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The library : a fragile history / Andrew Pettegree and Arthur Der Weduwen.

By: Contributor(s): Material type: TextTextPublisher: New York, NY : Basic Books, 2023Copyright date: ©2021Edition: First US trade paperback editionDescription: 518 pages : illustrations ; 21 cmContent type:
  • text
  • still image
Media type:
  • unmediated
Carrier type:
  • volume
ISBN:
  • 9781541603721
  • 1541603729
Subject(s): Genre/Form:
Contents:
Prologue. Curating the ruins -- Part 1: Inception and survival. A confusion of scrolls ; Sanctuary ; Little monkeys and letters of gold -- Part 2: The crisis of print. The infernal press ; Coming of age ; Reformations -- Part 3: The new collectors. The professionals ; Idle books and riff raff ; Mission fields -- Part 4: Between public and private. Grand designs ; Cardinal errors ; The antiquarians -- Part 5: Fictions. Orderly minds ; Building empires ; Reading on the job -- Part 6: The war on books. Surviving the twentieth century ; Wrestling with modernity ; Libraries, books and politics -- Postscript. Reading without books.
Summary: Famed across the known world, jealously guarded by private collectors, built up over centuries, destroyed in a single day, ornamented with gold leaf and frescoes, or filled with beanbags and children's drawings--the history of the library is rich, varied, and stuffed full of incident. In The Library, the first major work of its kind, historians Andrew Pettegree and Arthur der Weduwen trace this extraordinary history, from the famous collections of the ancient world to the embattled public resources we cherish today. Along the way, they introduce us to the antiquarians and philanthropists who shaped the world's great collections, trace the rise and fall of technologies, ideologies, and tastes, and reveal the high crimes and misdemeanors committed in pursuit of rare and valuable manuscripts. Very often, they find, libraries flourish in the hands of their first owner, then waste away as collections that represented the values and interests of one generation fail to speak to the one that follows. Yet while collections themselves fall victim to damp, dust, moths, and bookworms, the idea of the library persists, as each generation makes--and remakes-- the institution anew. Beautifully written and deeply researched, The Library is essential reading for book lovers, collectors, and anyone who has ever gotten blissfully lost in the stacks. -- From dust jacket.
Holdings
Item type Home library Collection Call number Materials specified Status Date due Barcode Item holds
Adult Book Adult Book Main Library NonFiction 027.009 P499 Available 33111011277486
Total holds: 0

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

The "engaging" and "ambitious" ( Washington Post ) history of libraries and the people who built them, from the ancient world to the digital age. 

The history of the library is rich, varied, and stuffed full of incident. In  The Library , historians Andrew Pettegree and Arthur der Weduwen introduce us to the antiquarians and philanthropists who shaped the world's great collections, trace the rise and fall of literary tastes, and reveal the high crimes and misdemeanors committed in pursuit of rare manuscripts. In doing so, they reveal that while collections themselves are fragile, often falling into ruin within a few decades, the idea of the library has been remarkably resilient as each generation makes--and remakes--the institution anew. 

" The Library proves that truth is more intriguing than fiction...Full of charismatic individuals and astonishing facts." ― The Times (London)

Originally published in 2021 in Great Britain by Profile Books Ltd.

Includes bibliographical references (pages [461]-502) and index.

Famed across the known world, jealously guarded by private collectors, built up over centuries, destroyed in a single day, ornamented with gold leaf and frescoes, or filled with beanbags and children's drawings--the history of the library is rich, varied, and stuffed full of incident. In The Library, the first major work of its kind, historians Andrew Pettegree and Arthur der Weduwen trace this extraordinary history, from the famous collections of the ancient world to the embattled public resources we cherish today. Along the way, they introduce us to the antiquarians and philanthropists who shaped the world's great collections, trace the rise and fall of technologies, ideologies, and tastes, and reveal the high crimes and misdemeanors committed in pursuit of rare and valuable manuscripts. Very often, they find, libraries flourish in the hands of their first owner, then waste away as collections that represented the values and interests of one generation fail to speak to the one that follows. Yet while collections themselves fall victim to damp, dust, moths, and bookworms, the idea of the library persists, as each generation makes--and remakes-- the institution anew. Beautifully written and deeply researched, The Library is essential reading for book lovers, collectors, and anyone who has ever gotten blissfully lost in the stacks. -- From dust jacket.

Prologue. Curating the ruins -- Part 1: Inception and survival. A confusion of scrolls ; Sanctuary ; Little monkeys and letters of gold -- Part 2: The crisis of print. The infernal press ; Coming of age ; Reformations -- Part 3: The new collectors. The professionals ; Idle books and riff raff ; Mission fields -- Part 4: Between public and private. Grand designs ; Cardinal errors ; The antiquarians -- Part 5: Fictions. Orderly minds ; Building empires ; Reading on the job -- Part 6: The war on books. Surviving the twentieth century ; Wrestling with modernity ; Libraries, books and politics -- Postscript. Reading without books.

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