter, 81