The Library

October 1, 2021
A comprehensive history of the invention and reinvention of libraries. 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.

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October 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.

Starred review from November 1, 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.

Copyright 2021 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from October 1, 2021
Despite its subtitle, this history of libraries is anything but fragile. At more than 500 pages, it is a robust, near definitive effort, tracing the evolution of the institution from the clay tablets of the Assyrian Empire to the wired libraries of today. Offering their material in six parts, the coauthors proceed chronologically, cautioning the reader that "the history of the library is not a story of relentless progress." But it is, nevertheless, one of change, for "libraries need to adapt to survive." Yet, for centuries, "libraries" were typically only private collections of manuscripts, codices and--finally--books housed in temples, palaces, monasteries, and residences of the rich. They were anything but public, closed to the hoi polloi but occasionally open to scholars and the local elite. Speaking of elite, the authors examine celebrated collections and collectors. For one example: consider Christopher Columbus' son Fernando Colon, whose library contained, by 1536, 15,000 books housed in a revolutionary manner: on shelves! The last part of the book offers a survey of contemporary libraries. Much of this material is familiar, though in a welcome way, comprehensive like the rest of the authors' admirable effort. Though its primary audience will likely be academics, the book is so accessible and well written that it may also find a general readership among all those who love libraries. May their numbers be legion.

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