Why Libraries Matter

Why libraries matter

Despite the benefits of the digital revolution, the history of the library reveals a mutable survivor that’s vital for democracy

Brian Bethune | August 12, 2015

Book Review of: THE MEANING OF THE LIBRARY: A CULTURAL HISTORY
Ed. by Alice Crawford
Like bookshops, libraries loom large in the affections of book-lovers, even those who never darken their doors—and therein lies the existential problem. The two types of book depository have often risen and fallen in opposition to each other—the greater the economic value of each book copy, the more the library rules the roost—but both are struggling in the digital age. The library’s travails are not unprecedented, though, as shown by the richly detailed and (for the most part) utterly absorbing essays collected here.

Source: http://www.amazon.com/Meaning-Library-Cultural-History/dp/0691166390/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1440084072&sr=1-1&keywords=meaning+of+the+library

<more at http://www.macleans.ca/culture/books/why-libraries-matter/; http://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/opinion/647860/libraries-being-left-on-the-shelf (Libraries being left on the shelf. August 7, 2015) and http://www.ala.org/research/librariesmatter/ (Libraries Matter: Impact Research)>