עוד לתולדות הספרייה הלאומית 1872-1920

The article presents a survey of the history of the National Library in Jerusalem as an inseparable chapter in the history of the modern Jewish settlement in Eretz Israel. It describes its metamorphoses: from the first initiative by Israel Dov Frumkin, editor of Havazelet and founder of the Montefiore Library; through Eliezer Ben Yehudah's attempt to establish a library as a secular center; the efforts of Bnai Brith and the founding of the Abravanel Library; and finally the founding of a major center that was the basis of the "National Library in Jerusalem." In the course of the survey the article describes the polemics over establishing the library from various aspects.