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

Culture & Identity | Literature & Philosophy | People & Places | PBS & NPR Programs
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Museums Online: New Ways to Visit Museums
Katherine Burton Jones
April 30, 2008
01:17:04
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.
The Book as a Spiritual Instrument
Roger E. Stoddard
March 18, 2008
01:08:53
Roger E. Stoddard discusses bibliography as the scaffolding of literature.
The Man Who Made Lists: Roget and His Thesaurus
Joshua Kendall
March 13, 2008
00:55:00
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.
America's Membership Libraries: Then and Now
Richard Wendorf
March 4, 2008
01:04:25
Richard Wendorf tracks the evolution of a particular kind of American library during the past three centuries.
Audio-only
Shooting My First Library: An Illustrated Talk
Thomas Kellner
February 14, 2008
01:09:21
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.
Women and Renovation at the Boston Athenaeum
John H. Lannon
December 11, 2007
01:06:38
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.
Audio-only
Eighth Wonder: The Library of Alexandria
Andrew G. Jameson
October 23, 2007
01:03:57
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
01:00:19
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.
Libraries and the Organization of Knowledge
Terry Belanger
May 17, 2007
01:14:34
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.
Audio-only
Libraries, Censorship, and Freedom of Information
Mary Warnement
May 10, 2007
01:06:55
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.
Cultural Influence of Libraries
Thomas Augst
April 26, 2007
01:08:45
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.
Collecting and Preservation in Libraries
Matthew Battles
March 15, 2007
01:20:57
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.
Audio-only
Acquired Tastes: The Boston Athenaeum, 1807 - 2007
Richard Wendorf
March 8, 2007
01:10:55
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.
Audio-only
Bearing Witness: Captivity, Protest, and Survival I
Stacey Bredhoff
March 8, 2007
00:39:34
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.
Alexandria Link: Searching for the Fabled Library
Steve Berry
February 18, 2007
00:43:25
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.
Ownership of Cultural Property
Bernard Margolis
January 18, 2007
00:56:43
This series examines a number of issues that have long confronted the library world, and which hold implications for libraries for the future.
Audio-only
Celebrating Boston Athenaeum Writers Past and Present V
Marshall Moriarty
December 5, 2006
01:00:27
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.
Audio-only
Celebrating Boston Athenaeum Writers Past and Present IV
M.T. Anderson
December 2, 2006
00:49:45
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 III
Rishi Reddi
November 30, 2006
00:41:33
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.
Jefferson and His Choice Collection of Books
Mark Dimunation
November 14, 2006
00:58:12
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.
Celebrating Boston Athenaeum Writers Past and Present II
Fred Marchant
October 24, 2006
01:00:56
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.
Audio-only
Celebrating Boston Athenaeum Writers Past and Present I
Philip McFarland
September 26, 2006
01:13:47
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.
Economics of Open Content: Archives, Museums, and Libraries I
Clifford Lynch
January 24, 2006
01:21:37
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
Audio-only
Economics of Open Content: Archives, Museums, and Libraries II
Howard Besser
January 24, 2006
00:54:23
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
Future of America's Libraries
David Seaman
January 12, 2006
01:18:55
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.
Audio-only
Jefferson: Man Who Couldn't Live Without Books
Douglas L. Wilson
November 10, 2005
00:54:51
Douglas L. Wilson describes Thomas Jefferson's library, the book lover who created it, and the intriguing history of its creation.
Audio-only
Future of the Digital Commons
Nancy Kranich
September 22, 2005
02:01:20
Panelists Nancy Kranich, Ann Wolpert, and Steven Pinker discuss the possible future of the Digital Commons.
Unnoticed: Secret Life of Type Faces
Richard Wendorf
April 28, 2005
00:54:56
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.