An overview of libraries in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (U.S.S.R.) is presented, beginning with an analysis of the role played by Lenin in shaping the development of the library system in that country. There follows a historical survey of libraries in the Soviet Union, with an emphasis on the period from 1955 to 1975. Certain aspects…

Cooperative library programs in Great Britain began with suggestions made in the 1915 Adams report commissioned by the Carnegie United Kingdom Trust. Following the report's recommendations and with grants from the trust, countries began library services to rural areas and the Central Library for Students (CLS) was formed and later became a…

During the first half of the twentieth century, there was slow but steady progress toward larger units of public library service, such as county and regional systems. But there was a lag both in the conceptual and the actual development of the central libraries of these systems as strong points for direct service to readers. Librarians were first…

From its earliest beginnings to the post war information explosion, this text traces the history of the world's largest library, the Library of Congress (LC). The library's creation in 1800 for use by members of Congress is comprehensively discussed along with its development into a world wide service. Library methodology is covered in chapters on…