Story Of Libraries: From The Invention Of Writing To The Comp

Description:
In this fully updated edition, Fred Lerner continues to explore the ways in which records of human experience are collected. Updated to include our new technology, this work describes the crucial role libraries played in ancient Egypt, Han-dynasty China, the ancient Western Classical world (the great library of Alexandria, which was lost to us in stages over many years), the Baghdad of Harun-al-Rashid, and medieval and Renaissance Europe. It continues with the libraries of colonial America, the Library of Congress, university libraries, and today's large public library system.

Review:
''We now have a book with ideas to impress general readers from the outside and stretch library-history insiders, especially those of us who are lucky enough to be teaching library history courses, for which this should now be the text of choice.' Librari'

Table of Contents:
List of illustrations; Preface; 1. The Earliest Libraries; 2. Libraries of Classical Antiquity; 3. Lanterns of the Dark Ages; 4. Libraries of the Orient; 5. Libraries of the Islamic World; 6. The High Middle Ages; 7. Gutenberg's Legacy; 8. Treasuries of the Book; 9. The Repositories of Knowledge; 10. Libraries for the People; 11. The Rising Generation; 12. Putting Knowledge to Work; 13. The Craft of Librarianship; 14. Libraries of the Future; Notes; Principal Works Consulted; Index.

Author Biography:
Fred Lerner holds degrees in History and Library science from Columbia University, where he received his doctorate. He has also written widely on contemporary science fiction and lives in Vermont with his wife, an elementary school teacher, and teenage daughter.