Audiobook

Library Essays; Papers Related to the Work of Public Libraries

Arthur Elmore Bostwick

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