10/25/2021
Historians Pettegree and der Weduwen (The Bookshop of the World ) take a comprehensive and fascinating deep dive into the evolution of libraries. They trace “a repeating cycle of creation and dispersal, decay and reconstruction” from the Assyrian Empire of Mesopotamia in the seventh century BCE, when the earliest libraries on record, consisting of as many as 35,000 clay tablets inscribed with cuneiform script housed in palaces and temples and accessible only to scholars and royals, were destroyed by rival Babylonians, to 1990s Sarajevo, where the Serbian militia attacked the Bosnia state library. Colorful historical figures abound: Holy Roman Empire originator Charlemagne’s efforts to unify Europe in the ninth century hinged upon efficient communication, which led him to push for literacy education and the gathering of book collections in monasteries to encourage scholarship, while 19th-century steel baron Andrew Carnegie’s funding of public libraries in the U.S. and Britain made their holdings accessible to the average person. Pettegree and der Weduwen also explore changes in reading habits, the widespread availability of digital resources, and the transformation of public libraries into de facto community centers that fill societal needs unmet elsewhere. Bibliophiles should consider this a must-read. (Nov.)
★ 11/01/2021
The concept of a library has changed throughout the ages, but as this comprehensive history of libraries indicates, the problems that plague libraries have remained the same. Being in the middle of political battles and torn apart in war is destructive, but apathy and neglect can be just as dangerous, argue Pettegree and Der Weduwen, both historians at the University of St. Andrews. They make their case through anecdotes about the people who have collected books and larger considerations of historical trends in books and political movements. This fascinating if dense book aims to be a world history, yet the focus is mainly European and American; forays into other regions tend to consider colonial influences above the local practices. Despite this weakness, the book has important criticism of bad practices in libraries and their institutions (e.g., the American Library Association), which provides necessary modern context, as many of the struggles around the role of politics in libraries are ongoing. VERDICT This is sure to be a new addition to library and information school curricula and will be fascinating for all bibliophiles and people who want libraries to survive and improve.—Margaret Heller, Loyola Univ. Chicago Libs.
★ 2021-09-15
Historians Pettegree and der Weduwen have created a capacious, deeply researched examination of collections of the written word. They begin with clay tablets in the Assyrian Empire of Mesopotamia and move to the digitized material probed by Google’s Alexa (named after the ancient library at Alexandria) to answer 500 million questions per day from customers around the world. The history of the library, the authors assert, “is not a story of relentless progress” or even of shared meaning about what a library should be, what it should contain, and whom it should serve. From ancient Greece to contemporary urban spaces, the authors offer a panoramic view of collections ranging from illuminated manuscripts in medieval monasteries to popular novels circulated in bookmobiles, from Oxford’s privately funded Bodleian Library to Andrew Carnegie’s extensive public library system. Collections often served as symbols of status and power; access to the San Marco library in 15th-century Florence, for example, “was restricted to literate male citizens of the city with scholarly interests.” Once the printing press made books affordable—9 million books were printed by 1500—appetite for ownership burgeoned, “fueled by universities and schools, movements of popular lay devotion and the steady growth of cities.” Still, before the 17th century, most libraries were privately held, occupying “spaces which were not originally constructed as rooms for books.” In a narrative packed with fascinating facts for bibliophiles, the authors recount the vulnerability of books to war, oppression, censorship, fire, and confiscation. Even collectors used to rid themselves of duplicates by recycling them “as wallpaper, bookbinding supports, wrapping paper or toilet paper.” Not until the advent of antiquarian booksellers was there an eruption of “bibliomania, frantic competitive bidding for the best and rarest copies of early printed books.” Faced with increasing digitization, libraries are more than merely public gathering spaces. “The health of the library,” write the authors, “will remain connected to the health of the book.”
A lively, authoritative cultural history.
Enlightening… Pettegree and der Weduwen are fascinating when they discuss great private collectors and monastic libraries, but the most important aspect of their book is its exploration of the practical and theoretical role of the library in the lives of ordinary citizens.”—The New Criterion The Library: A Fragile History , by Andrew Pettegree and Arthur der Weduwen and The Gilded Page: The Secret Lives of Medieval Manuscripts, by Mary Wellesley. These are exactly the sort of engaging, ambitious works of scholarship that serious readers want to know about.” —The Washington Post Financial Times The Library proves that truth is more intriguing than fiction. This survey of the creation and destruction of libraries since the Library of Alexandria was founded two millennia ago is full of charismatic individuals and astonishing facts.”—The Times Sunday Times The Herald Commentary The Spectator New Statesman The Tablet Times Higher Education Irish Examiner Booklist Library Journal
“[A] fascinating deep dive into the evolution of libraries… Bibliophiles should consider this a must read.”
—Publishers Marketplace Kirkus The Library , we are led nimbly through the centuries, seeing how it has been all of these things and more, as the authors place on the shelf a cornucopia of bookish history." —Judith Flanders, author of A Place for Everything Richard Ovenden, University of Oxford Leah Price, author of What We Talk About When We Talk About Books
The warm rumble of Sean Barrett’s sonorous voice pairs beautifully with this noteworthy history of libraries from ancient clay tablets to today’s computers. Accessible and erudite, the audiobook is perfect for lovers of history, libraries, and literature. Admittedly, it is long and filled with complex sentences. But Barrett’s expert pacing transforms them into models of clarity full of such fascinating factoids as library membership increased after workdays shortened in the nineteenth century and the papyrus scrolls in ancient Alexandria’s famed library were probably rotting long before the building was destroyed. It’s remarkable and heartening that—amid so much sacking, burning, and neglect, and so many earthquakes, floods, and insects—libraries have survived. May they continue to adapt and endure forever. A.C.S. © AudioFile 2021, Portland, Maine
NOVEMBER 2021 - AudioFile
The warm rumble of Sean Barrett’s sonorous voice pairs beautifully with this noteworthy history of libraries from ancient clay tablets to today’s computers. Accessible and erudite, the audiobook is perfect for lovers of history, libraries, and literature. Admittedly, it is long and filled with complex sentences. But Barrett’s expert pacing transforms them into models of clarity full of such fascinating factoids as library membership increased after workdays shortened in the nineteenth century and the papyrus scrolls in ancient Alexandria’s famed library were probably rotting long before the building was destroyed. It’s remarkable and heartening that—amid so much sacking, burning, and neglect, and so many earthquakes, floods, and insects—libraries have survived. May they continue to adapt and endure forever. A.C.S. © AudioFile 2021, Portland, Maine
NOVEMBER 2021 - AudioFile
