The Library: A Fragile History

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When important books were in Latin, it is logical that trade in them could be international, and it is fascinating to read about how that trade worked. Frankfurt Fair already had a biannual meeting of publishers in the sixteenth century. Once printed books became established, auctions became widespread. Books held their value well, so selling off the collection raised useful cash to fund retirement, or provide a widow with funds. In the 1600s, some Dutch clerics raised the equivalent of about 20 years of income when their estate sold their books. This was such an amazing and thorough recounting of the make up and scope of libraries from ancient times until now. I was impressed with the amount of detail and research that went into this and the writing was far from dry as it wove through time and scope. Some did, of course, such as the Fife-based “think tank”, the Adam Smith Institute, which proposed introducing fees. We were in the era of Thatcher and everything upon which cohesive communities were built was vulnerable.

The New York Public Library hosts events online, in person, and/or outdoors. The following information applies to online events. Public Notice & Disclaimer I was so excited to read The Library: A Fragile History! A book dedicated simply and wholly to the subject of libraries? Yes, please! This is an exhaustive, detailed dive into a subject that is dear to most book lovers: namely the history of libraries and the roles they have played over the years. I fully expected this to become a new favorite. Famed across the known world,jealouslyguarded 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 ofincident.In TheLibrary, historians AndrewPettegreeand Arthur derWeduwenintroduce us to the antiquarians and philanthropists who shaped the world’s great collections, trace theriseand fall ofliterarytastes, and reveal the high crimes and misdemeanors committed in pursuit of rare manuscripts.In doing so, they reveal that whilecollections themselves are fragile, often falling into ruinwithin a few decades, the idea of the library has been remarkably resilientas each generation makes—and remakes—theinstitution anew. Andrew Pettegree holds a professorship at St Andrews University and is one of the leading experts on Europe during the Reformation. He is the author of The Invention of News , which won the Goldsmith Prize and Brand Luther, among other publications. Clearly, the history of Christianity is one of bibliophilia, although that love does not extend to all books in the same way: Pettegree and der Weduwen highlight the willingness of medieval monks to preserve pre-Christian literature, the readiness of early modern Protestants and Catholics to burn rival Christian texts, and later, the desire of (some) French revolutionaries to purge Europe of theological literature in general.As a former librarian and student of library studies, this book needed to work hard to impress me. Unfortunately, it failed. I’m not doubting the scholarship and structure of the text, but I had some major issues. Libraries really are wonderful. They’re better than bookshops, even. I mean bookshops make a profit on selling you books, but libraries just sit there lending you books quietly out of the goodness of their hearts.” )

Such a church will combine “a certain level of continuity with its cultural setting,” while also holding a loving, constructively critical posture toward that culture. It’s neither a baptized replica of whatever the local unbelievers think and do nor a curmudgeonly voice that only speaks in negative, condemnatory tones about its neighbors. The church inhabits culture differently. Much better known is the movement inspired by Andrew Carnegie whose vast wealth allowed him to endow thousands of libraries in the UK and US. An adept deal-maker, he offered seed money in exchange for a commitment by local authorities to run libraries. Reprehensible as some of his business practices may have been, his contribution to the growth of libraries is immeasurable. Hurtado’s work provided an excellent guide to the early Christian community as one that devoured the written word. More recently still, the historians Andrew Pettegree and Arthur der Weduwen, both of the University of St. Andrews, have produced a superb book— The Library: A Fragile History—that pairs well with Hurtado’s volume in helping readers to understand Christianity’s complex relationship to book culture across the broad sweep of history, from the ancient world to the present day. N.B. This event will take place in-person at The London Library with limited capacity and in alignment with up-to-date government COVID recommendations. Please read our Event Access and COVID Guidelines before you arrive. Doors (and the bar) open at 7.10pm for a 7.30pm start.Arthur der Weduwen is a British Academy Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of St Andrews and Deputy Director of the University Short Title Catalogue. He researches and writes on the history of the Dutch Republic, books, news, libraries and early modern politics. He is the author of Dutch and Flemish Newspapers of the Seventeenth Century, The Bookshop of the World: Making and Trading Books in the Dutch Golden Age (coauthored with Andrew Pettegree) and two books on early newspaper advertising in the Netherlands. Into the new age of how the running of libraries changed with more and more library managers being female and how that changed the perspective/curating of books and subjects with a more wide-ranging perspectives. Discussed traveling libraries, bookmobile, etc especially in Texas (I remember this when i was a kid). How in the mid-1900s funding has been a challenge, dwindling use. The expanding of book topics to secular / disapproved books..... much discussion/disagreement of what was appropriate and not in a public library, slowly becoming more and more secular. Also the focus shift on more and more young people. In today's bonus author interview, I sit down with Moshik Temkin to discuss his most recent book on leadership: Warriors, Rebels, and Saints: The Art of Leadership from Machiavelli to Malcolm X.

In this bonus, author interview, I sit down with historian Adrian Goldsworthy and discuss his most recent book: Rome and Persia: The Seven Hundred Year Rivalry. Live at The London Library, Andrew Pettegree and Arthur der Weduwen discuss their beautifully illustrated new book, the first major history of its kind, which explores the contested and dramatic history of the library, 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 fashions and tastes, and reveal the high crimes and misdemeanours committed in pursuit of rare and valuable manuscripts. The Nazis weren't the last to burn books and authors, their publishers and translators are still at mortal risk (as can be seen by Salman Rushdie's story that claimed several lives already). Not to mention the new rise of censorship, even or especially in 1st-world-countries that really should know better. While I’m reluctant to criticize such an accomplished book, I did wonder whether more might be said on Christianity’s complex relationship to books: like the medievals before him, for example, the Protestant reformer John Calvin was committed to the study and preservation of pre-Christian pagan literature. (In that Reformation-era mindset, non-Christian and heretical Christian literature were two very different things and faced distinct reactions.) Clearly, the history of Christianity is one of bibliophilia, although that love does not extend to all books in the same way.What utterly intrigued me was the way that exactly what a library is FOR has changed over the centuries. I am a huge fan of the public library, and absolutely uphold its place as a community resource. I do know that in medieval Europe, libraries were the province of monasteries and nobles - not least because that reflects the literacy of the age, and also the aspirations of such people. They begin with the fabled library of Alexandria (in Egypt, not Dunbartonshire), which is believed to have existed around the third century BC. No-one knows exactly the extent of its collection but estimates suggest it housed around 200,000 scrolls; there may have been as many as half a million. Even by modern standards these were phenomenal accumulations, requiring organised accessioning, systematic cataloguing and a cadre of talented scholars engaged as librarians. What happened to the library is lost in the mists of time. Pettegree and Weduken’s best guess is that it was destroyed during a Roman invasion. Using art, film, and literature to illustrate the drama of the past, Temkin considers how leaders have made decisions in the most difficult circumstances—from the Great Depression of the 1930s to the dictatorship of Rafael Trujillo and from the anticolonial wars of the 20th century to the civil rights struggle—and how, in a world desperate for good leadership, we can evaluate those decisions and draw lessons for today. The article for the German-speakers here (or if you want to have google translate it for you): https://www.sueddeutsche.de/kultur/bi...