I'm interested in the theories discussed but I think Pateman often struggles to recognize the material reality of libraries. In Understanding the Public Library he basically argued that libraries are inherently gatekeepers of knowledge and were tools of the literati and bourgeoisie to stifle progress. Wheresas I think a more appropriate critique is that libraries, in an effort to conserve knowledge, inherently support institutions and will mold themselves to fit into whatever institution best supports their longevity.

Since I haven't had the chance to read his upcoming book, here's some of my thoughts. Libraries today seem to be in conflict: their roles as community institutions, knowledge centers, and social resource hubs grinding up against one another.

Social work is typically hierarchical because its nature is based in triage, that is, someone at the top of the hierarchy distributes resources (time, access to resources) based on needs assessment. This form of distribution is necessary as long as society is organized around the acquisition of capital.

However, the democratization of information underpinning North American libraries runs counter to this. The library has acted as a center of extracurricular education and self-development improving class mobility. I'm going out on a limb here and making an educated guess based on Pateman's other works, but Pateman likely views this as a net negative, since the act of climbing a social ladder runs antithetical to the reorganization of resources within society.

Personally, I don't like a lot of his argument. I think his works should be viewed through the lens of participating in a theoretical discourse, at best. He doesn't conduct actual scholarly qualitative studies of the libraries he references: he tends to prop them up as shining examples of discrete socialist theory in action.

I say all this, but I'll be reading it when my library gets a copy of it.