Libraries, Archives, and Museums: Achieving Scale and Relevance in the Digital Age

Abstract

Over the years, I have heard many apologia for libraries, archives, and museums: why they are important, why they matter, and why we should care. In most cases, particularly in North America, the defense at some point invokes the role that cultural institutions play in the structure of a successful democracy: their support for the free flow of information that makes for an informed citizenry, and the preservation of a record of knowledge that enables choice and progress. Despite the fact that they are integrally bound up with American culture, I endorse all of those arguments; yet I do not . . .