Encyclopaedia of Libraries and Museums

On the history of libraries and museums there is a voluminous literature, and the noble monuments of our civilisation of which they are the guardians have been described and illustrated by many scholars. There is, however, in all the flood of printed matter produced by modern librarianship, which the editor of a magazine devoted to libraries has to endure, apparently no general account exists. The idea of national libraries and museums has for over a century, and for longer still, if we consider it rightly, been expanding. Bignon, Panizzi, Korf, and Putnam have each in his generation taken into the functions of a national library some fresh and valuable element. Each has made the institution under his charge, and indirectly other similar institutions, useful to a wider world of students. The age of wireless, the gramophone, the film, and the micro-photograph may change the whole face of libraries. We may at least be certain that the process of expansion is not at an end. It may, therefore, be worthwhile to take stock, to compare the achievements and the systems in different countries. This work seeks to provide the basis for a comprehensive comparison of these varied systems, as well as to provide a unique account of all the major libraries and museums which have played a significant part in the evolution of civilization.