The Meaning of the Library: A Cultural History - Hardcover

"This wide-ranging survey of the long and tumultuous history of libraries contains at least a dozen tantalizing bits of information per page. I was fascinated and enriched. And because these essays began as lectures delivered in a library, they illustrate beautifully one of the library's most important roles--as a stage set for writers to share what they've learned about various subjects, including Roman bathhouses, Victorian fumigators, plunder, lust, and the eighteenth-century librarian upon whose death, it was said, ‘The books are grievin, ‘mang themselves.'"--Marilyn Johnson, author of This Book Is Overdue!: How Librarians and Cybrarians Can Save Us All

"The Meaning of the Library covers the history of the library from antiquity to the present day. This is a very good collection of essays."--Colin Burrow, editor of Metaphysical Poetry

"The library as a topic is currently of increasing cultural interest. I enjoyed The Meaning of the Library and learned a lot from the book's eclectic and interesting mix of essays."--Richard Ovenden, Bodley's Librarian, University of Oxford

"The Meaning of the Library covers the history of the library from antiquity to the present day. This is a very good collection of essays."--Colin Burrow, editor ofMetaphysical Poetry

"The library as a topic is currently of increasing cultural interest. I enjoyedThe Meaning of the Library and learned a lot from the book’s eclectic and interesting mix of essays."--Richard Ovenden, Bodley’s Librarian, University of Oxford