The Cambridge History of Libraries in Britain and Ireland

This history follows the growth of libraries in Great Britain and Ireland across roughly fifteen centuries. It treats libraries as part of social, intellectual and cultural life, rather than as institutions cut off from the world around them.

The volumes connect libraries to the history of books and literature, and they also weigh the links with education, technology, social philosophy, architecture and the arts. Throughout, the authors show how libraries were shaped by changing conditions.

Scholars of book history, library history and cultural history, and anyone interested in how collections and their public have changed over time, will find the work a reliable reference point.

Bibliographic details: published by Cambridge University Press, with the ISBN-13 9780521792745.