*AFRICAN American women, *PUBLIC libraries, *AFRICAN Americans, *WOMEN, *VICTORIAN Period, Great Britain, 1837-1901
Abstract
Since their inception, public libraries in the United States have been understood to be free for all to use. Yet throughout their history, socio-political currents and developments limited or barred access for certain segments of the population. The paper looks at the accessibility for women and Black Americans during the 1850–1950 period, taking into account the image of women in the Victorian and New South era, as well as the Jim-Crow segregation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
*LIBRARY special collections, *COLLECTION development in libraries, *ACADEMIC libraries, *PUBLIC libraries
Abstract
The paper describes the stations of a study tour to selected US American libraries which give particular attention to their special collections and whose special collections contribute to their distinctive image. Of particular interest was the question of what German libraries can learn with regard to practice and strategy related to their special collections. The authors visited among other libraries the New York Public Library, the Pierpont Morgan Library, the Yale University Library with the Beinecke Library and the Harvard College Library with the Houghton Library. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]