An important figure in the establishment of free libraries in the United Kingdom, Edward Edwards (1812 1886) wrote this study, first published in 1869, as a handbook intended for promoters and managers of free town libraries. The book outlines the formation and workings of public libraries, beginning with British examples and proceeding to compare the British experience with libraries abroad, especially in America. Edwards presents strong evidence of the increasing number, and improving management, of libraries at this time, and also stresses the strikingly diverse circumstances under which...