Spreading the Word and …

In an interview about his new book, A Better Pencil: Readers, Writers, and the Digital Revolution, Dennis Baron says, “The goal of the library is to spread the word … ”

So is Goucher College’s Athenaeum a library? Well, there is a library in there … 

I’m interested in the trend of missional convergence among archives, libraries, and museums. The early history of Hartford’s Wadsworth Atheneum provides an interesting model of this. Established in 1842 by Daniel Wadsworth, the Atheneum brought together a number of cultural institutions and collections, including an art gallery, a historical society, a natural history society, and a public library. Wadsworth’s vision was to support the study and enjoyment of art, literature, and science under one castellated Gothic roof.

For anther vision of a present-day Athenaeum, see Sam Demas's “From the Ashes of Alexandria: What's Happening in the College Library?”