The Library: An Illustrated History, Stuart Murray
This is not really a review, but rather a collection of fascinating facts and quotes gleaned from this book. Which is pretty fun, by the by, at least if you're a biblophile like myself. Knowing that practically every single civilization in history has had libraries makes you feel less alone in the world.
-The first library appeared in Mesopotamia in about 3000 BCE. No, seriously.
-Up until about World War I, when people became more interested in destruction as opposed to war booty, books were considered one of the best things you could bring back from the wars. Many a national library was built with books stolen from enemies.
-The first fire at the Library of Alexandria? Yeah, Caesar's fault. Nice job breaking it, hero!
-The Benedictine monks were required to read for at least two hours a day, and the chapters were supposed to have at least one book per brother. Same for the nuns.
-Classical libraries took their books really seriously. They used to have curses in the front against people who would steal books. Some would legitimately excommunicate people caught stealing books. My favorite curse goes like this:
"Him that stealeth, or borroweth and returneth not, this book from its owner, let it change into a serpent in his hand and rend him. Let him be struck with palsy, and all his members blasted. Let him languish in pain crying out for mercy, and let there be no surcrease to his agony till he sing in dissolution. Let bookworms gnaw his entrails, let the flames of Hell consume him forever."
Like I said. Really seriously. Also that bit about the members means exactly what you think it does.
-The Chinese had moveable type by the eleventh century CE.
-Richard de Bury was responsible for a large chunk of the British library, eventually, and said such things as this: "The same man cannot love both gold and books" (guess which one I love).
-Everyone's familiar with this quote, I'm sure, but I'm so fond of it that you get to hear it again. "When I get a little money, I buy books; and if any is left, I buy food and clothes." Erasmus.
-Pope Nicholas used to send his cardinals out around Europe to beg, borrow, buy, copy, or outright steal books he wanted. Respected churchmen would hide books down their robes and leave. Seriously.
-Martin Luther was a killjoy as far as non-Bible books went. "Discard such dung" indeed.
-"Books that you may carry to the fireside, and hold readily in your hand, are the most useful, after all." Samuel Johnson.
-"There is no worse robber than a bad book." Italian proverb.
-"Some books, like the City of London, are the better for being burned." Tom Brown. I must admit that I laughed harder than I should at that.
-There's a book in the Library of Congress, the Presidental spending book from 1810 or some such, that was taken from the original Library of Congress when it was burned in 1814, and returned in 1940. Imagine those fines.
-The first circulating libraries, that people could actually borrow books from, were subscriber-only. The first free public library was the Boston Athanaenum in America.
-The British Parliament passed the Public Libraries Act in 1850, thus beginning the process of creating tax-funded libraries as opposed to libraries founded by generous benefactors.
-The largest library in the world is the Library of Congress, in Washington DC, with more than 32 million books and 138 million total items.
-Someone asked Samuel Clemens to defend his work when the Brooklyn Library was considering banning it, and expected a serious answer. For those of you who don't get the joke, Samuel Clemens is the real name of Mark Twain.
-The 20th century was really bad for libraries, except in the United States (which suffered all of one attack on their soil). The States therefore have possibly the best library system in the world.
Short version? Libraries are awesome, and if you live in the United States, you have access to the best system of libraries in the world. Have you thanked a librarian today?
-The first library appeared in Mesopotamia in about 3000 BCE. No, seriously.
-Up until about World War I, when people became more interested in destruction as opposed to war booty, books were considered one of the best things you could bring back from the wars. Many a national library was built with books stolen from enemies.
-The first fire at the Library of Alexandria? Yeah, Caesar's fault. Nice job breaking it, hero!
-The Benedictine monks were required to read for at least two hours a day, and the chapters were supposed to have at least one book per brother. Same for the nuns.
-Classical libraries took their books really seriously. They used to have curses in the front against people who would steal books. Some would legitimately excommunicate people caught stealing books. My favorite curse goes like this:
"Him that stealeth, or borroweth and returneth not, this book from its owner, let it change into a serpent in his hand and rend him. Let him be struck with palsy, and all his members blasted. Let him languish in pain crying out for mercy, and let there be no surcrease to his agony till he sing in dissolution. Let bookworms gnaw his entrails, let the flames of Hell consume him forever."
Like I said. Really seriously. Also that bit about the members means exactly what you think it does.
-The Chinese had moveable type by the eleventh century CE.
-Richard de Bury was responsible for a large chunk of the British library, eventually, and said such things as this: "The same man cannot love both gold and books" (guess which one I love).
-Everyone's familiar with this quote, I'm sure, but I'm so fond of it that you get to hear it again. "When I get a little money, I buy books; and if any is left, I buy food and clothes." Erasmus.
-Pope Nicholas used to send his cardinals out around Europe to beg, borrow, buy, copy, or outright steal books he wanted. Respected churchmen would hide books down their robes and leave. Seriously.
-Martin Luther was a killjoy as far as non-Bible books went. "Discard such dung" indeed.
-"Books that you may carry to the fireside, and hold readily in your hand, are the most useful, after all." Samuel Johnson.
-"There is no worse robber than a bad book." Italian proverb.
-"Some books, like the City of London, are the better for being burned." Tom Brown. I must admit that I laughed harder than I should at that.
-There's a book in the Library of Congress, the Presidental spending book from 1810 or some such, that was taken from the original Library of Congress when it was burned in 1814, and returned in 1940. Imagine those fines.
-The first circulating libraries, that people could actually borrow books from, were subscriber-only. The first free public library was the Boston Athanaenum in America.
-The British Parliament passed the Public Libraries Act in 1850, thus beginning the process of creating tax-funded libraries as opposed to libraries founded by generous benefactors.
-The largest library in the world is the Library of Congress, in Washington DC, with more than 32 million books and 138 million total items.
-Someone asked Samuel Clemens to defend his work when the Brooklyn Library was considering banning it, and expected a serious answer. For those of you who don't get the joke, Samuel Clemens is the real name of Mark Twain.
-The 20th century was really bad for libraries, except in the United States (which suffered all of one attack on their soil). The States therefore have possibly the best library system in the world.
Short version? Libraries are awesome, and if you live in the United States, you have access to the best system of libraries in the world. Have you thanked a librarian today?