Public Places, Info Spaces: Creating The Modern Urban Library

by Shannon Christine Mattern

Despite digitization, suburbanization, privatization, and other forces blamed for eroding the urban public realm, America's public library buildings have reasserted their relevance, reinventing themselves in bold new forms. Inside and outside, the buildings manifest the impact of new demographics, new ways of organizing collections and interacting with media, new philosophies of librarianship, and a host of other social dynamics. Mattern explores the processes behind the creation of the new downtown "destination" library, both the forms and functions of the buildings, and how they shape the library experience for a diversity of users.

256 pages, Hardcover

First published March 31, 2005