Music, Culture, and the Library: An Analysis of Discourses

Does it matter whether your users prefer Mozart to Madonna? the Beatles to Beethoven? While these questions are far from novel to the library profession, rarely does their significance extend beyond the arena of policy debate. In leisurely and thoughtful prose, Sanna Talja raises the discourse to a higher level, inviting us to witness the evolution of music collections in public libraries. She considers the variable conceptions of art, culture, and civilization and their effect in the formation of the library institution. Users' interpretations are compared with the main principles of collections work, and the results are applied towards an understanding of the library's unique position in society.