Carol Kennicott's dilemma

Abstract

Sinclair Lewis's novel Main Street can be used as the point of departure for an examination of the dilemmas existing in modern librarianship. Its heroine, a librarian, seeks answers to the question of what public libraries are for. Her quest has broader connotations and is related to a question of what societies are for. The US is an interesting case in this regard because of the operation of two forces, Puritanism and the Enlightenment, shaping its destiny. Unlike the US, Australia has not completely severed its ties with the mother country and this fact is reflected in the history of Australian libraries.

Keywords::

• history of libraries
• philosophy and librarianship
• librarians in literature

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Miroslav Kruk

Miroslav Kruk undertook his studies in librarianship at the Department of Librarianship, Archives and Records at Monash University. He was awarded the Graduate Diploma in Library and Information Studies in 1998. He works as an abstracter at Roy Morgan Research in Melbourne.