LIS 201 History of Libraries

​History of Libraries
from Modern to Contemporary Period

Timeline of Modern to Contemporary Period

​1750 - Present

Libraries during Modern to Contemporary Period

End of 17th Century, England:
Parish Libraries

Thomas Bray

Parish Libraries

MISSION:
For religious purposes - for use of clergymen*

*Clergymen with their meager salary cannot purchase necessary books for themselves

​Houlette, W. D. (1934). Parish Libraries and the Work of the Reverend Thomas Bray. The Library Quarterly: Information, Community, Policy, 4(4), 588–609. http://www.jstor.org/stable/4302124

Parish Libraries

Thomas Bray created the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel. The society advocated for establishing libraries devoted to religious purposes

• Numerous parish libraries were established throughout England

• By the early 1700s, 70 parish libraries were established

National Libraries

MISSION:
To preserve the cultural heritage of the country by developing a comprehensive collection of materials by and about the country, including books, manuscripts, documents, and other records.

Collection Development Technique:

Creation of the depository right

In effect, all items published would become part of the national collection

Fill in the Blank

This library in the US that has the depository right for all published works.

• Issued in 1975

• Legal deposit regulation in the Philippines

Presidential Decree 812

​National Library of the Philippines. (n.d.). Legal deposit. https://web.nlp.gov.ph/legal-deposit/

Multiple Choice

Trivia: How many national libraries are there in the world? (source: IFLA, 2022)

• Over 300

• Exactly 100
• Around 200
• Less than 100

18th Century: Social Libraries

Social Library

MISSION:
To assist individuals’ self-improvement and search for the truth

• Members that had a genuine love of literature believed that the sharing of books and information led to character improvement

• Libraries provide opportunities for self-improvement and civic engagement

Social Library

• Voluntary association of individuals who had contributed money toward a common fund to be used for the purchase of books

• Created for the general citizenry

• A third place where an individual could spend time productively

• Collections often contained religious materials, history, travel and literature

Multiple Choice

How many books do most social libraries have in their collection?

• About 100

• Less than 200

• Less than 300

• Less than 500

Variety of Social Libraries

• YMCA libraries, agricultural libraries, ladies' clubs, mechanics' and mercantile libraries

• Developed to meet the special interests of their particular constituencies

• There were also general interest social libraries

​

Rise of Public Libraries

​

Diminished the use of Social Libraries

Circulating Library

MISSION:
To provide entertainment and for profit

• Satisfy public demand for fiction and popular material

• Served the mass' tastes

Multiple Choice

Where was the first circulating library established?

• UK

• US

Circulating Library

• AKA "Rental Library"

• Circulating libraries were well established in England and first appeared in America in the 1760s

• Libraries either rented out the books or charged a membership fee that allowed them to borrow a designated number of books over a specific period of time

Circulating libraries often incurred the wrath of certain segments of society that were concerned with the ‘immoral’ effects of popular reading

Mid-1820s: Novel is in great demand and became a well-established genre

• Novels not only appeared in book form but were also serialized in magazines

Open Ended

Both social libraries and circulating libraries charge library users fees in order to access their collections. What is the difference between them?

Rise of the Special Libraries

Special Library

MISSION:
To provide information - direct application of recorded information to the practical goals of profit-seeking business enterprises

Commercial Library

• The purpose was to promote the profitability of the company

• Providing information (reference services) was more important than instructing them how to find it themselves

• Collected only materials that focused on the needs of the enterprise

• Established in 1909 by John Cotton Dana

• Addresses the unique concerns of special libraries

Special Libraries Association (SLA)

Multiple Choice

If SLA is association for special libraries in the US, what is the association in the Philippines?

• PASLI

• ASLP

Academic Libraries

Academic Library

MISSION:
To support teaching and research

From colonial period to civil war

• University curriculum followed a classical model emphasizing theology, philosophy, history and the trivium of the liberal arts

• Classroom recitation

• Faculty taught from a single text or a few books

Rise of the research model

• 18th Century, University of Berlin: model with faculty members as independent researchers

• 1876: the model was adopted with the founding of John Hopkins University

• Seminar model of teaching

• Students were encouraged to consult a wide variety of published sources

Allocation of 30,000 acres of public land to establish state universities

promoting agriculture and the mechanical arts

Morrill Land Grant Act of 1862

School Libraries

School Library

MISSION:
To support primary and secondary education

• ​by providing current and appropriate materials for students and teachers

​

1920s: Era of Reform in Public Education

​

Importance of having a variety of library materials for students

• New educational theories

• Varied school curriculum

• Gunner, J. (2022, July 19). Historical eras: List of major time periods in history. YourDictionary. https://www.yourdictionary.com/articles/historical-eras-list

• ​Houlette, W. D. Houlette. (1934). Parish libraries and the work of the Reverend Thomas Bray. The Library Quarterly: Information, Community, Policy, 4(4), 588–609. http://www.jstor.org/stable/4302124

• IFLA. (2022). Library map of the world. IFLA. https://librarymap.ifla.org/

• ​National Library of the Philippines. (n.d.). Legal deposit. https://web.nlp.gov.ph/legal-deposit/

• Rubin, R.E. & Rubin, R.G. (2020). Foundations of library and information science (5th ed.). Neal and Schuman.

References

Mini Quiz
by Riscel

Multiple Choice

The following are the factors promoting the growth of public libraries. Which does not belong to the group?

• growth of cities and towns

• serve as shelter for the homeless

• presence of state library commissions or associations

• presence of an immigrant population

Multiple Choice

Which of the following is a characteristic of a public library?

• With minimal fee

• People are required to visit

• Open to all

• Accommodates the white people only

Multiple Choice

There were issues of segregated libraries in the past.

• True

• False

Multiple Choice

This is also known as The Philippine Librarianship Act of 2003 which modernized the practice of Philippine Librarianship.

• RA 6966

• RA 9246

• RA 7743

Multiple Choice

In the ongoing evolution of libraries, libraries now turn their main focus on information provision.

• True

• False