Part of Our Lives: A People's History of the American Public Library

Compared to most other major institutions, Americans hold their public libraries in high regard. Wiegand (emeritus, Sch. of Information, Florida State Univ.; Main Street Public Library) explains why by tracing the history of the public library from the social libraries of colonial times to the modern institutions of the present. Uniquely, he emphasizes the perspective of patrons rather than that of professional librarians and managers. By searching digitized newspaper articles, published memoirs, and biographies, he unveils the voices of generations of library users (including those of famous patrons such as Oprah Winfrey, Kurt Vonnegut, and Sonia Sotomayor). From this collected data, the author concludes that libraries remain important because they provide reading materials, information access, and a valuable public space. Furthermore, public libraries adapt to the wants of patrons; for example, in finding a resolution to the longtime conflict of what constituted proper reading material. For years, many librarians disdained popular fiction as being beneath the needs of an educated, civilized society. However, Wiegand explains, libraries discovered that circulation declined when fiction was removed and as a result relented to the wishes of their patrons.