library science
library science, the principles and practices of library operation and administration, and their study. Libraries have existed since ancient times, but only in the second half of the 19th century did library science emerge as a separate field of study. With the knowledge explosion in the 20th century, it was gradually subsumed under the more general field of information science (q.v.). By the second half of the 19th century, Western countries had experienced such a proliferation of books of all sorts that the nature of the librarian’s work was radically altered; being well-read was no longer a sufficient characteristic for ...(100 of 374 words)