Abstract:
This research paper believes that there is still much the past, especially the recent past, can teach us. History can reveal how public libraries managed the demands of a changing and challenging economic climate. How polices and organisations are influenced by conflicting political demands and at the same time still adapt to the ongoing developments of the new information technologies and the changing needs of its clients.
This paper has focused on researching and analysing a number of historical sources in order to gain an understanding of how the various stakeholders reacted when confronted with the realities of a given economic climate. It examines the actions and reactions that resulted under the influence of a diverse set of circumstances. In the main it has tried to identify how these responses were directly influenced by the social influences prevalent during the time period, and more importantly by the prevailing economic theories and imperatives of the time. To that end it is predominantly a piece of historical research from which conclusions have been drawn.
