Kenneth Breisch directs the historic preservation program at the University of Southern California. He is the author of numerous publications on American architectural history, especially in the areas of library design and vernacular building. He lives in Santa Monica.
[A]n impressively informative history of the evolution of the library in America. . . . [S]imply stated, no community, college, or university library should be without a copy. -- Midwest Book Review Librarians will be gratified to read Breisch's discussion of the ways in which librarians became critics of library planning, pushing for designs that were more practical [...] American Libraries has a wider focus than many other books on this subject, which focus on only one type of library [...] This allows Breisch to integrate different types of libraries and provide a wider overview of the history of libraries as a whole. -- Libraries: Culture, History & Society