Whither Library History? A Critical Essay on Black's Model for the Future of Library History, With Some Additional Options

Abstract

In a recent article published in this journal, Alistair Black argued that library history should be seen as an element of ‘information history’ and should also move away from what he perceives as its institutional bias. In this response, the present authors identify nine ‘types’ of library history and argue that these types are not as institutional as Black believes. They examine the ‘information science’ model proposed by Black and consider other possible models, such as the ‘history of the book’.