How did public libraries get started?How did public libraries get started?Re: How did public libraries get started?Marianne Lenox2006-01-17T21:38:43Z2006-01-17T21:38:43ZGreat read! I'll link to this on our New Employee Orientation pages. And I couldn't resist clicking the comment link on the article. Lively discussion ensues...<br /><br /><blockquote><br />And as always a cool nod to Callimachus, the first cataloguer, would be nice, and the curse of Ashurbanipal at Nineveh's library:<br /><br /><blockquote>May [the 12 gods named on these walls] curse anyone who breaks, defaces, or removes this tablet with a curse which cannot be relieved, terrible and merciless as long as he lives. May they let his name perish, his children be carried off from the land as slaves, and may dogs consume his flesh. </blockquote><br /><br />Compared to which, $.25 per day is really quite reasonable as a late fee. <br />~ Sampiro (Straight Dope Message Board member)</blockquote>Marianne Lenox2006-01-17T21:38:43ZRe: How did public libraries get started?Bob Watson2006-01-17T21:04:58Z2006-01-17T21:04:58ZI made sure to add that to the readings I send to my Board with my reports.Bob Watson2006-01-17T21:04:58ZRe: How did public libraries get started?Betha Gutsche2006-01-17T20:16:08Z2006-01-17T20:16:08ZBrenda, this is a great question <i>and</i> this is the best category/forum for it, IMO. A couple of fascinating things come up with the question that is posed to Straight Dope here.<br /><br />This person "googled the hell out of this [topic]" and consulted the "best resources" with Wikipedia being the foremost, but didn't discover much of anything about public libraries, Carnegie, or library funding in the US. This tells me that our "googling" minions are <i>not</i> fulfilling their information needs --not even "good enough." It also tells me that our public libraries have still not convinced the general public that they are a key source of information. Imagine how quickly this patron would have gotten answers if he had called the local library.<br /><br />For the larger issue about public libraries, I remember a great discussion in one of my LIS classes about how relatively recent the notion actually is --that is, the notion of a government-funded, open-stack resource for free and equal access to information that is the underpinning of an informed democratic citizenry. Even us 'old-timers' tend to take that for granted, but it's certainly not invulnerable or universal. Many libraries around the world have closed stacks and no-lending policies. Before our national public system, many libraries were private and proprietary. There are some predictions of a return to the private library as the predominate thing: when more and more resources are available digitally and data storage is cheap, individuals will build their own customized libraries.<br /><br />Lots of food for thought here ...and discussion. I highly recommend reading the OCLC report on [url http://www.oclc.org/reports/2005perceptions.htm ]Perceptions of Libraries and Information Resources (2005)[/url] and let's keep the conversation going! <img alt='emoticon' src='http://il.webjunction.org/webjunction-theme/images/emoticons/happy.gif' />Betha Gutsche2006-01-17T20:16:08ZHow did public libraries get started?Brenda Hough2006-01-17T16:15:55Z2006-01-17T16:15:55ZHi all,<br />I had trouble selecting the right discussion area for this resource (that's not my area of librarianship <img alt='emoticon' src='http://il.webjunction.org/webjunction-theme/images/emoticons/happy.gif' /> ), so am posting here for now. I thought it might fit here, because if we're looking to the library future, it's good to know our library past.... <br /><br />Today's "Straight Dope" question/response is about public library history. Interesting stuff -- see it at: http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mpublibrary.html<br /><br />BrendaBrenda Hough2006-01-17T16:15:55Z