The Cultural Legacy of the "Modern Library" for the Future

The cultural legacy of the library to contemporary society is examined in order to provide a basis for discussing present changes taking place in the LIS field and in LIS education. By viewing the manifestation of the library over time as an “era-specific” societal phenomenon, the modern library, which began in the mid-19th century and is still present, will be seen as replacing an earlier era-specific library, but also as currently being challenged by the beginnings of a new library era. The modern library is next contrasted with the library it replaced, after which three significant features of the modern library now being challenged are explored and contrasted with the emerging library—how the library is viewed as a social institution; how its normative target public is conceptualized; and what is acceptable as its normative funding. Lastly, speculations are provided as to how LIS education might respond to the challenges and changes that the emerging library is bringing.

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