On title page: Proceedings of the Second International Conference convened by the Bath Royal Literary and Scientific Institution at BRLSI, 16-18 Queen Square, Bath, England, 24-29 September 2009.
Contents include: Conference ode / Simon Tyler iv. Forward / Asa Briggs v. Welcome speech / Dr Peter Ford vii.
Presidential address to the 2010 Association of Independent Libraries annual general meeting 26 Sep 2009 / Dr Robert Anderson p1.
Where are the mechanics' museums? / Dr Robert Anderson p4.
The St Agnes Miners' & Mechanics' Institute / Keith Atkinson p11.
The cultural heritage of Bath / Stephen Bird p12.
Devon and Exeter Institution: past, present and future / Roger Brien p20.
Science, liberality and good taste: the Manchester Subscription Botanic Gardens and its founders / Dr Ann Brooks p28.
The life and work of Isaac Pitman, a Bath resident / Stuart Burroughs p37.
Samuel Smiles and a philosophy of success / Tom Butler-Bowdon p43.
Is reading a self-help book an occasion of self-help? / Dr Scott Cherry p48.
Self-help and the London Mechanics' Institution - Birkbeck after (George) Birkbeck / Richard Clarke p52.
The perilous act of lecturing - Clara Lucas Balfour (1808-1878), prolific travelling lecturer / Janet Cunliffe-Jones p66.
Berwick Mechanics' Institute and Free Library and its heritage collections, including the Casey Collection - the private library of Lord and Lady Casey / Judith Dwyer p76.
Sameul Smiles in Leeds 1838-1854 / Geoffrey Forster p77.
Contemporary higher education from the perspective of an Institute of Technology / Dr Dane Gordon p88.
Mechanics, artizans, operatives, labourers and others: libraries for the working classes in nineteenth-century Nottinghamshire / Peter Hoare p97.
The paradox of Samuel Smiles' views on technical education / Dr Adrian Jarvis p105.
Libraries and revolution in Ireland / John Killen p114.
William Rathbone Greg (1809-1881) and the foundation of the Bury Mechanics’ Institution in Lancashire in 1829 / Prof. Wallace Kirsop p118.
Mechanics’ institutes in Australia / Bronwyn Lowden p125.
Timothy Claxton – London – St Petersburg – Boston / Jim Lowden p132.
Books, baths and billiards: the story of Greenock Mechanics’ Library and Institution, 1830-1974 / Dr Keith Manley p140.
The Herschels – a scientific dynasty [Herschel family] / Dr Gary Mathlin p149.
A publisher and his friend: John Murray and Samuel Smiles / David McClay p154.
The second wave and self-help: the schools of arts of the suburbs and rural towns of New South Wales / Dr Roger Morris p165.
A library for the literate, a museum for the masses [Chetham’s Library, Manchester, England] / Dr Michael Powell p174.
The Swindon New Mechanics’ Institution Preservation Trust: ‘a 21st century beacon for community information and learning, cultural activities, and social progress’ / Daniel Rose p175.
Mechanics’ institutes in Sussex and Hampshire (1825-1875) / Jana Sims p186.
The Bradford Mechanics’ Institute Library / David Verity p192.
America’s membership libraries / Dr Richard Wendorf p197.
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