Academic literature on the topic 'Beverly, Mass. Public Library'

The aim of this thesis is to analyze debates and discourses about the public library in Swedish media from the 1970s up to and including 2006. The empirical material is derived from TV, radio and the daily press and by using discourse theory and methodology a number of debates are problematized. The result of the analysis showed similarities but also differences between dominant discourses during different decades. One discourse, termed the book discourse, recurs during all the decades of the study. The book discourse is primarily associated with concepts such as printed books, good quality fiction and popular education. The 1970s is dominated by a discourse called the community centre discourse. It called for public libraries to become community centers for various kinds of cultural and political activities. The information mediation discourse appeared first in the 1980s and was present during the 1990s and the following decade. This discourse argues that public libraries should prioritize new technology and engage primarily in mediating information, irrespective of the format in which it is presented. The analysis as a whole also revealed that authors often had a prominent position in and exerted substantial influence over the content of the debates. Librarians, however, did not participate to any great extent in the debates. In the conclusion I argue that there are important aspects of the public library that does not appear in the material. The role of the library as a meeting place is one such absent theme. Another is the importance of the library to ensure integration. I argue that this invisibility is a result of the book discourse dominating the debate. If the public image of the library is defined from the viewpoint of the book discourse, the result can well be that the institution is equated with a specific media format - printed books. Because of significant changes in media consumption and the ongoing digitization of information, this focus could in the long run mean that the library risks loss of legitimacy. Describing the library as a cultural institution, as a community centre or as an information centre depends on different discourses that aim to further different wills and interests. By highlighting the political, professional and institutional interests articulated in dominant discourses on the public library in Swedish media during a period of almost 40 years, this study suggests that the media debates must be widened and opened up for more actors.

The issue of sustainability has greatest significance in the midst of unilateral bio-socioeconomic degradation resulting from intense and increasing societal pressures placed on the unified global ecology. In such an environment, sustainable development seeks to manage natural resources within a free market economy, aiming to meet the needs of today's population, and to protect and enhance current resource quality and abundance. In this light, techniques of integrated sustainable primary production and wastewater management are the subject matters of this applied research. There are many researchable issues which could be addressed within the subject matter. The first focus in the research scope was driven by the most severe sustainability issue facing Central Queensland (Australia) in 2000: the depletion and degradation of freshwater supplies. Central Queensland (CQ) is an arid sub-tropical region that has suffered from a marked reduction in rainfall and increase in temperature over the last 100 years, {Miles, 2004 #172}, and by the year 2000, conditions had been exacerbated by eight years of severe drought and warmer than average temperatures and resulted in widespread animal and crop failures due to freshwater shortages. Such a problem required a multi-faceted ecological, social, and economic approach. Hence, research centred on investigating the science of integrating regional water-related industries and agribusiness, and biodiverse ecosystems to achieve water and wastewater reuse applications, and associated eco-socioeconomic benefits. Specifically, this research investigates the integration of (a) electrical power station wastewater (b) barramundi culture, (c) red claw culture, (d) constructed wetlands (for water quality management and habitat creation), and (e) hydroponic flower culture. This research produced outcomes of integrated water and wastewater reuse and recycling, marketable agriproducts production (fish, crayfish, and flowers), water and wastewater reuse and conservation, wetland primary production, carbon dioxide sequestration, aquatic pollution control, and biodiversity creation and support. Successful design and management, experimental trialing and evaluation of system components and subjects, and the development of a knowledge base including static and dynamic system models, represent advances in respective research areas, and underpin the emerging discipline of integrated systems approaches to eco-socioeconomic development. Additionally, several gaps in the current body of knowledge regarding integrated systems were filled, and interactive management tools were developed. Apart from this study, the integration of technologies (as described above) has not, to this author's knowledge, been accomplished.