xvi, 269 pages ;24 cm
"First published in 2017 by The Text Publishing Company, Melbourne, Australia"--Title page verso.
Infinity --A library with no books: oral traditions and the songlines --The pleasure of books --The last days of Alexandria: ancient books and their storage --Books in bed --In pursuit of perfection: the rise of the codex --Fools in love --"A damned sewerful of men": Renaissance rediscoveries --Mean-spirited collectors --Free for all: the abundance of books in the printing era --Curiosities --"What the Barbarians did not do": the Vatican Library --Delicacies --Secret histories: tricks and treasures in library design --Found --Keepers of books: the best and worst librarians in history --Vandals --The quintessence of debauchery: Heber, Byron, and Barry --Writers' libraries --Execration upon Vulcan: libraries destroyed by fire and war --Library fauna --The Count: book looters and thieves --Book wheels and machines --"The interior of a library should whisper": The Pierpont Morgan Library --When disaster strikes --For the glory: The Folger Shakespeare Library --Birth --Killing a monk: fantasy libraries --Death --A love letter: libraries for the future --Afterlife.
From the Bodleian, the Folger and the Smithsonian to the fabled libraries of Middle Earth and other fictional libraries, Kells explores the bookish places that capture our imaginations. The result is a fascinating and engaging exploration of libraries as places of beauty and wonder, a celebration of books as objects and an account of the deeply personal nature of these hallowed spaces.
1.Books and reading.2.Libraries--History.3.Libraries--Appreciation.Dynamic Details