Humanism and Libraries: An Essay on the Philosop of Librarianship

摘要

This little work is an unusual didactic venture by Rory Litvvin, the energeticnpublisbcr of tbe Library Juice Press. On this occasion he also acts asntranslator and annotator. The late André Cossette originally preparednhis work as part of an academic program in library science at the Universitynof Montreal. It was subsequendy published in French in 1976. Litwin's prefacenexplains why this work is worth translating and issuing in a world vastly differentnfrom the author's era. Cossette's concern is with the philosophical basis ofnlibrarianship: that is, librarianship 'with a clear sense of identity and purpose'n(x). His writing is, in Litwin's estimadon, sdll relevant and timely to the Americannand British streams of librarianship. His eloquent preface and fluent translationnencourage us to take seriously what might seem on a passing glance to be out ofntime and place.