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About this book
"The public library" by Ernest A. Baker is a treatise on library history, policy, and practice written in the early 20th century. It examines the rise and role of public libraries in Britain, urging their integration with adult education and their coordination into a national system. Drawing on history and current practice, it defines what a complete public library service should include—from lending and reference work to children’s, rural, and technical services—and how governance and funding must adapt. The opening of the book sets a reformist tone: after noting that recent legislation averted financial collapse but left bigger aims unmet, it calls for urban and rural libraries to be coordinated into an economic, national service and criticizes how little sociologists have valued libraries.
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