The importance of fiction to the Raffles Library, Singapore, during the long nineteenth-century

The importance of fiction to the Raffles Library, Singapore, during the long nineteenth-century

One of the main controversies in the world of librarianship in the latter half of the nineteenth and early part of the twentieth century was the role of fiction in the public libraries of North America and United Kingdom. To what extent was this concern translated to other parts of the English-speak...

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Main Author: Luyt, Brendan
Other Authors: Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: 2011
Subjects:
DRNTU::Library and information science::Libraries::History and statistics
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/10356/101515
http://hdl.handle.net/10220/6716
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Institution: Nanyang Technological University
Language: English
id sg-ntu-dr.10356-101515
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spelling sg-ntu-dr.10356-1015152019-12-06T20:39:39Z The importance of fiction to the Raffles Library, Singapore, during the long nineteenth-century Luyt, Brendan Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information DRNTU::Library and information science::Libraries::History and statistics One of the main controversies in the world of librarianship in the latter half of the nineteenth and early part of the twentieth century was the role of fiction in the public libraries of North America and United Kingdom. To what extent was this concern translated to other parts of the English-speaking world? In this article, I explore, from the available evidence, the attitudes towards fiction held by officials of the Raffles Library, Singapore. I present evidence that the library tended to be very liberal in its views. To understand why this was the case, I argue, involves an understanding of the notion, commonly held at the time, of human degeneration from prolonged exposure to tropical environments, and the colonialist reaction to this predicament. Accepted version 2011-02-15T04:45:06Z 2019-12-06T20:39:39Z 2011-02-15T04:45:06Z 2019-12-06T20:39:39Z 2009 2009 Journal Article 1758-3489 https://hdl.handle.net/10356/101515 http://hdl.handle.net/10220/6716 en Library & information history © 2009 Maney Publishing. This is the author created version of a work that has been peer reviewed and accepted for publication by Library & information history, Maney Publishing. It incorporates referee’s comments but changes resulting from the publishing process, such as copyediting, structural formatting, may not be reflected in this document. The published version is available at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1179/175834909X417444. 26 p. application/pdf
institution Nanyang Technological University
building NTU Library
country Singapore
collection DR-NTU
language English
topic DRNTU::Library and information science::Libraries::History and statistics
spellingShingle DRNTU::Library and information science::Libraries::History and statistics
Luyt, Brendan
The importance of fiction to the Raffles Library, Singapore, during the long nineteenth-century
description One of the main controversies in the world of librarianship in the latter half of the nineteenth and early part of the twentieth century was the role of fiction in the public libraries of North America and United Kingdom. To what extent was this concern translated to other parts of the English-speaking world? In this article, I explore, from the available evidence, the attitudes towards fiction held by officials of the Raffles Library, Singapore. I present evidence that the library tended to be very liberal in its views. To understand why this was the case, I argue, involves an understanding of the notion, commonly held at the time, of human degeneration from prolonged exposure to tropical environments, and the colonialist reaction to this predicament.
author2 Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information
author_facet Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information
Luyt, Brendan
format Article
author Luyt, Brendan
author_sort Luyt, Brendan
title The importance of fiction to the Raffles Library, Singapore, during the long nineteenth-century
title_short The importance of fiction to the Raffles Library, Singapore, during the long nineteenth-century
title_full The importance of fiction to the Raffles Library, Singapore, during the long nineteenth-century
title_fullStr The importance of fiction to the Raffles Library, Singapore, during the long nineteenth-century
title_full_unstemmed The importance of fiction to the Raffles Library, Singapore, during the long nineteenth-century
title_sort importance of fiction to the raffles library, singapore, during the long nineteenth-century
publishDate 2011
url https://hdl.handle.net/10356/101515
http://hdl.handle.net/10220/6716
_version_ 1681044794955005952

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