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Seminar in Public Libraries
Philosophical Context - Revisionist Viewpoint
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INLS341
Spring 2006 Seminar in Public Libraries Philosophical Context - Revisionist Viewpoint |
UNC-CH | |||||||||||||||
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| Home Page | |||||||||||||||||
| PLA Blog | Library Journal | Value of Libraries | Lib rarin' | updated | Wednesday, 25 January, 2006 | ||||||||||||
| Starter | |||||||||||||||||
| "Rocks in the Whirlpool", by Kathleen de la Peņa McCook, Distinguished University Professor, University of South Florida, School of Library and Information Science. May, 2002 | |||||||||||||||||
| Reading | |||||||||||||||||
| Michael Harris - The Role of the Public Library in American Life (1975) | |||||||||||||||||
| Discussion themes | |||||||||||||||||
| Does Harris make you angry? Do you agree with him, or do you find him to have missed the point? Is his viewpoint worth considering thirty-one years later? | |||||||||||||||||
| Other readings | |||||||||||||||||
| Public libraries and the decline of the democratic dogma. | |||||||||||||||||
| Michael H. Harris | Library Journal 101 (19) 1 Nov 76, 2225-2230. 9 illus. 17 refs | ||||||||||||||||
| In a short monograph, published in 1973 and later summarised in the Libr. J. 15 Sept 73, the author contended that the public library was founded by a group of authoritarian-elitists (see 73/2664). A question not raised by the critics of the paper was why, in the light of this argument, should public libraries be readily accepted at the time by the working classes? Suggests that the explanation for the paradox lies in the political and social development of the first 60 years of the Republic, described as the declining years of authoritarianism. Education was considered by working men to be the panacea, once achieved, freeing the path to democracy and equality. As energies became directed to less abstract matters working men began to see libraries as undemocratic and inhospitable institutions. The librarian's dilemma today is that many people question the validity of education as a reliable vehicle to financial success, have lost faith in many values, and generally there is an obvious decline in democratic dogma. | |||||||||||||||||
| Portrait in paradox: commitment and ambivalence in American librarianship, 1876-1976. | |||||||||||||||||
| Michael H. Harris | Libri 26 (4) Dec 76, 281-301. refs | ||||||||||||||||
| Professional literature on the early history of US librarianship has invariably been self-congratulatory, portraying the pioneer librarians as enlightened beyond expectations. What is needed now is a serious attempt at an intellectual history, essential for self-evaluation. The central theme is librarians' impelling desire for the profession to gain acceptance among the elite vocations. This desire for status has thrown them into a series of missionary endeavours, which now appear ill-chosen, all aimed at maintaining the status quo. It has also prevented the profession from developing a self-generated ethos. These missions are discussed, the latest being the projection of the image of neutrality while censorship and authoritarianism continue. Librarians' conservatism is made more obvious by their total lack of involvement with genuine liberal reform. It is essential that librarians begin constructive debate on the purpose of the library in American life; the issue can no longer be avoided. | |||||||||||||||||
| Useful links | |||||||||||||||||
| Michael Harris' home page | |||||||||||||||||
| Kathleen de la Peņa McCook's home page | |||||||||||||||||
| Why Study History? by Peter N. Stearns | |||||||||||||||||
| other resources | |||||||||||||||||