For many Americans, their fondest memories revolve around a library card. From searching through the stacks, to getting a return date stamped on the back of a new favorite book, libraries are a quintessential part of how Americans learn and engage with their local communities. Since this countrys founding, public libraries have received broad and consistent popular support for their democratic missions and services. The ability to access free information has become a core ideal of what it means to be an American citizen, despite periods of historic inequality. Libraries help make this access possible by placing public benefit at the center of their work and continually adapting their strategies to meet changing public needs over time. This exhibition tells the story of the American public library system, its community impact, and the librarians who made it possiblefrom the founding of the first US libraries through the first one hundred years of service. This exhibition was created as part of the DPLAs Public Library Partnerships Project in collaboration with partners and participants from Digital Commonwealth, Digital Library of Georgia, Minnesota Digital Library, Montana Memory Project, and Mountain West Digital Library.
- Subject:
- History
- U.S. History
- Material Type:
- Diagram/Illustration
- Primary Source
- Unit of Study
- Provider:
- Digital Public Library of America
- Provider Set:
- DPLA Exhibitions
- Author:
- Franky Abbot
- Hillary Brady
- Date Added:
- 09/01/2015
