From ancient societies to the modern day, the library endures

Contact: Jill Davis


ALA Editions


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editionsmarketing@ala.org

For Immediate Release


July 30, 2009

CHICAGO –
ALA Editions, the publishing imprint of the American Library Association, announces the release of “
The Library: An Illustrated History” by Stuart A. P. Murray. Illustrated with 130 rich color photos, Murray traces the elaborate history of the library from its very beginnings in the ancient libraries of Babylon and Alexandria to some of the greatest contemporary institutions—the Royal Society of London, the Newberry Library, the Smithsonian and many others. A rich textual and visual resource, this volume allows readers to follow the fascinating progress of the institution we now know today as the library.

Murray has been an author and editor for almost 30 years and is also a former journalist. He has written (or been lead writer on) 40 books, from historical fiction to scholastic nonfiction, and has edited another 20 titles. Specializing in history (particularly American history), his titles have won book-of-the-year honors several times, both fiction and nonfiction. He has been a newspaper editor and a beat reporter as well as a magazine publisher and editor. His journalistic writing has been published in regional dailies as well as in the New York Times.

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