Library Essays; Papers Related to the Work of Public Libraries


Read by LibriVox Volunteers

(5 stars; 1 reviews)

This 1920 collection of essays gathers together 25 years of papers, articles, and presentations given by Arthur E. Bostwick. The ideas in many of the essays still hold true today: he advocates for such things as an expanded mission of the public library, professionalism in librarianship, and the keeping of statistics. The essays cover such topics as “The Library as the Educational Center of the Town,” “The Future of Library Work,” and “Three Kinds of Librarians.” Spoiler alert, Bostwick believes that the third kind of librarian, the “librarian of to-day,” should be proactive in offering materials wanted by their patrons, should work to spread library services to excluded populations, and should be “always looking for trouble.” Bostwick was a Yale-educated librarian who during his career headed up the New York Public Library and the St. Louis Public Library. He was the president of the American Library Association 1907-1908. - Summary by Verla Viera (13 hr 30 min)

Chapters

Preface 1:08 Read by Larry Wilson
Pains and Penalties in Library Work 24:47 Read by Verla Viera
How Librarians Choose Books 21:43 Read by Beeswaxcandle
The Work of the Small Public Library 22:41 Read by Azza
Lay Control in Libraries and Elsewhere 20:03 Read by Azza
The Whole Duty of a Library Trustee: From a Librarian's Standpoint 22:26 Read by Azza
The Day's Work: Some Conditions and Some Ideals 16:13 Read by Emalbo
Library Statistics 18:41 Read by Verla Viera
Old Probabilities in the Library: His Modest Vaticinations, Part 1 21:25 Read by Ted Lienhart
Old Probabilities in the Library: His Modest Vaticinations, Part 2 16:14 Read by Ted Lienhart
The Love of Books as a Basis for Librarianship 26:24 Read by April6090
The Library as the Educational Center of the Town 15:54 Read by Verla Viera
The Librarian as a Censor, Part 1 16:34 Read by Cbteddy
The Librarian as a Censor, Part 2 17:00 Read by Cbteddy
How to Raise the Standard of Book Selection 21:21 Read by Ted Lienhart
System in the Library, Part 1 14:49 Read by gbperez
System in the Library, Part 2 14:29 Read by gbperez
The Exploitation of the Public Library 21:01 Read by Ted Lienhart
Service Systems in Libraries 25:20 Read by Sandy
Efficiency Records in Libraries 13:42 Read by VO Gal
Mal-Employment in the Library 30:38 Read by mleigh
Cost of Administration 9:03 Read by jenno
Library Circulation at Long Range 16:21 Read by Verla Viera
Conflicts of Jurisdiction in Library Systems 17:30 Read by Ted Lienhart
Three Kinds of Librarians 30:23 Read by jenno
School Libraries and Mental Training 29:39 Read by Ted Lienhart
The Library and the Business Man 25:45 Read by Ted Lienhart
Poets, Libraries and Realities, Part 1 16:35 Read by jenno
Poets, Libraries and Realities, Part 2 17:06 Read by jenno
The Church and the Public Library 17:08 Read by Larry Wilson
The Future of Library Work, Part 1 16:08 Read by Verla Viera
The Future of Library Work, Part 2 14:17 Read by Verla Viera
Popularizing Music Through the Library, Part 1 15:18 Read by Beeswaxcandle
Popularizing Music Through the Library, Part 2 13:57 Read by Beeswaxcandle
Two Cardinal Sins 28:30 Read by Ted Lienhart
A Message to Beginners 30:56 Read by Ted Lienhart
Luck in the Library, Part 1 19:27 Read by Rusty Pistols
Luck in the Library, Part 2 18:53 Read by Ted Lienhart
The Library as a Museum, Part 1 16:02 Read by BettyB
The Library as a Museum, Part 2 15:59 Read by BettyB
The Library and the Locality, Part 1 20:32 Read by Ted Lienhart
The Library and the Locality, Part 2 18:13 Read by Ted Lienhart

Reviews


(5 stars)

5 stars in chief, because this reviewer is a librarian, and was fascinated by how little so many aspects of library work is, in essence, different from the date of this publication. For someone not as interested in libraries, you will, nonetheless find the narrators pleasant to listen to, and some of the topics may be of interest to those interested in history and books in general.