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Wiegand, Wayne A., 1946-

Part of our lives : a people's history of the American public library / Wayne A. Wiegand. - 331 pages : illustrations ; 26 cm

Machine generated contents note: -- Introduction -- 1. 'Improv'd the General Conversation of Americans': Social Libraries Before 1854 -- 2. For 'Plain People': The American Public Library,1854-1876 -- 3. 'The Best Reading for the Greatest Number at the least Cost': 1876-1893 -- 4. 'The Liberty to Read What They Will and When': 1893-1917 -- 5. 'Habitations on a Literary Map:' 1917-1929 -- 6. 'One Island of Refuge': 1929-1945 -- 7. 'Winning the Battles of Daily Life': 1945-1964 -- 8. 'An Individual Meaning to Each User': 1964-1980 -- 9. 'Library Paste is a Precious Part of Social Glue': 1980-2000 -- Epilogue. 2000-Present.

"Part of Our Lives challenges the conventional idea that public libraries are valuable mostly because they are essential to democracy. Instead, this book uses the voices of generations of public library users to argue that Americans have loved their libraries for the useful information they make accessible; the public spaces they provide; and the commonplace reading materials they supply that help users make sense of the world around them"--

ISBN: 9780190248000 (hardback)

LCCN: 2015014209

Subjects--Topical Terms:
Public libraries--History.--United States
Libraries--Public opinion--History.--United States
Public opinion--History.--United States
Library users--Attitudes--History.--United States
Public libraries--Social aspects--History.--United States
Libraries and community--History.--United States
Libraries and society--History.--United States
Books and reading--History.--United States
HISTORY / United States / General.
HISTORY / Social History.

LC Class. No.: Z731 / .W734 2015

Dewey Class. No.: 027.473