The United States has more public libraries than it has McDonald s restaurants.By any measure, the American public library is a heavily used and ubiquitous institution. Popular thinking identifies the public library as a neutral agency that protects democratic ideals by guarding against censorship as it makes information available to people from all walks of life. Among librarians this idea is known as the library faith. But is the American public library as democratic as it appears to be?In "Main Street Public Library," eminent library historian Wayne Wiegand studies four emblematic...
The United States has more public libraries than it has McDonald s restaurants.By any measure, the American public library is a heavily used and u...
The Indian spiritual entrepreneur Maharishi Mahesh Yogi took the West by storm in the 1960s and '70s, charming Baby Boomers fed up with war and social upheaval with his message of meditation and peace. Heeding his call, two thousand followers moved to tiny Fairfield, Iowa, to set up their own university on the campus of a failed denominational college. Soon, they started a school for prekindergarten through high school, allowing followers to immerse themselves in Transcendental Meditation from toddlerhood through PhDs.
Although Fairfield's longtime residents were relieved to see that...
The Indian spiritual entrepreneur Maharishi Mahesh Yogi took the West by storm in the 1960s and '70s, charming Baby Boomers fed up with war and social...
Historian Sara Egge offers critical insights into the woman suffrage movement by exploring how it emerged in small Midwestern communities - in Clay County, Iowa; Lyon County, Minnesota; and Yankton County, South Dakota. Examining this grassroots activism offers a new approach that uncovers the sophisticated ways Midwestern suffragists understood citizenship as obligation.
Historian Sara Egge offers critical insights into the woman suffrage movement by exploring how it emerged in small Midwestern communities - in Clay Co...
