Ben Waber reviewed Library by Arthur der Weduwen
A Comprehensive History of Written Texts, Collections, and the Emergence of Libraries
5 stars
This book traces the evolution of written text, the development of commercial activity around it, and the eventual (extremely recent) emergence of modern libraries. For those unfamiliar with the book industry these chapters will be especially illuminating, and the dominance of a subscription model for libraries until quite recently was fascinating. The book is more Western-focused than I'd like, with strangely little coverage of libraries under the Ottoman Empire or in Asia more broadly. Overall, however, this is an incredible view into the forces that led to the creation of modern libraries and just how fragile those institutions can be. Highly recommend.
This book traces the evolution of written text, the development of commercial activity around it, and the eventual (extremely recent) emergence of modern libraries. For those unfamiliar with the book industry these chapters will be especially illuminating, and the dominance of a subscription model for libraries until quite recently was fascinating. The book is more Western-focused than I'd like, with strangely little coverage of libraries under the Ottoman Empire or in Asia more broadly. Overall, however, this is an incredible view into the forces that led to the creation of modern libraries and just how fragile those institutions can be. Highly recommend.