Here’s a reference for a good old-fashioned print resource that I urge librarians to get hold of. Buschman comes from a ‘critical theory’ perspective, so is putting libraries in the context of:

• ‘information capitalism’
• New Managerialism/New Public Management/the New Public Philosophy
• the commodification of information
• private-sector models of public service provision
• encroachments on the progressive, social democratic role of libraries
• factors limiting libraries’ capacity to facilitate public communication

Buschman, John E. (2003) Dismantling the Public Sphere: Situating and Sustaining Librarianship in the Age of the New Public Philosophy. Connecticut: Libraries Unlimited

I haven’t had a chance to look at this more recent article. It would be interesting to see what Buschman makes of Library 2.0 developments:

Buschman, John E. (2005) ‘Libraries and the decline of public purpose’. Public Library Quarterly, 24:1 pp. 1-12