The Library: A Fragile History

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Its only true rival lay in the east, where the Parthian and then Persian empires ruled over great cities and the trade routes to mysterious lands beyond. This was the region Alexander the Great had swept through, creating a dream of glory and conquest that tantalized Greeks and Romans alike. Tracing seven centuries of conflict between Rome and Persia, historian Adrian Goldsworthy shows how these two great powers evolved together. Despite their endless clashes, trade between the empires enriched them both, and a mutual respect prevented both Rome and Persia from permanently destroying the other. Reading Publics: New York City’s Public Libraries, 1754-1911, by Tom Glynn — NYPL Catalog ; Bookshare The New York Public Library hosts events online, in person, and/or outdoors. The following information applies to online events. Public Notice & Disclaimer

One caveat to consider whether this book is for you. The Library is intended for the reader who is interested in the minutiae of books and their history of collections, a reader who would enjoy learning of the details of collecting over the millennia and the people, collections and libraries involved. Perfect for book lovers, this is a fascinating exploration of the history of libraries and the people who built them, from the ancient world to the digital age.Arthur der Weduwen is a British Academy Postdoctoral Fellow and Deputy Director of the Universal Short Title Catalogue project at St Andrews. This is his fifth book. Libraries will continue to exist as long as people use their resources. A thriving library is managed effectively by people who work to understand the needs of their community and develop their collections to meet those current needs and anticipate future needs. They are forward thinking. What a wonderful treasure for anyone interested in books, reading and the impact they had on history and modern time. I had a temporary copy to read but will definitely have this one on my re-read shelf. Dogged original research and superb narrative skills come together in this gripping account of pitiless evil.

And let's not forget that royal patronage was as essential to the scholar as to the ruler (a kind of symbiosis) since the ruler profited from insights or even scientific breakthroughs that meant they could establish or even expand their rule while the scholar had the means to pursue the sciences and in relative safety.

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I began my career working on aspects of the European Reformation. My first book was a study of religious refugee communities in the sixteenth century, and since then I have published on the Dutch Revolt, and on the Reformation in Germany, France and England, as well as a general survey history of the sixteenth century. In the last years the focus of my research has shifted towards an interest in the history of communication, and especially the history of the book. I run a research group that in 2011 completed a survey of all books published before1601: the Universal Short Title Catalogue. This work continues with work to incorporate new discoveries and continue the survey into the seventeenth century. Famed across the known world, jealously guarded by private collectors, built up over centuries, destroyed in a single day, ornamented with gold leaf and frescoes or filled with bean bags and children's drawings - the history of the library is rich, varied and stuffed full of incident.

The author's youthfulness helps to assure the inevitable comparison with the Anne Frank diary although over and above the sphere of suffering shared, and in this case extended to the death march itself, there is no spiritual or emotional legacy here to offset any reader reluctance. I am the lead editor of two monograph series: the St Andrews Studies in Reformation History, and The Library of the Written Word. In 2012-2015 I served a three year term as Vice-President of the Royal Historical Society. It speaks of the central library of Cologne, which will be completely rebuilt by 2026. The architects mentioned in the article want libraries to become fully fledged "third locations" (the first being one's home, the second your school or place of work).The Nazis weren't the last to burn books and authors, their publishers and translators are still at mortal risk (as can be seen by Salman Rushdie's story that claimed several lives already). Not to mention the new rise of censorship, even or especially in 1st-world-countries that really should know better. In another existence – and another millennium – I was a librarian. It is a mark on my curriculum vitae that I am proud to share with Casanova, Mao Tse-Tung and J Edgar Hoover. My first job was in a branch library off Edinburgh’s Leith Walk, which had a characterful clientele. Lodged in my memory is an elderly woman called Daisy Miller who turned up more or less daily for a fix of Netta Muskett and Catherine Cookson, the latter being the then mainstay of the public library. If you want to know why New York was comparatively late in building a public library network, Tom Glynn’s magisterial study of the library culture of New York before the building of the NYPL is the book to read. A meticulous and profound introduction to a city filled with readers as it was transformed into a diverse economic powerhouse in the nineteenth century.