Public libraries shifted from learning institutions to social services by the 1960s

Evidence

As the public library movement celebrated its first century, the library reading rooms were already beginning their evolution from an essential institution for the promotion of learning and civilising values, to a branch of the social services. — Andrew Pettegree, Arthur der Weduwen, The Library- A Fragile History, 823

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to the reader’s interest in how libraries’ role and public funding evolved over time. — connects to: Eighteenth-century libraries served as social gathering places as much as study spaces — Andrew Pettegree, Arthur der Weduwen, The Library- A Fragile History, 955
• corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim — Andrew Pettegree, Arthur der Weduwen, The Library- A Fragile History, 823

Broader Connections

• Eighteenth-century libraries served as social gathering places as much as study spaces #complicates (0.55) — Andrew Pettegree, Arthur der Weduwen, The Library- A Fragile History, 955