Molz and Dain: Consensus and Contradition

It was interesting to see the fundamental tension between elitism and populism play out through the library's history. Do libraries exist to give the people what they want, or to give them what we feel they ought to have? I'm most persuaded by the Library Faith argument: the printed word has a virtue in itself, and good things flow from reading, even if you're reading a paperback best-seller.

I almost thought the ALA's 1987 "Planning and Role Setting" had addressed the problem by defining the library in terms of a diverse set of roles; you can entertain the public and enlighten it, too. It's a valid to criticize that approach as being too broad, shallow, and diffuse, though.

I also enjoyed watching the library change from a collection-focused institution to one that's community focused, even if some argue that the community focus is often carried to an extreme.