Technological Innovations in Libraries, 1860-1960: An Anecdotal History

by Klaus Musmann

Overview

This book chronicles the attitudes of librarians toward technological innovations that took place between 1860 and 1960. These years saw the invention and subsequent diffusion of electricity, photography, the telephone, the phonograph, motion pictures, the radio, and television. Many of these inventions had a profound impact on society. Some were adopted by librarians and had an equally significant influence on library services, while others faded away at an early stage and now rest peacefully buried in archives. This monograph records the attempts of a few librarians to integrate a number of technological innovations into the library environment and to project their possible future applications. Their education and experience often did not prepare them for a time of rapid change, yet, in spite of these shortcomings, both libraries and the profession managed to survive rather well the onslaught of technology.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780313280153
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	07/20/1993
Series:	Contributions in Librarianship and Information Science , #73
Pages:	272
Product dimensions:	6.14(w) x 9.21(h) x 0.62(d)

About the Author

KLAUS MUSMANN is Collection Development Librarian at the Armacost Library, University of Redlands. He has published in a range of professional journals, and his books include Diffusion of Innovations: A Selected Bibliography (Greenwood Press, 1989).

Table of Contents

Preface
Technological Innovations: An Introduction
Librarians in an Age of Technological Change
The Physical Environment of the Library: Lighting, Ventilation, and the Spread of Disease
The Streamlining of Library Processes: Appliances, Contrivances, and Gadgets
Microfilm and Photography in the Library: Data Storage for the Technological Age
New Communications Devices and the Library: The Telephone, the Phonograph, and the Typewriter
The Library and the Radio
Motion Pictures, Television, and the Library
The Future of the Library and Its Technology: Visions from the Past
Selected Bibliography
Index