We are excited to share that Dr. Maxie Schreiber’s book Places of Participation: The History and Architecture of Public Libraries in Germany and the United States was published this summer! The attached flier and table of contents as well as the publisher web site provide more details (the text of the book is in German but the attached materials are in English).
From the publisher: “A knowledge hub, a third place, a public living room: public libraries in Germany are tasked with more roles than storing books. Some even see them as places of civic participation that can help secure the future of democracy. Yet if German public libraries are so important, then why doesn’t their architecture reflect this mission? To answer this question, the author embarks upon a journey into the history of public libraries and the promised land for German librarians: the United States of America.”
Dr. Schreiber, who earned a PhD in Art History from Freie Universität Berlin, was profiled in LHRT’s Member Spotlight column in 2022. Her previous works include the book Altägyptische Architektur und ihre Rezeption in der Moderne (Ancient Egyptian Architecture and Its Reception in Modern Times: Architecture in Germany 1900–1933) and “Public Libraries, Public Input: How Citizens’ Comments Can Inform Public Library Architecture” in Platform, among many other publications. She has taught at Free University of Berlin, the Technical University of Darmstadt, and University of Wisconsin—Madison (USA), and she organized a virtual conference in 2020 about library architecture in North America.
Of special note, she also wrote “Senses of Place: An Architectural Historian Before and During COVID-19” for LHRT’s own Libraries: Culture, History, & Society journal.
Find a bio and full list of her research and activities at https://maxieschreiber.com/