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Library and Information Society

Notes The earliest example in England of a library to be endowed for the benefit of users who were not
members of an institution such as a cathedral or college was the Francis Trigge Chained Library in
Grantham, Lincolnshire, established in 1598. The library still exists and can justifiably claim to be
the forerunner of later public library systems.

The beginning of the modern, free, open access libraries really got its start in the
U.K. in 1847.
Parliament appointed a committee, led by William Ewart, on Public Libraries to consider the necessity
of establishing libraries through the nation: In 1849 their report noted the poor condition of library
service, it recommended the establishment of free public libraries all over the country, and it led to
the Public Libraries Act in 1850, which allowed all cities with populations exceeding 10,000 to levy
taxes for the support of public libraries. Another important act was the 1870 Public School Law,
which increased literacy, thereby the demand for libraries, so by 1877, more than 75 cities had
established free libraries, and by 1900 the number had reached 300. This finally marks the start of
the public library as we know it. And these acts led to similar laws in other countries, most notably
the U.S.
1876 is a wellknown year in the history of librarianship in the United States. The American Library
Association was formed, as well as The American Library Journal, Melvil Dewey published his
decimal based system of classification, and the United States Bureau of Education published its
report, “Public libraries in the United States of America; their history, condition, and management.”
During the post-Civil War years, there was a rise in the establishment of public libraries, a movement
led chiefly by newly formed women’s clubs. They contributed their own collections of books,
conducted lengthy fund raising campaigns for buildings, and lobbied within their communities for
financial support for libraries, as well as with legislatures and the Carnegie Library Endowment
founded in the 20th century. They led the establishment of 75-80 percent of the libraries in
communities across the country.
In 1979 and 1991 White House Conferences on Library and Information Services were held to
demonstrate the key role libraries play in American Democracy.
The American Library Association (ALA) continues to play a major role in libraries to this day, with
its public library focused division, the Public Library Association, establishing standards and
planning guidelines. Dewey’s classification system, although under heavy criticism of late, still
remains the prevailing method of classification used in the United States.
As the number of books in libraries increased, so did the need for compact storage and access with
adequate lighting, giving birth to the stack system, which involved keeping a library’s collection of
books in a space separate from the reading room. This arrangement arose in the 19th century. Book
stacks quickly evolved into a fairly standard form in which the cast iron and steel frameworks
supporting the bookshelves also supported the floors, which often were built of translucent blocks
to permit the passage of light (but were not transparent, for reasons of modesty). The introduction
of electrical lighting had a huge impact on how the library operated. The use of glass floors was
largely discontinued, though floors were still often composed of metal grating to allow air to circulate
in multi-story stacks. As more space was needed, a method of moving shelves on tracks (compact
shelving) was introduced to cut down on otherwise wasted aisle space.

Library 2.0, a term coined in 2005, is the library’s response to the challenge of Google
and an attempt to meet the changing needs of users by using web 2.0 technology.

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