From Past to Present: The
Library’s Mission and Its Values

Prerequisites for Libraries
 Centralization
 Economic growth
 Political stability

Earliest Libraries – Records
Archives
 Sumerian temple libraries - 3000 BC
– Commercial archive
– Grammatical exercises
– Mathematics, astrology, medicine
– Hymns, prayers, incantations
 Government libraries
– Deeds, contracts, marriage records, taxes

Cuneiform
 Extension of tokenbased economy
 Triangular stylus
 Clay tablets baked by sun
 Carried in leather or cloth pouches

Early Librarians
 Sumerians
– Master of the Book
– Keeper of the Tablet
 Well-educated scribes
 Priests

Ancient Egyptian Libraries
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Many libraries were affiliated with temples
– Practical, spiritual, and medical arts
Private collections – Royal and wealthy
– Governmental, religious, philosophical works
 Librarians
– Scribes, high officials, priests

Library of Ashurbanipal
 Ninevah – 8 th century B.C.
 Collected and translated tablets
~30,000
 History, omens, mathematics, astronomy, dictionaries, commercial records

Library at Alexandria
 Hellenistic Egypt
 2 buildings - Brucheion and Serapeum
 Collection development by confiscation
 Callimachus’ Pinakes
 500,000 volumes

Roman Libraries
 “General” collection
 Private collections – status symbols
 10% literacy rate for populace
 Codex replaces papyrus scrolls by 4 th century A.D.

Medieval Libraries
 Decline of Roman Empire, emergence of
Moslem and Eastern Church
 Moslem university libraries and Byzantine libraries preserve Greek classics
 Christian European Monastic Libraries
– Benedictine Order
• Copying in the scriptorium
– Dominicans
• Developed rules for their libraries

Renaissance Libraries
 Reawakening of the philosophical traditions of ancient civilizations
 Re-emergence of libraries as personal status symbol by aristocrats
 National Libraries
– Result of growth in secular monarchies and strong national pride

Guttenberg printing press
 1464 – Mainz, Germany
 Effects of printing press (Eisenstein)
– Produce authoritative copy
– Produce more titles and copies
– Cover more subjects
– Creation of new techniques for organization
– Stimulation of literacy

Early Libraries in United States
 Pre-18 th century libraries – social preconditions?
 Some small private collections
– Not about status, but practical or spiritual needs
 Some small college collections
– Harvard – 5,000 books
– Yale – 2,500 books

Social libraries – 18 th century
 Small, voluntary associations
 Promoted self-improvement
 Promoted search for Truth
 Collections not design for mass appeal
– Scientific
– Technical
– Professional

Circulating libraries – 18 th century
 Mission was to satisfy public demand and popular tastes
– Fiction
– Novels
 Commercial enterprise
– Profit motive
– Blockbuster ® of it’s time

Special Libraries for Business and Industry – early 20 th century
 Purpose was the “direct application of recorded information to the practical goals of profit-seeking business enterprises” (Kruzas, 1965)
 Special Libraries Association (1909)

American Academic Libraries
 Curriculum
 Research Model
 Morrill Land Grant Act of 1862

American School Libraries
 Early emphasis on textbooks and rote memorization as education method
 1835 – New York allows schools to use tax money to support school library
 Progressive education movement –
John Dewey

American Public Libraries
 Emerged from social library and circulating library tradition
 Characteristics
– Supported by taxes
– Governed by board
– Open to all
– Voluntary
– Established by state law
– Provide service without charge

Early Public Libraries
 Peterborough, New Hampshire – 1834
 Boston Public Library – 1854
 Social institutions of social improvement
– logical extension of city services
– Socialization of lower class and immigrants
– Noblesse oblige

Andrew Carnegie and Public
Libraries
 1886 - 1919 2,000 libraries constructed
 Donated $56,000,000
 Funded buildings only, not collections or maintenance or staffing
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Cities must annually contribute 10% of money donated by Carnegie to support library
Role of Women’s Clubs

Quality versus Demand
 Persistent question for public libraries
 The role of “popular”, “cheap” novels
– Use to lure less educated patrons to library?
– Or, would these books weaken the moral fiber of society?

Ethnic Groups and Minorities
 Libraries were a primary means for assimilating immigrants into American society
 Establishment of branch libraries and services in urban areas
 Discrimination towards African-
Americans and Hispanics

Civil Rights Movement in 1960s
 Melting pot replaced by concept of multicultural society
 Library Services and Construction Act
(LSCA)
 ALA Social Responsibilities Round
Table (SRRT)
 REFORMA

Historic Mission of Libraries
 Support education and socialization needs of society
 Meet the informational needs of a broad spectrum of citizens
 Promote self-education
 Satisfy popular tastes

Forces that Shape the Future
 Attitudes
 Values

Attitudes affecting the Future
 Government agencies
 Education
 Serving all segments of society
 Importance of reading
 Literature
 Technology

Values of Librarianship
(Gorman, 2000, 2001)
 Stewardship
 Service
 Intellectual Freedom
 Rationalism
 Literacy and Learning
 Equity of Access
 Privacy
 Democracy

ALA Statement on Core Values
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Connection of people to ideas.
Assurance of free and open access to recorded knowledge, information, and creative works.
Commitment to literacy and learning.
Respect for the individuality and the diversity of all people.
Freedom for all people to form, to hold, and to express their own beliefs.
Preservation of the human record.
Excellence in professional service to our communities.
Formation of partnerships to advance these values.

Value 1 - Service
Ranganathan's Five Laws of Library
Science (1931)
 1. Books are for use.
 2. Books are for all.
 3. Every book its reader.
 4. Save the time of the reader.
 5. The library is a growing organism.

Value 1 - Service
Gorman's Five New Laws (1998)
 1. Libraries serve humanity.
 2. Respect all forms by which knowledge is communicated.
 3. Use technology intelligently to enhance service.
 4. Protect free access to knowledge.
 5. Honor the past and create the future.

Values
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Value 2 – Reading and the book are important
Value 3 – Respect for truth and search for Truth
Value 4 – Tolerance
Value 5 – The public good
Value 6 – Justice
Value 7 – Aesthetics