Libraries have historically served various missions over time. Originally, libraries maintained records and archives, but over centuries took on additional roles like promoting scholarship, religion, education, and national pride. In modern times, libraries emerged to support self-improvement as more people had leisure time during the Industrial Revolution. Today, libraries provide information to support individual improvement and education. Selection of library materials has also evolved as electronic resources have grown alongside traditional print materials, challenging librarians to maintain a balanced collection that meets the needs of various users.

1. Library Essay
Libraries are an essential part of the community. However not all societies have libraries. Libraries
require centralized populations, economic development and political stability for their survival.
Libraries exist in places where peace exists. They cannot exist in places with full of conflicts.
Libraries have different missions and serve different communities differently. People and
organizations establish libraries with different missions. Historical overview shows that libraries
have always had missions.
The earliest mission of libraries was to maintain an archive for records. There is not information that
shows when the first library was established. In the past, temples, municipals and governments had
libraries. These libraries...show more content...
Therefore, Julius Caesar started building a public library, but died before he completed it. Asinius
Pollio completed the library. This established was followed by more public libraries. Other missions
of libraries that existed in the past included maintaining scholarly mission, religious mission, for
instance, monastic libraries of middles ages, educational mission, for instance university, humanistic
mission and promoting national pride (Rubin 39).
In the modern world, libraries have certain missions that they serve. The establishment of the
printing press made more books available to many people. This encouraged the establishment of
more libraries. In the United States of America, libraries came up with new missions. First, libraries
emerged with the mission of self–improvement. Advances in mechanical technology in the
eighteenth century led to industrial revolution that improved the economy and community health.
This meant that a certain class of citizens had more leisure time, for self–improvement. This favored
the emergence o f new libraries. The social library emerged with an aim of helping individuals
improve through the search of truth. Therefore, they provided literature and books that provided
information, which could help people to gain knowledge and improve their character. In the current
world, libraries provide information that people have access to, and use it for their own
improvement (Rubin 47).
Secondly, the modern world
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2. Public Libraries Essay
My Library: Celebrate the County Public Library
Public libraries play a pivotal role in the lives of many Americans, from early education to senior
services. The majority of Americans believe their local library improves their community (94%), and
an equally significant number (65%) have visited at least one time in the past year (American Library
Association, 2010). Residents of Connecticut are no exception. As of 2007, Connecticut boosts 195
public libraries containing a circulation of approximately 15.5 million books, and enjoys the third
highest rate of per capita library visits in the nation, at 6.5 visits per capita (National Center for
Education Statistics, 2009). The West Hartford Public Library, bests the state average, with...show
more content...
These statistics compound to demonstrate the importance of promoting and encouraging public
use of libraries. While Connecticut residents are visiting public libraries, room to improve clearly
exists. At 10.5 annual visits per capita (National Center for Education Statistics, 2009), West
Hartford residents are visiting the library less then once a month. The My Library campaign
seeks to encourage more frequent, monthly usage of the library. The campaign aims to
accomplish this goal by posting a 10% increase in monthly visitation to the West Hartford Public
Library (WHPL) for the 2011 calendar year. West Hartford is an affluent community where
medium family income hovers around $90,000 and the majority of residents hold at least a
bachelors degree (U.S. Census Bureau, 2000). Demographically, 93% of West Hartford residents
are Caucasian and only 9.3% are foreign born (U.S. Census Bureau, 2000). Only 30% of
foreign–born residents originated from Asia, and these individuals represent a mere 3% of the town's
total population (U.S. Census Bureau, 2000). Therefore, one could reasonably assume that the town
primarily contains citizens who associate with western cultures. Individuals in western cultures often
hold egocentric attitudes and focus on the needs of the self (Markus & Kitayama, 1991). The
campaign taps into the individualistic nature of the town
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3. Library Reflection
A library is the centerpiece of the public. It's the place of education that stems throughout the entire
library campus and is a sanctuary for the young student like me, to retrieve nearly all information.
Any course material in class can be found that same information in the library, simply there are so
many ways to get information nowadays. With the help of books and especially the internet in every
public library in each state in the United States. Students should never feel the loss of information
at any time when the library can be a resource. As I was sitting in the first level of the library on a
Wednesday, I didn't really see as many people as I figured I would see. Even when my cousin was
going to have a test that same week I was in fall break, which she is in college. The floor was not
empty by any means, but with college students studying for their test. I would have imagined
students scrambling through the bookshelves and all computer were going to be busy, I believe
the study habits of students are about as prosperous as they have ever seen. They're finding
different ways, places, and even methods to complete their studying and research. To me, the
way a common student studies has changed even over the past years and the library has been a
role in this revolution. Now with newer and better technology coming in and out, it's normal for
every person to want to get their hands on it as quick as possible. Such as apple and Samsung
products, make internet access so much better accessible everywhere you go. Even today
computers have become a revolutionary matter and even has shaped the way libraries look today.
It is no secret back when computers were first invented, the ratio of bookshelves to computers
were not as even as they are now. As I look around the library, I see twice as much people on
computers than I do within the walls of the bookshelves reading a book or magazines. While books
were the traditional methods for school or business. Now are less likely to provide information,
students now want to use the internet instead the books to be able to get information they need. I
remember when I use to use books for everything and now I just use a computer to turn in my work.
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4. Selection for Libraries Essay
Selection is the branch of collection management concerned with deciding which items will be
added to the library collection and made available to the library's users (Kennedy, 2006, p.33).
Librarians have the difficult task of trying to balance their collections by identifying, evaluating and
selecting items in different formats which caters for the needs and wants of the current and future
interests of their users. Exploring the traditional selection process of library materials, this essay will
discuss the impact and demands that the increasing availability of electronic and digital materials are
placing upon librarians today to maintain a well balanced collection.
Twenty years ago, the most common item in a library of any kind...show more content...
Today, it is very unlikely that there is a library without some type of electronic resources; however
because of the varying and dynamic profiles of their users, libraries still have patrons with demands
for items to be held in print or physical format as well as electronically and online.
Books or monographs have become available electronically and online to libraries and their users
via, eBook websites and subscriptions to eBook databases. One of the first free public domain
websites for e–books was Project Gutenberg, which was developed by Michael Hart in 1971.
Around 2004 Google created an up roar by announcing its partnership with five major American
University research libraries to begin its Google Print Library Project. Not long after this, the
Internet Archive launched a competing project, the Open content Alliance, which focused on out
of copyright titles. (Lewis, 2007). All these sites provide users with a free access to books which
are out of copyright or the author has since died. This allows for library selectors to be more
vigilant to select appropriately due to the fact that such a lot of titles are available from these open
access sites.
Swinburne University of Technology was one of the first libraries to allow their patron's access to
over 40,000 e–book marc records in their library catalogue from EBL (EBook
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