The Librarian and the Library: Why Place Matters

Abstract

When I first received the invitation to give a convocation address focused on the current state of public libraries, I found it easy to say yes. The research that culminated in Free to All: Carnegie Libraries and American Culture, 1890­1920 (University of Chicago Press, 1995) has, over the years, taken me into dozens of public libraries and put me into contact with at least that many public librarians. The experience has usually been memorable. More than once I have arrived unannounced at the loan desk of a small public library, explained my project to the librarian, and requested the materials I would particularly like to consult: original plans of the building, period photographs, the minutes of library board meetings from 1901--not exactly run-of-the-mill library resources. To my delight, the public librarians I encountered were unflappable in the face of such demands. In Union City, Indiana, the librarian essentially said, "No one has ever asked those questions before, but I've always thought that someone might someday, so I've been compiling this scrapbook of primary sources. Here."