Made in Newark

How did libraries and museums democratise art in the Progressive Era? Made in Newark describes a changing industrial city at the dawn of the twentieth century. The library's outspoken director, John Cotton Dana, collaborated with industrialists, social workers, and New Women to reconfigure a cultural institution for a city in flux. Ezra Shales tells the story of experimental exhibitions in the library and the founding of the Newark Museum Association-a project in which cultural literacy was intertwined with lessons in civics and consumption. Local artisans theatrically demonstrated crafts, connecting the cultural institution to the department store, school, and factory, all of which invoked the ideal of municipal patriotism. Today, as cultural institutions reappraise their relevance, Made in Newark explores precedents for contemporary debates over the ways the library and museum engage communities, define heritage in a multicultural era, and add value to the economy.