The gilded age was a formative period in the development and extension of American libraries. Between 1868 and 1901, the field of librarianship saw many notable changes, including the founding of the American Library Association, the introduction of the Dewey decimal classification system, and the establishment of the pioneer library school at Columbia University, among other key developments. This book brings together the writings of foundational figures in Gilded Age librarianship, including Charles Ammi Cutter, Melvil Dewey, Andrew Carnegie and Richard Rogers Bowker. Featuring seminal works of library scholarship alongside previously unpublished letters and reprints of long forgotten journal articles, the book places each selection in chronological order and includes an introductory narrative for each entry.