DS32120 - LIBRARIES AND READING IN THE BRITISH ISLES 1800-1914

Module Identifier	DS32120
Module Title	LIBRARIES AND READING IN THE BRITISH ISLES 1800-1914
Academic Year	2002/2003
Co-ordinator	Mr Christopher M Baggs
Semester	Available all semesters
Pre-Requisite	IL31810
Course delivery	Lecture	10 Hours 10 x 1 hour
	Seminars / Tutorials	5 Hours 5 x 2 hours
Assessment	Semester Assessment	Critical Review: of no more than 1,250 words	30%
	Semester Assessment	Script and Tape or CD of a presentation: lasting between 15 and 20 minutes, to a selected audience on a topic of relevance to the module subject matter	70%

Learning outcomes

By the end of this module students should be able to:

outline sources relevant to library and book history;
discuss aspects of the growth of literacy in Great Britain;
outline the significance of the reading experience;
compare the reading habits of different social groups during this period;
describe and analyse the role of public libraries in providing access to reading materials for the "common reader";
describe and analyse the role of other, non-public libraries in providing access to reading materials for the "common reader";
outline the types of material made available in various libraries and what was borrowed

Brief description

The 19th century witnessed the near eradication of illiteracy in Great Britain, and, towards its end, the growth of a public library system, which helped consolidate gains in literacy by providing free access to books, newspapers and periodicals, to anyone who came through the doors. Affordable reading material of all sorts became widely available to the general public, and, increasingly, library facilities were extended to those members of the community especially the new industrial class or “common reader”.
This module offers an introduction and familiarisation with the relevant sources. Literacy, the role of reading and the reading experience. Various reading audiences and their reading habits: case study of women as readers. Access by the general public to reading materials, via libraries, both public and non rate supported, such as Mechanics' Institute, Co-operative Society and Miners' Institute libraries.

Transferable skills

Skills addressed - either in teaching or via assessment, are:

independent project work;
IT and information handling;
writing in an academic context;
oral discussion/presentation;
self management

Reading Lists

Books
** Recommended Consultation
Altick, Rich. (1963) The English Common Reader: A Social History of the Mass Reading Public, 1800-1900. Chicago: University of Chicago Press
Black, Alist. (1996) A New History of the English Public Library: Social and intellectual contexts, 1850-1914. London: Leicester University Press
Burnett, John ed. (1974) Useful Toil. London: Allen Lane
Burnett, John ed. (1982) Destiny Obscure. London: Allen Lane
Flint, K. (1993) The Woman Reader 1837-1914. Oxford: Clarendon Press
Kelly, Th. (1966) Early Public Libraries: A History of Public Libraries in Great Britain before 1850. London: Library Association
Kelly, Th. (1977) A History of Public Libraries in Great Britain, 1845-1975. 2nd. London: Library Association
Vincent, Dav. (1981) Bread, Knowledge and Freedom: A Study of Nineteenth Century Working Class Autobiography. London: Methuen
Vincent, Dav. (1993) Literacy and Popular Culture: England 1750-1914. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press