Links of Interest

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Libraries and archives | | Resources for the study of library history | | Library history exhibitions

Book arts and book history | | Organizations | | Publications | | Electronic discussion lists | | Graduate schools


   Libraries and Archives


ALA Archives. See also library history exhibits, below.

Berkeley's List of Library Web Servers

Boston Public Library. A brief history can be found under "General Information." See http://www.bpl.org/guides/history.htm

Florida Library History Project A collaborative effort to link Florida library histories for public, academic and special libraries.

H-Net List of Public Library Histories on the Web.

Grolier Club.Founded in 1884, the oldest bibliophile society in America. Now also a research library of note.

Library of Congress home page. See also the LC Center for the Book and the list of State Center Affiliates

Library of Virginia. Regrettably, the Virginia Center for the Book has been eliminated due to budget cuts.

Moorland-Spingarn Research Center, Howard University. African-American studies: library, archives, museum, and manuscript department. The website has a section which recounts the history of the center.

National Library of Australia. Detailed history of the library's collections, and description of some notable holdings.

New York Public Library Research tools; finding aids.

Presidential Library System of the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). Before FDR, many presidential documents were destroyed. This site tells of the founding of the presidential libraries beginning in 1939.

Repositories of Primary Sources on the Web (Maintained by Terry Abraham) Comprehensive list of archives on the web.

Redwood Library and AthenaeumThe Redwood Library, founded in 1747, is the oldest American library building still in use. The site features information about subscription libraries.

    Resources for the Study of Library History


Libraries Today. Lorne Bruce's site for Canadian library history.

Library History Database This database of 27,000 libraries in the UK was developed by Robin Alston, University of London. His site also offers Essays, Papers and Reports, 1975-2000, which cover such topics as the British Library and library education.

" Images from the 1876 Report," by Charley Seavey (U. Missouri-Columbia).

"The Public Library and Reading by the Masses: Historical Perspectives on the USA and Britain, 1850-1900." by Paul Sturges. An IFLA General Conference Paper, 1994.

RED: Reading Experience Database. A joint project of the British Library and the Open University to record reading experiences in the British Isles, 1450-1914.

Wesley, Dorothy Porter
. A biographical site to honor this pioneer of African-American librarianship. Wesley was librarian at the Moorland-Spingarn Research Center of Howard University for many years.

Women in the History of American Librarianship. Maintained by Lisa Bartle, a librarian. Biographical sketches of some prominent women in librarianship and a list of women for further study.

   Library History Exhibitions

219 Loyola: Building a Library for New Orleans. New Orleans Public Library. See also the Rosa Keller Branch history and exhibition. Rosa Keller, a social activist, became the first woman on the Board of Directors at NOPL in 1973.

"Books Go To War: The Armed Services Editions in World War Two." University of Virginia Library.

"Branch Libraries in the Bronx." (NYPL) A historical essay with selected photographs. Also available: a more extensive collection of photographs from the New York Public Library Archives.

"Censored: Wielding the Red Pen." University of Virginia:

"Gutenberg and Beyond: Books, Libraries, and Changing Technology." Georgetown University Library, Special Collections:

" 'He who destroyes a good Booke, kills reason itselfe.' An exhibition of books which have survived Fire,the Sword and the Censors." Kenneth Spencer Research Library, Dept. of Special Collections (U. Kansas):

" Highlights from the Columbia University Library Science Vertical Files, 1832-1994." ALA Archives.

Keeping Our Word: Preserving Information Across the Ages. University of Iowa.

Public Library of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County: A Century of Service. Charlotte, North Carolina.

A Silver Anniversary: The First 25 Years of the Kenneth Spencer Research Library. (1999) University of Kansas.

" When Books Burn," exhibit presented by the University of Arizona Library.

"Windows on our past: History of the Chicago Public Library." This exhibition was first created for the 125th anniversary of the library in 1998.

Lists of exhibitions:

Library and Archival Exhibitions on the Web. Smithsonian Institution Libraries. An extensive list, alphabetical by title of exhibition.

   Book Arts and Book History

History of Books and Printing. New York Public Library's research guide.

Book Information Website.This site contains a wealth of information on book arts and book history: papermaking, typography, printing history, book dealers, and many other topics.

Resources for the History of Books and Printing. Maintained by Daniel Traister at the University of Pennsylvania.

   Organizations

American Library Association

American Printing History Association

Association for the Bibliography of History

Bibliographic Society (London)

Bibliographic Society of America

Bibliographic Society of Canada/La Societe Bibliographique du Canada

IFLA Library History Section

Library History Group. Part of CILIP(UK). CILIP is the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals, a new professional body formed following the unification of the Institute of Information Scientists (IIS) and the Library Association (LA).

SHARP: Society for the History of Authorship, Reading, and Publishing.

   Publications

Book History, a journal published by SHARP.

Libraries & the Cultural Record, an interdisciplinary journal for library history edited by David B. Gracy II, University of Texas at Austin.

Library History. Published by the Library History Group.

Printing History, the journal of the American Printing History Association.

Publishing History, published by ProQuest. Subscription information only.

 

   Electronic Discussion Lists

H-HISTBIBL is a moderated list concerned with the bibliography of history, or history collections in libraries. To subscribe, send a message to listserv@h-net.msu.edu, or subscribe directly from the H-Net web site.

Librariana is a list for collectors of library literature, history and memorabilia. To subscribe, send a message
to listserv@listserv.boisestate.edu (Your message should read "subscribe librariana YOUR NAME").

LIS-LIBHIST is the list run by the Library History Group (Library Association/CILIP, UK).
Send your subscribe message to jiscmail@jiscmail.ac.uk For more information, see the Library History Group web site.

ExLibris: listproc@library.berkeley.edu (Your message should read "subscribe exlibris"). This is a list for those interested in rare books.

SHARP-L: listserv@listserv.indiana.edu (Your message should read "subscribe sharp-l"). This list is for discussion of book and printing history.

   Graduate Schools

ALA's Directory of Accredited LIS Master's Programs

The Royal School of Library and Information Science Library, Copenhagen, offers a list of links to LIS programs worldwide.

World List of Departments and Schools of Information Studies, Information Management, Information Systems, etc.
maintained by InformationR.net


Suggestions for new links are always welcome.

Last update 01/24/2007