International Trends in Library History

Examines library history scholarship since the presentation of Mary Niles Maack's 1998 paper, "International Dimensions of Library History: Leadership and Scholarship, 1978-1998. Identifies four trends in recent international library history, with a focus on Europe and North America. 1) a broader base of scholarship that incorporates new approaches, 2) a wider scope of related research and publishing that reaches special groups of readers 3) a greater appreciation of the role of libraries that considers varying audiences 4) more pragmatic considerations that make for new challenges