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August 11, 2007
Kicking and Screaming
Isabelle Fetherston ·over at TeleRead has a great post this weekend. Here's a clip:
Why libraries should offer popular fiction—in both print and e-book formats
"In the 1890s, libraries were debating whether to provide fiction to their patrons.
William Stevenson, the head librarian for the Carnegie Free Library of Allegheny, Pennsylvania, went to great lengths to remove popular fiction titles from his library.
“It is certainly not the function of the public library to foster the mind-weakening habit of novel-reading among the very classes—the uneducated, busy or idle—whom it is the duty of the public library to lift to a higher plane of thinking,” he said. . . .
Durng Stevenson’s time, it was controversial for libraries to provide even classic works of literature.
As libraries moved into the 20th century, libraries provided fiction books but considered genre fiction to be inferior. Librarians often tried to convince people to read books that the librarian believed were either “good books” (classic literature) or of an educational nature."
There's more in the posting and it's very interesting.
I swear one of the reasons I became a librarian was my distress that my school and public libraries didn't carry Hardy Boys books.
Wilson Library Bulletin published an article in 1956 or 57 ranting that libraries shodl not provide telephone reference. (apparently if the questions wasn't important enough to make a trip to the library it wasn't worth answering!).
And now we see similar resistance to gaming in libraries (despite recent research showing that 77% of public libraries offer some kind of gaming). The same goes for instant messaging reference, virtual reference, audiobooks, e-books, streaming media and graphic novels.
It makes me feel oddly better. It seems that all advances are tested through a trial-by-fire (or in some cases inertia, passive resistance, debate, trial, etc.) So I guess innovation and change are made fireproof through this process.
Stephen
Posted by stephen at August 11, 2007 10:34 PM
Comments
I am glad that you enjoyed the post. I had the same problem with libraries as a kid - they did not provide any Nancy Drew mysteries! I am happy to say that public libraries provide both series now.
Posted by: Isabelle Fetherston at August 12, 2007 4:42 PM