Alice Crawford

From Greek and Roman times to the digital era, the library has remained central to knowledge, scholarship, and the imagination. Generously illustrated, The Meaning of the Library examines this key institution of Western culture. Tracing what the library has meant since its beginning, examining how its significance has shifted, and pondering its importance in the twenty-first century, significant contributors--including the librarian of the Congress and the former executive director of the HathiTrust--present a cultural history of the library. Whether relishing an account of the Alexandrian Library or a look at the stylish railway libraries of nineteenth-century England, readers will find a sparkling survey of the library through time. Here, too, are the imagined libraries of fiction, poetry, and film, from Scheherazade's stories to The Name of the Rose and beyond. In an informative introduction, Alice Crawford sets out the book's purpose and scope, and an international array of scholars, librarians, writers, and critics offer vivid perspectives about the library through their chosen fields. Contributors to this collection include David Allan, James Billington, Robert Crawford, Robert Darnton, Stephen Enniss, Richard Gameson, Edith Hall, Laura Marcus, Andrew Pettegree, John Sutherland, Marina Warner, and John Wilkin. A landmark collection, The Meaning of the Library addresses the significance of the library--both physical and virtual--in the past and present, and will appeal to readers, librarians, and all who are interested in this vital institution's heritage and ongoing legacy.

A Cultural History

The Meaning of the Library

Robert Crawford

A collection that explores how libraries have been represented in English-language fiction, drama, and poetry from the early modern period to the present day. This accessible volume covers literature from Don Quixote to the work of M. R. James, Agatha Christie, and Haruki Murakami and draws together original essays by prestigious contributors.

Libraries in Literature

Aimed at practitioners and students of librarianship, this book is about interesting and unusual practical projects currently being run by academic liaison librarians. It shows how liaison librarians can extend their roles beyond the established one of information literacy teaching and showcases areas in which they can engage in collaborative ventures with academic and administrative staff. Designed to excite and inspire, New Directions for Academic Liaison Librarians demonstrates the potential of the liaison role and emphasises the need for flexibility, imagination and initiative in those who hold these posts. Unique in concentrating on the role of the new community of academic liaison librarians Recognises the wider possibilities for development open to this different new breed of information specialist Written by a practitioner in the field

New Directions for Academic Liaison Librarians

Paradise Pursued reinterprets the fiction of one of England's most important mid-century novelists. Knowledgeably yet accessibly written, it demonstrates the recurring obsession with paradisal pursuit that runs through all twenty-three of Rose Macaulay's richly varied fictions.

Alice Crawford

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