Reid Byers

While perhaps not for everyone, this magnificent volume (both in terms of content and production) is a must for anyone who loves libraries, and not just for the books they contain.

The majority of the book describes the developmental history of the private library from earliest times of which we know, through to the English country home libraries that form the archetype we possess today, and beyond. The scholarly thoroughness is impeccable, but it is conveyed in chatty, personable tones with witty asides and colloquial expressions. The focus is on the architecture of home libraries, and how these were incorporated into the home. If the text has an organizing idea, it is that of the "book-wrapt" environment that private libraries were meant to provide for private study. Recognition that the emotional/psychological/aesthetic experience of residing in a room in which books encompass you from all directions is often overlooked by writers on libraries. This volume shows how powerful that simple realization can be to helping us understand why people love the library, and why, despite the prevalence of the digital format, books and their library homes will continue to endure.

Because private libraries are those around which major institutional libraries are formed, this template helps us to better understand how the great national and academic libraries were formed (although that story is not part of this author's project).… (plus d'informations)