A History of the American Public Library
Editor’s note: This month, CityLab’s visual storyteller Ariel Aberg-Riger shares the story of how America’s public libraries came to be, and their uneven history of serving all who need them.
Further Reading : “The State of America’s Libraries, 2018,” American Library Association “To Restore Civil Society, Start with the Library,” New York Times “Outrage: Our Libraries Are Not Failing Us, We Are Failing Them,” Architectural Review “America’s Public Libraries: A Democratizing, Positive Product of Our Communities,” Columbia University “A History of US Public Libraries,” Digital Public Library of America “Part of Our Lives: A People’s History of the American Public Library, ” (Book) “In the City’s Poorest Neighborhoods Libraries Close Earlier and More Often,” The Inquirer “Desegregating Libraries in the American South,” American Libraries Magazine “Quiet Pioneers, Black Women Public Librarians in the Segregated South,” Vitae Scholasticae “A History of GFWC Clubs Establishing and Supporting Public Libraries,” GFWC “Founding Mothers: The Contribution of Women’s Organizations to Public Library Development in the United States,” University of Chicago Press “A Portfolio of Carnegie Libraries 1907,” University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
