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NPR Who Needs Libraries Series

Lectures curated around NPR programs on the cultural significance of libraries and on how libraries are adapting to the digital world.

Related Programs:

NPR: Libraries Enter the Digital Age
NPR: Libraries Shine in Tough Economic Times

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Future of America's Libraries

January 12, 2006

David Seaman argues that, despite predictions to the contrary, the library (both physically and virtually) continues to thrive as we settle into a new century.

Future of the Digital Commons

September 22, 2005

Panelists Nancy Kranich, Ann Wolpert, and Steven Pinker discuss the possible future of the Digital Commons.

Economics of Open Content: Archives, Museums, and Libraries I

January 24, 2006

Clifford Lynch, Executive Director of the Coalition for Networked Information, reviews the progress made on day one of the conference, highlighting how academic and commercial thinking and markets ove

Economics of Open Content: Archives, Museums, and Libraries II

January 24, 2006

The archives, museums, and libraries panel continues with Howard Besser, Director of Moving Image Archiving and Preservation and Professor of Cinema Studies at New York University, describing work und

Celebrating Boston Athenaeum Writers Past and Present I

Philip McFarland

September 26, 2006

As part of a bicentennial series celebrating Boston Athenaeum writers, Jill Ker Conway discusses the work of Samuel Eliot Morison; Megan Marshall discusses Hannah Adams; and Philip McFarland discusses Francis Parkman. William M. Fowler acts as master of ceremonies.

Celebrating Boston Athenaeum Writers Past and Present II

J. Frederick Marchant

October 24, 2006

As a part of a bicentennial series celebrating Boston Athenaeum writers, J. Frederick Marchant presents Henry Wadsworth Longfellow; Jill McDonough presents Amy Lowell; and Rosanna Warren presents Ralph Waldo Emerson. Edward Kessler acts as master of ceremonies.

Celebrating Boston Athenaeum Writers Past and Present III

November 30, 2006

As a part of a bicentennial series celebrating Boston Athenaeum writers, Rishi Reddi discusses the work of Alice Brown and Tom Perrotta discusses Nathaniel Hawthorne. Rob Perkins reads from John P. Marquand. Cullen Murphy, editor-at-large of Vanity Fair acts as master of ceremonies.

Celebrating Boston Athenaeum Writers Past and Present IV

December 2, 2006

As a part of a bicentennial series celebrating Boston Athenaeum writers, M.T. Anderson presents David McCord; Liza Ketchum presents Barbara Cooney; Irene Smalls presents Norma Farber; and Rebecca Doughty presents James Marshall. Jack Gantos acts as master of ceremonies.

Celebrating Boston Athenaeum Writers Past and Present V

Marshall Moriarty

December 5, 2006

As a part of a bicentennial series celebrating Boston Athenaeum writers, Marshall Moriarty presents Daniel Webster; Massachusetts State Representative Martha M. Walz presents Lydia Maria Child; and Daniel R. Coquillette presents John Quincy Adams. Deborah Bornheimer acts as master of ceremonies.

Acquired Tastes: The Boston Athenaeum, 1807 - 2007

Richard Wendorf

In celebration of the Boston Athenaeum's bicentennial, Richard Wendorf presents an illustrated lecture drawing upon many objects that form part of the bicentennial exhibition.

Women and Renovation at the Boston Athenaeum

December 11, 2007

Barbara Adams Hebard discusses the role of Women at the Boston Athenaeum and John Lannon discusses the 1999-2002 renovation of 10 1/2 Beacon Street.

Bearing Witness: Captivity, Protest, and Survival I

Stacey Bredhoff

This lecture series is based on the touring National Archives exhibition, Eyewitness. The exhibit incorporates lectures from historians and/or eyewitnesses to episodes in history from WWII to the Civil Rights Movement.

Libraries, Censorship, and Freedom of Information

Mary Warnement and Marjorie Heins discuss libraries, censorship, and the Freedom of Information Act from historical and contemporary perspectives. This series examines a number of issues that have long confronted the library world, and which hold implications for libraries for the future.

Collecting and Preservation in Libraries

Matthew Battles

Matthew Battles and Kenneth Carpenter discuss the future of collecting and preservation in libraries. This series examines a number of issues that have long confronted the library world, and which hold implications for libraries for the future.

Ownership of Cultural Property

Bernard Margolis

January 18, 2007

This series examines a number of issues that have long confronted the library world, and which hold implications for libraries for the future.

Cultural Influence of Libraries

Thomas Augst and David Carr discuss whether or not the library will continue to serve as the primary record keeper for humanity. A moderated discussion follows.

Libraries and the Organization of Knowledge

Terry Belanger and Michael Gorman discuss libraries and the organization of knowledge from historical and contemporary perspectives. This series examines a number of issues that have long confronted the library world, and which hold implications for libraries for the future.

The Book as a Spiritual Instrument

Roger E. Stoddard

Roger E. Stoddard discusses bibliography as the scaffolding of literature.

America's Membership Libraries: Then and Now

Richard Wendorf

Richard Wendorf tracks the evolution of a particular kind of American library during the past three centuries.

Museums Online: New Ways to Visit Museums

Katherine Burton Jones

Katherine Burton Jones discusses how museums are serving and being shaped by new audiences, using Web 2.0 technologies. Burton Jones assistant dean of Media Services at Harvard Divinity School, discusses new multimedia approaches to the museum experience.

Shooting My First Library: An Illustrated Talk

February 14, 2008

Thomas Kellner discusses his Boston Athenaeum series of photographs with Richard Wendorf. In July of 2006 the German fine art photographer Thomas Kellner spent two weeks at the Boston Athenaeum as bicentennial artist-in-residence.

Unnoticed: Secret Life of Type Faces

Richard Wendorf

Richard Wendorf explores the nature and history of the type faces by which we live, ranging from Roman capitals to the experimentation of William Morris at the Kelmscott Press.

Jefferson: Man Who Couldn't Live Without Books

Douglas L. Wilson

November 10, 2005

Douglas L. Wilson describes Thomas Jefferson's library, the book lover who created it, and the intriguing history of its creation.

The Man Who Made Lists: Roget and His Thesaurus

Joshua Kendall tells the fascinating personal story of Peter Mark Roget, a man obsessed with categorizing all the words in the English language. The Man Who Made Lists explains Roget's remarkable vision and reasons for developing a thesaurus.

Jefferson and His Choice Collection of Books

Mark Dimunation

November 14, 2006

Mark Dimunation speaks on Thomas Jefferson's library and how it shaped the nation's library, which continues to mirror Jefferson's universal approach to collecting today.

Alexandria Link: Searching for the Fabled Library

February 18, 2007

New York Times bestselling author of The Templar Legacy, The Third Secret and The Amber Room, talks about his new novel, The Alexandria Link, a tale about the search for the fabled Library of Alexandria.

Eighth Wonder: The Library of Alexandria

Andrew G. Jameson

October 23, 2007

The Library of Alexandria is regarded as the eighth wonder of the ancient world and the first great library in Western history.

President Fillmore and the First White House Library

Catherine Parisian

October 11, 2007

Catherine Parisian discusses the founding of the White House Library, surveys its contents, and considers its significance in the context of 19th century American history.