本书共分6个章节，主要从文化学的视角论述了我国半殖民地半封建社会环境下上海百年近代图书馆事业发生、发展的演变过程。该书可供各大专院校作为教材使用，也可供从事相关工作的人员作为参考用书使用。

本书从文化学的视角论述我国半殖民地半封建社会环境下上海百年近代图书馆事业发生、发展的演变过程。由于近代独特的社会文化环境，上海的图书馆事业呈现出迂回曲折、多元活跃的发展特点。图书馆不仅具有明显的西方文化烙印，而且深受当时各种社会政治及文化思潮的影响，尤其是私立图书馆的蓬勃兴盛，形成了上海近代图书馆发展的一大亮点。本书通过图书馆在当时社会环境中的特殊作用，表明图书馆事业与社会发展紧密相关。

INTRODUCTORY -- THE BIBLIOPHILES AND THEIR LIBRARY ACTIVITY IN THE EARLY HISTORY OF SHANGHAI

 The cangshulou and the bibliophiles

 Characteristics of the cangshulou

CHAPTER ONE -- THE EARLY FOREIGN LIBRARIES

 The social situation during the city's formation

 Cultural activity and the role of the missionaries

 The establishment of foreign libraries

 The Public Library, S. M.C. (1849-1912)

 Other foreign libraries

 Acquisition of Sinological materials

 Reading needs of the foreign community

 Book organization

 Library management

CHAFFER TWO -- THE RISE OF MODERN CHINESE LIBRARIANSHIP

 Social background

 Moves towards modern libraries

 The origin of Chinese libraries in Shanghai

 Libraries and publishing

 Libraries for preserving the national heritage

 Libraries and education

 Libraries and society

 Yuzhai tushuguan

 Foreign libraries

 General trends of the library development in this period

CHAPTER THREE -- LIBRARY PARTICIPATION IN SOCIAL LIFE

 Social background

 National situation in librarianship

 Popular library movement in Shanghai

 Private libraries opening to public

 Special libraries

 Christian libraries

 Other foreign libraries

 University and college libraries

 School Libraries

 Shanghai Library Association and its activity

CHAPTER FOUR -- THE PRIME OF CITY LIBRARIANSHIP

 Social background

 The library situation

 The birth of municipal libraries in Shanghai

 New restrictions on private libraries

 Popular libraries

 Educational libraries

 Society and institute libraries

 Official libraries

 Public Library, SMC

CHAPTER FIVE -- LIBRARIES DURING THE WAR

 Japanese attacks on Shanghai

 Destruction of books and libraries

 The library scene in the Lonely Island

 The newly-founded libraries

 The library situation in occupied Shanghai

CHAPTER SIX -- LIBRARIES IN THE POST-WAR PERIOD: 1946-1949

 Social situation

 Libraries in crisis

 Restoration of the Shanghai Municipal Library

 The Zhonghua Sparetime Library

 The Oriental Economics Library

 The final post-war phase

CONCLUSION

LIST OF SOURCES

GLOSSARY

POSTSCRIPT