Various authors
American Library Association
1925-1933
The Reading with a Purpose series of books published by the
American Library Association consists of 67 titles. Each is a guided reading course intended to
support adult self-education by providing reading lists in many subjects.
Each volume contains an essay on a particular subject and a
bibliography of additional books to read in order to deepen knowledge and
broaden horizons. An important goal of
most public libraries now is to serve as a center for life-long learning. These volumes, written nearly a century ago,
show that this has been a consistent goal for many years.
I took a closer look
at one of the titles, Conflicts in American Public Opinion (1925). The essay brings up some popular issues of
the time. Should we “clean up” Mexico?
Should we exclude the Japanese?
Should we allow the “radicals” to speak and agitate freely? No opinions are given – merely a list of
books to allow the reader to become more informed about the currents events and
issues. Again, consistent with libraries
today, the goal is to provide information, never to endorse a side.
These days, libraries still provide bibliographies and
reading lists, although not usually in book format. Now, I’m more likely to see blog and Facebook
posts or possibly tweets giving reading suggestions. But the fact remains that education shouldn’t
stop with a diploma or degree – and libraries are still here to help us with
that!
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