"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.