The Library: A World History

This is a gorgeous book, the photos are high quality, full page images that make you feel like you're there. The information is surprisingly interesting, even for for big fans of libraries/ books like myself. I love this book. A great gift for a book lover or a great addition to your coffee table. The perfect read for a rainy day when you're feeling curious.

I spent so many hours of my youth in my local library and have such wonderful memories of those hours and days going through the books. When my mother took citizenship classes at the local high school, I always had a book as I accompanied her to her classes. Nearly 70 years later, my love of books/reading continues. This book reminds me of my wonderful hours in the library.

Sophisticates used to say they bought Playboy to read the articles and paid no attention to the pictures. I bought this book for the opposite reason: to look at the gorgeous pictures of libraries through the years — and they are gorgeous! However, I deigned to read a few words of the text, and discovered that it was fascinating and beautifully written, so I read it in detail. While it speaks about libraries, it also treats the various external factors that affected libraries, including their shifting patrons — the state, the church, the nobility, the plutocrats, the philanthropists, and the democrats. It also considers the effects of technology — the invention of books, paper, movable-type printing, gas lighting, electricity, and computing. Not to mention the evolution of architectural styles from classical to medieval, renaissance, baroque, rococo, neoclassical, Victorian, and modern. And, of course, the incorporation of the fine arts into library design. Although enjoyably readable, the book also includes all the scholarly apparatus necessary for a true student of libraries. Any lover of books, libraries, or beautiful buildings will delight in this volume.

As usual, this Thames & Hudson book is a wonderful coffee table book. It is also an indispensable resource book for any bibliophile. The photographs by Will Pryce are works or art and had there been no text the book would still be a wonderful five-star book, but the text concerning the history of libraries is an informative addition and makes this the best of the three big books on libraries of the world. Chapter one takes us to the libraries of the ancient world. Sadly, the library of Pergamum, described as ‘second only to the Library of Alexandria’ has better coverage than the Library of Alexandria itself, but that is because there is virtually no historical material other than hearsay evidence of its existence. The book goes on to cover the libraries of the middle ages with the author taking us to the cloisters, codices, and chests of those libraries. Chapter 3 concerns the libraries of the 16th century where books are first found chained to the selves. The rest of the book takes us in successive chapters to libraries in the 17th century until we see the beginnings of the modern libraries in chapters 6 and 7, that is, from the gaslit libraries to libraries of electricity, concrete and steel. The last chapter, chapter 8 takes us right into the future with amazing libraries such as the Liyuan Library in China, made of wood, and the Grim Centre in Berlin. Two contrasting models of the imaginative creations that indicate to us that in spite of digital books, libraries are still relevant and important. The other two big books on libraries are the 2005 edition, ‘Libraries’, a magnificent book of delightful photographs by Candida Hoffer and a charming essay by Umberto Eco. The third is ‘Libraries’ by an unnamed team of Roads Publishing. This is the thinnest volume and focuses on modern libraries. The Thames & Hudson volume is by far the most expensive, but if you are getting only one, that should be the one.

Yes, this is a coffee table book, and probably appeals mostly to bibliophiles (and perhaps architecture students). As such, bibliophiles can simply flip through the pages and appreciate the lovely photos. But if the size and weight aren't off-putting (it's perhaps best read at a desk or, if one has one, medieval angled lectern), it has a wealth of information on the development of the form and function of libraries through the ages, showing how the need to protect and preserve books, the desire to present them both for use and for appreciation as cultural objects, and the changes brought by varying tastes and the development of technology changed the appearance of libraries. Particularly gratifying, especially in a book of this size and scope (from ancient Mesopotamia to the new millenium, and spanning the globe), is how the photos match the subject discussed on that page. Such care for the reader is the mark of a thoughtful editor (which one expects from the U. of Chicago Press), and it makes the reading more enjoyable.