A new book by Jonathan Lyons, The House of Wisdom: how the Arabs transformed Western civilisation, has a few surprising insights on developments in the recording and transmission of knowledge in the period. Lyons focuses on the contribution of Abbasid rulers of Baghdad, from the founding of the dynasty in 762 to its overthrow by [...]
Archive for October 2009
The House of Wisdom
October 11, 2009English public libraries; needing new leadership ?
October 10, 2009A report on governance and leadership in the English public library service has been published, following an enquiry by the grandly-named All-Party Parliamentary Group on Libraries, Literacy and Information Management. Cynics have pointed out that this group is not quite the impartial assembly of the great and the good that its title might suggest; it [...]
Wirral public libraries saved ?
October 3, 2009In a previous post, I wrote about the plans by the local authority in Wirral, in the North West of England, to close half their public library branches, and turn the rest into multi-purpose community centres. A government enquiry into whether this action would break the law which requires the authority to provide an adequate [...]
