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The Library: A World History (2013)

by James W.P. Campbell(Favorite Author)

4.43 of 5 Votes: 3

ISBN

022609281X (ISBN13: 9780226092812)

languge

English

genre

History & Biography

publisher

University Of Chicago Press

review 1: Here's a stunning, beautifully photographed book that showcases libraries in their architectural history. As the subtitle indicates, the subjects are from around the world. None are modest buildings, most are academic or housing special collections. In the introduction the author differentiates between library as a collection of books and library as a building to house a collection of books. The arrangement of this book is chronological and the author documents changing architecture based on changing uses, needs, and trends in publishing. It is one of those large, beautiful books that can be browsed for the photographs or lingered over for the very informative text.
review 2: This is an AMAZING book, perhaps the one I loved the most of any I've read or look... moreed at recently. The author and the photographer combine their talents and give the reader a look at the history of libraries in the world. This would be fascinating book without any pictures but it contains scores of fabulous photos of libraries from over 20 countries. Some are very old and others newer, but all are unique and original, like any good book. We see libraries hundreds of years old where each book is chained to the shelf so it can't be stolen. Then there are libraries like the one in Portugal where colonies of tiny one-inch-long bats patrol the bookshelves at night eating insects that might harm the books. Of course someone has to sweep the floor every morning. A lot of the most elaborate and colorful libraries are located at Abbeys in Europe. As the author points out it will be interesting to see how libraries change in the future and if they will still be called libraries…and still have books. This one deserves six stars! less

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