MODERNIZATION AND CONTINUITY IN LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT IN PALESTINE UNDER THE BRITISH MANDATE (1920-1948)

In a previous article, Jewish public libraries in Palestine in the late Ottoman years were discussed (1). This article examines the developments during the Mandate period, focusing on processes of modernization and change which were evident in (a) the development and the shaping of a Jewish national and university library, (b) the emergence of centralized library services for workers in rural and urban regions, (c) the voluntary provision of services to the urban population by municipalities, (d) the beginning of special library services in support of applied work and research activity, in the areas of agriculture, technology, and medicine, and (e) the beginnings of librarianship as a profession.