The library faith: myths and reality of the American public library (First part)

In the last years the public library has been the subject of a wide debate all over the Western world, not only in the library community, but also in the public opinion. The economic crisis and the technological revolution have raised new questions about the identity of the public library and have made librarians uncertain about their future. The article wonders if public libraries are really going through an unprecedented crisis, or if this is a typical phase of a cyclical process. In order to give an answer to this question, the essay retraces the history of ideological building and search for legitimacy by the American public libraries from the '40s to the 2000s, pointing out the characteristics of these libraries that weaken their identity and public perception in some historical and economic phases. (NB: this is the first part of a more extensive study. The second part will be published in AIB studi 2/2018)