Michael H. Harris – författare

This edition of the History of Libraries in the Western World represents a substantial revision of the earlier edition, taking into account the "information revolution" that has swept the West since 1945 and the political revolution that swept across Europe beginning in 1986. In addition, recent scholarship has been incorporated throughout the text, with special emphasis on the work centered around the "new history of the book." The bibliographies at the end of each of the twelve chapters have been thoroughly revised to reflect the very considerable new work on library and book history.

This work is a general and synthetic study of the post-industrial era and its implications for library and information services in the United States. Since Daniel Bell promulgated his "post-industrial" metaphor in the early 1970s, it has become one of the most dominant metaphors in contemporary America. His ideas on the nature of the era, especially his articulation of what he refers to as the "information society" have influenced the ways in which government officials, corporate leaders, and citizens think about the future of political, social and economic life in America. This text examines how this influence has also been felt in the library and information field. Updated from the first edition, this work is designed to help libraries adapt to the new electronic age. Although written from a US perspective, the arguments should be of equal validity for libraries and librarians working in all post-industrial societies, as well as in newly-industrialized countries.

Inventing the Future: Information services for a New Millenium is a sequel to Harris and Hannah's 1998 book Into the Future. In this book they move beyond the rhetorical contests about the future of the library and turn their attention to the more prosaic but vital task of managing our ever more complex and constantly changing libraries. The pages in this book present a blueprint that will guide us in the re-visioning of library and information services, allowing us to remain true to our inherited legacy while looking insistently for innovative and effective ways of inventingour future.