On Sept. 12-13, the Center for the Book hosted more than 20 prominent library and cultural historians for discussions that focused on two topics: how best to undertake a collaborative, multivolume history of libraries in the United States; and how to encourage collaborative efforts among existing book history centers.
In the end, as part of its mission of "encouraging the study of the role of books, reading and libraries in society," the Center for the Book agreed to serve as a catalyst and focal point for both endeavors.
Possible directions for a new history of libraries and culture were suggested on Sept. 12 by Kenneth E. Carpenter, assistant director for research resources in the Harvard University Library, in his lecture, "Readers and Libraries: Toward a History of Libraries and Culture in America." Early in his talk he cautioned: "The function of the library historian is not to celebrate libraries, either as arsenals of democracy, the people's university, or the heart of the university. Lamentation for a form of library that is passing is also not the aim of a history of libraries. Understanding their function within the book world and within the larger society must be our goal."
Mr. Carpenter presented ideas for new directions -- and research resources -- that would expand the history of libraries away from the narrowly institutional into social and cultural history, including aspects of the history of the book. His rich and detailed talk will be published by the Center for the Book.
Defining the library as a "shared resource," Mr. Carpenter emphasized relationships between libraries and American society in the nineteenth century. The talk included comparisons of the social roles of the Boston Atheneum and the Harvard University Library; examples of competition between libraries; a plea for library historians to go beyond public controversies by looking at the issues behind the controversies; an explanation of why it is important "to seek to capture the experience of using a library," which includes both a "library reading experience" and a "library social experience;" and examples of the importance of examining the role of the library in the political process, as well as the influence of class, ethnicity and religion on library development.
In concluding, he emphasized that "the American library scene does not consist solely of discrete units or library types," pointing out that throughout the nineteenth century, "libraries are being influenced by each other, they are competing with each other and the issues of American society are being played out in libraries. Neither in the nineteenth century, in the twentieth, nor at the dawn of the twenty-first, do libraries stand alone in a world of their own. Working that out is challenging work in which professional librarians and professional historians can fruitfully join."
It was clear from the discussions on Sept. 13 that those present felt that "now was the time" to proceed with the idea of a new library history in the United States. Comparisons were made with major collaborative projects now underway. John Hench of the American Antiquarian Society (AAS) and general editor David D. Hall (Harvard University) described A History of the Book in America, a five-volume series now in progress which will be published late this decade by Cambridge University Press in association with the AAS. Valuable perspectives were added by two British scholars: Peter Hoare, general editor of the three-volume A History of Libraries in Britain and Ireland and Ian Willison, one of three general editors of the seven-volume History of the Book in Britain. Both of these histories also will be published by Cambridge University Press.
As a first step, an informal steering committee will be formed. Mr. Carpenter will be the chair and John Y. Cole, director of the Center for the Book, the vice-chair. Secondly, the Center for the Book will host a series of small conferences to increase awareness, explore specific topics, examine research opportunities and enlist historians, librarians and others in the project.
The discussion about how to increase collaborative efforts among book history centers was chaired by Wayne A. Wiegand, co-director of the Center for the History of Print Culture in Modern America, which is a joint project of the State Historical Society of Wisconsin and the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Mr. Wiegand and co-director Jim Danky described the purpose and program of their center and invited representatives of other centers to do the same. Brief presentations were made on behalf of the Program in the History of the Book in American Culture at the American Antiquarian Society (John Hench); the Penn State Center for the History of the Book (James L.W. West III); the Texas Group for the Study of Books and Print Culture at the University of Texas-Austin (Donald G. Davis, Jr.); the Faculty Working Group on the History of Print Culture in the South at the University of North Carolina (Barbara B. Moran); and the Drew University Center for the History of the Book (Jonathan Rose). In addition, Mary Niles Maack of the University of California at Los Angeles described a proposal to establish an Institute for the Study of Print & Electronic Culture in the Graduate School of Education & Information Studies at UCLA.
Additional scholarly centers concerned with book history, print culture and the book arts were identified and it was agreed that they should be invited to future meetings.
The heart of the discussion was a question posed by Mr. Wiegand: how can these rapidly developing scholarly centers "help each other without hurting each other?" Common themes, projects and ideas were shared. Discussion topics included fund raising, particularly the possibility of collaborative endowment fund raising efforts; the importance of encouraging basic research as well as outreach; ways of establishing and improving communication among the centers; and the creation of an informal "council of book history centers." The importance of the activities of the Society for the History of Authorship, Reading and Publishing (SHARP) to the "book history movement" was recognized. It was agreed to organize a special meeting at the 1996 SHARP annual meeting, which will be held at the American Antiquarian Society on July 18-21, and that the "council" would meet at the Library of Congress the following year. The Center for the Book will prepare and distribute a directory of book history centers.
In addition to those mentioned above, the following historians and librarians participated in the meeting: Carol Armbruster, Library of Congress; Terry Belanger, University of Virginia; Michele Cloonan, Smith College Library; Phyllis Dain; Elizabeth L. Eisenstein; Robert Frase, Virginia Center for the Book; Dee Garrison, Rutgers University; James N. Green, Library Company of Philadelphia; Neil Harris, University of Chicago; D.W. Krummel, University of Illinois-Champaign; Deanna B. Marcum, Council on Library Resources, Inc.; Marcus A. McCorison, retired, American Antiquarian Society; Jane Rosenberg, National Endowment for the Humanities; Robert Singerman, University of Florida-Gainsville; Susan G. Swartzburg, Rutgers University Libraries; and Michael Winship, University of Texas.
