Part of Our Lives

Despite dire predictions that public libraries would not survive the turn of the millennium, libraries are thriving. A 2013 report by the Pew Research Center's Internet and American Life Project notes that in the previous decade "every other major institution (government, churches, banks, corporations) has fallen in public esteem except libraries, the military, and first responders." As of 2011, America had 17,110 public libraries. Two-thirds of Americans frequent a public library at least once a year; 172 million are registered borrowers. Between 2000 and 2010, the number of visitors increased 33%. In 2010 public libraries circulated 2.46 billion items-the most ever and a 38% increase from 2000. Clearly, Americans love their libraries. Part of Our Lives explains why, and in doing so challenges conventional thinking about the American public library. Libraries' founders and managers have argued that the public library is, at its core, a civic institution essential to creating an informed citizenry, without which democracy cannot prosper. This book shows that this is only one of many roles. More important to library users from the mid-1800s through today are the commonplace stories and thousands of spaces that public libraries make available to construct and maintain community and promote social harmony. This book traces the American public library's history not by analyzing the words of authorities, but rather by listening to generations of public library users. Part of Our Lives shows that Americans have loved their public libraries for three reasons-the useful information they made accessible; the public spaces they provided; and the everyday reading materials they supplied that helped users make sense of the world around them