Introduction: "Imposing Frontages on Important Streets"

Since its establishment in the mid-nineteenth century, the tax-supported, free public library has become a fixture in American communities of all sizes. Often occupying central downtown locations, libraries are frequently housed in impressive-looking buildings—"imposing frontages on important streets" Librarian of Congress Archibald MacLeish called them. Yet despite their prevalence and general acceptance as prominent municipal institutions, public libraries have been plagued by the problem of purpose.