What use and purpose do libraries have in our fast-changing world in which information is accessed predominantly online?
Research libraries and national libraries have traditionally been valued as reservoirs of recorded knowledge and ideas, but do we need them, if the text is online? In this lecture, David Pearson will argue for the importance of recognising the lasting cultural value of libraries and books – not only for their content, but for what they tell us as collections and artefacts.
David Pearson is Director of Culture, Heritage and Libraries for the City of London Corporation. He is a past president of the Bibliographical Society and has taught at the Rare Book Schools in the US and New Zealand.
The annual Foxcroft Lecture honours the work of pioneering State Library of Victoria bibliographer AB Foxcroft (1884–1938).
