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Overview
"From Librarian of Congress, James Billington, to founding director of the Center for the Book. John Cole, the leading-edge information specialists of the day come together to discuss the role that libraries play in advancing democracy in the twenty-first century. As issues such as filtering and copyright protection take center stage in libraries everywhere, librarians, advocates, and policymakers alike can find answers to tough questions in this thorough examination of a complex and relevant theme."--BOOK JACKET.Synopsis
Re-assessing (and re-affirming) the library's role in the advancing of democratic values, this book considers the challenges libraries face, especially those posed by new technologies. Twenty essays recall the historical and theoretical role of libraries in democratic societies and examine issues like poverty, information literacy, internet access, ethics and power, censorship, democracy, the role of the Library of Congress, the right to information, and the place of advocacy. Contributors are librarians, archivists, consultants, and scholars of library science.
Annotation © Book News, Inc., Portland, OR
Library Journal
This collection of essays, an outgrowth of Kranich's recent American Library Association presidency, presents, in her own words, "different views on the impact libraries have had on democracy." The rather grandiose subtitle might suggest another of those mom-and-apple-pie collections of platitudes, pieties, and propaganda. But Kranich has long been an outstanding spokesperson and campaigner for freedom of information and perhaps the profession's best builder of coalitions and partnerships in support of that cause. Here she has put together a collection that is as far from pious pap as you can get. The level of discourse is remarkably high, and it has been a while since such aggressive advocacy has been seen in library literature. Some of the profession's platitudes are not merely abandoned but strenuously denied ("Neutrality will not work," declares Kranich). The old, easy emphasis on equality is replaced here by a demand for equity, without which equality means little. If the argumentation is invigorating, so, too, is the writing, which is so generally good that it seems almost invidious to mention particular examples. But for those who like to dip before plunging in, take a look at a jazzy prose riff by Randy Pitman ("Sex, Democracy and Videotape") and a powerful piece on information ethics and government power ("From the White House E-Mail to the Stasi Files") by Thomas S. Blanton. This small volume demands the attention of all librarians, trustees, and library educators. A genuine effort should be made to get copies into the hands of politicians and others who may have the power to affect the future of libraries but not much understanding of their importance to democracy.DEric Moon, Sarasota, FL Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.