1st Edition
Philanthropy and Light Carnegie Libraries and the Advent of Transatlantic Standards for Public Space
By Oriel Prizeman
Copyright 2012
264 Pages
by
Routledge
264 Pages
by
Routledge
264 Pages
by
Routledge
Also available as eBook on:
Walter Gropius associated standardisation with promoting civilisation in 1935, yet Andrew Carnegie’s influence on the proliferation of pattern book public library plans internationally predated these observations by 50 years. Through the first twenty years of his programme, he supported the erection of almost three thousand public buildings across Britain and America. Though better acknowledged in... Read more
Introduction; Part 1 Professional Theories; Chapter 1 Setting Standards for Public Library Environments; Chapter 2 Setting Standards for Public Light; Part 2 Contexts; Chapter 3 Public Darkness and Light: The Cycle of Environment and Philanthropy; Chapter 4 Private Darkness and Light: The Diurnal Cycle of Work and Leisure; Part 3 Practice and Performance; Chapter 5 Specifying Public Light; Chapter 6 The Performance of Public Light; concl Conclusion;
Biography
Oriel Prizeman is an Architect and Senior Lecturer at Cardiff University, UK.
'Philanthropy and Light combines architectural, social and cultural history and the analytical tools of building science to offer unique insights into the part played by Carnegie's philanthropy in bringing enlightenment and significant works of architecture to the urban populations of Britain and America.' Dean Hawkes, Darwin College, University of Cambridge, UK 'This book was a genuine inspiration for some recent work, a history which can be read as a contemporary critique and prompt.' Liza Fior, muf architecture/art LLP, UK 'Prizeman's research is thorough, and many of her illustrations and maps were obtained from Pittsburgh repositories, such as the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh system and the University of Pittsburgh Archives. This volume contains some technical language, but interested adult readers should not encounter much difficulty. Overall, Philanthropy and Light is a recommended read for advanced readers interested in the architectural and social history of public spaces.' Heinz History Center 'Oriel Prizeman’s scholarship is impressive. Research libraries will want to acquire this work. Economic historians, sociologists and librarians will all profit from the novel and fruitful insights in Philanthropy and Light.' The Australian Library Journal 'Philanthropy and Light is an excellent piece of scholarship which offers instruction and insight to a number of disciplines of which library history is but one. This work provides much of interest to the cultural historian, the sociologist, the industrial historian and, of course, to the architect. Prizeman is to be congratulated for an excellent and distinctive addition to the corpus of literature on Carnegie and for bringing to the attention of the library world an area that is possibly not fully understood or appreciated by those working the sector'. Library & Information History
