Amidst calls for libraries to regain their socially progressive roots and connections to community, this study analyzes two interwoven cases of nonformal, community education in northeastern Nova Scotia, initiated by libraries that aimed to revive those links. Through a reading circle and a people's school, librarians used historical materials on…

As lifelong learning grows in popularity, few comprehensive pictures of the phenomenon have emerged. The "Routledge International Handbook of Lifelong Learning" provides a disciplined and complete overview of lifelong learning internationally. The theoretical structure puts the learner at the centre and the book emanates from there,…

Traces the history of the Harry Lasker Library at the Highlander Research and Education Center near Knoxville, Tennessee, from the first book donations in 1933 to its revitalization in the mid-1990s. Discusses the role of the library as a resource center supporting nonformal education for social activism and the contributions of librarians Hilda…

Presents a history of the Saturday Evening Girls' Club and other associated library clubs that were developed for immigrant and working-class women and girls in Boston around 1900. Examines the role clubs and social reform organizations played in advancing intellectual, educational, and economic agendas using primary documents. (Contains 111…

This collection of essays focuses on group social and political action as it relates to libraries and their environments. The introduction discusses the group-concept approach to studying library and information science. The essays are case studies of interest group politics, including: (1) the imprisonment of a librarian who refused to give…

Libraries are one of the world's greatest assets. Changes in the political, social, and economic climate in the U.S. mean that people cannot take public access to information for granted. Intense competition for public, private, and institutional dollars makes it more crucial than ever that policymakers understand that libraries--public, school,…

In order to meet today's financial challenges, libraries must be ready, willing, and able to enter the arena of politics and compete for scarce public funding. This book offers librarians, library workers, trustees, and friends' organizations practical advice, case studies, and step-by-step guidance for evaluating the existing local political…