Entry #20

• Dawar, Anil and Kennedy, Maev.  (2009)  "British Library Mislays 9,000 Books."  The Guardian.
• Accessible online at http://bit.ly/2nkyoZZ

This is an article I stumbled across while beginning some research into library security.  And how does a title like this not grab your eye?  9,000 books?  Missing??

The British Library reported the losses, including "Renaissance treatises on theology and alchemy, a medieval text on astronomy, first editions of 19th- and 20th-century novels, and a luxury edition of Mein Kampf produced in 1939 to celebrate Hitler’s 50th birthday."  While I wondered if this article belonged in my history log, I decided to add it because look at all that history that was lost!  The librarians place theft low on the list, listing all the usual reasons something goes missing in the little public library I work in--misplaced on shelves, something happening to the spine label, an item pulled for repair but never location never marked, or a change never actually getting saved in the catalog.  This article doesn't specify the time range these items were lost in (it does mention losses from the library's move in 1998), so I don't know what rate all this history was lost.  A spokesperson from the library security firm SA Secure remembered a small library he consulted at lost a fifth of its collection in four years.

I remember the story of Panizzi, whose entire career at the head of the British Library was spent organizing the collections.  I think of my library who converted from Dewey Decimal to WordWise.  What is the best way to properly organize and thus preserve these materials, to prevent such loss?  Or is such loss just inevitable?  (Which does seem to be the case when 650km of shelving and 150m items, that are also being moved by the millions back and forth to reading rooms, are involved.)  I wonder if digitization is one answer.  If the materials were digitized, researchers could peruse an item without it ever needing to be removed from the shelf.  Only librarians would have access, which would cut down on misplacement upon return, a location change not getting scanned, a label falling off due to constant handling, or just plain theft.

The entrance to the British Library, courtesy of Wikimedia Commons:
http://bit.ly/2nJw4fX

Entry #19

• Atkinson, Juliette.  (2013) "The London library and the circulation of French fiction in the 1840s."  Information & Culture, 48 (4), 391-418.
• A "Dig Deeper" article from Modern Libraries
• Accessible online at http://bit.ly/2nEKz4q

Nineteenth century France is fascinating with all its turmoil, I think we can all agree.  Its history and its literature particularly interests me.  Alexandre Dumas is one of my favorite authors, and of course there is Victor Hugo and Jules Verne.  (Should I even mention the Marquis de Sade...?)  Yet I thought England and France weren't exactly friends during this time, so I wouldn't have imagined there would be much exchange of written works between the two countries.  Indeed, the first sentence Atkinson hits us with is "The Victorians, it is often declared, did not read French novels."

At first, the article does seem like it will be about a conflict between stereotypical-prudish Victorian English readers and stereotypical-sexual and -violent French authors with "diseased imaginations."  But Atkinson digs into Victorian society, pulling examples from sources such as library records, bookshop receipts, and letters, to get a real picture of their reading habits...and it turns out French novels were quite the hit!  One of the first things to strike me was that the 'opposition' wasn't towards French literature specifically...it was towards all fiction.  Libraries wanted to bring people into their buildings, which novels would certainly do, but librarians and scholars worried that novels would drag down readers' intelligence and morals.  One subscription library, Mudie's, even warned its patrons "“might do well to deny themselves occasionally the pleasure of using this institution as a means of enjoying cheaply the perusal of books which speedily sink into oblivion.”

Yet novels were popular regardless.  As a result, subtle and non-official encouragements towards French literature began to happen.  The English novels would be all checked out, so a desperate reader takes home the French.  English titles would be completed in one volume, so a voracious reader might choose the eight-volume Dumas title instead--and s/he would be allowed to take all eight at once because it was considered altogether.  "New" titles (as in those written in the last two years) could only be checked out for seven days.  As the imported French titles were often older than that, they could loan for longer.  All these little things stacked up to give French literature an advantage in the Victorian libraries, an advantage many of the upper-class learned didn't want at all to give it in the first place!  Yet it created a market for the novels and with that now-international popularity, surely helped Dumas, Balzac and their contemporaries achieve 'classic' status today.

Entry #18

• Croteau, Jeffrey.  (2006)  "Yet more American circulating libraries: a preliminary checklist of Brooklyn (New York) circulating libraries."  Library History, 22 (3), 171-180.
• A "Dig Deeper" article from Modern Libraries
• Accessible online at http://bit.ly/2mnqdMX

At first, I thought this would just be a list of public libraries in Brooklyn, with a discussion of what we could then infer about society (social classes, immigration), from them.

My mistake was thinking that "circulating" libraries were the same as public libraries.  They were more along the line of subscription libraries, in that users would pay a fee to check out books for a set amount of time.  Brooklyn is described "a strongly literate community" in the 19th century and so had many non-profit libraries, but those often took "a civic or moral orientation" and catered to white, upper-class men.  The circulating libraries, while eventually declining, held on for the first half of the 19th century by clever marketing strategies.  They were set up in commercial areas, which helped considered how heavily they advertised to women (who were not as welcome in the public libraries).  Circulating libraries were also willing to stock whatever would get people in the door...which lead to criticism that they were "‘unabashed[ly] trafficking in ‘low’ or ‘unfit’ novels to ‘young’ and ‘impressionable’ females’."  Which an allegation that would be leveled at all libraries, eventually.

I wonder if these circulating libraries had an impact on public libraries, in widening their collections to draw in the users who weren't coming in but instead paying for the circulating libraries.  Croteau early on in the article bemoans the lack of research in this area, but that is something I would be interested in digging into.

Entry #17

• Peterson, Herman A.  (2010)  "The genesis of monastic libraries."  Libraries & the Cultural Record, 45 (3), 320-332.
• A "Dig Deeper" article from Early Libraries
• Accessible online at http://bit.ly/2nYvhDV

I thought I'd like to read a little bit more on monasteries, as they seemed to have a large impact on the development of both libraries and literacy in Western society.

From the opening paragraph, I thought this would be another article on the manual process monks put themselves through when creating a book.  But Peterson instead takes a different angle, bringing to light texts (such as The Rule of Benedict and Rule of the Master) that served to instruct monks in how to best utilize their time when it came to reading.  This wasn't merely to uphold educational standards but to keep monks occupied.  As the saying goes...idle hands are the Devil's tools!  I had to laugh though at how specific the instructions were in The Rule of the Master.  The monks were told when and where to sit, so as not to have too many voices in one spot, and how many listeners should be per one speaker.  I also got a laugh out of the instructions written down by an Egyptian monk named Pachomius:

"And if he is illiterate, he shall go at the first, third, and sixth hours to someone who can teach and has been appointed for him. He shall stand before him and learn very studiously with all gratitude...even if he does not want to, he shall be compelled to read."

Don't feel like reading?  Tough!  You're gonna read anyway.

Peterson also discussed the emphasis of memorization in monasteries, which seems at odds with their written culture (as opposed to oral).  There were practical purposes to this--if a monk was called to public prayer, then there would be no hesitation--but also because it was believed that if these prayers and scriptures were memorized, then they became part of that person.  This is where the phrase "by heart" comes from, of which I had never known the origin so I found this pretty cool.

Entry #16

• Dean, Heather.  (2011)  "'The persuasion of books': The Significance of Libraries in Colonial British Columbia."  Libraries & the Cultural Record, 46 (1), 50-72.
• http://bit.ly/2mQw0HK

I stumbled across this article while looking for more information on colonial or Revolutionary-era America.  But the introduction had me hooked.  "Reading was not a passive and apolitical activity but instead had a significant impact on frontier society."  According to Dean, "Victoria's elite believed that libraries and literary pursuits would promote the respectable and reliable masculinity necessary for fostering healthy families and, by extension, a prosperous and stable colony."  This is another article that will focus on the role of literacy in society.

I found myself thinking about Lutie Stearns, who founded the traveling libraries in Wisconsin because the rural communities were lacking for literature, and of the lighthouse libraries, which were created to alleviate the isolation of the keepers.  Settlers felt the same isolation and missed the "mental food" of their home country.  Then when miners came over, they were frustrated with having "no place to which they can go to spend a leisure hour in rational enjoyment."  The higher class men who ran the territory wanted to bring libraries in then as an attempt to culture up the miners, who because of no other options, would hang out in bars and brothels.  That reminded me of Albert Meyzeek, who feared for black youth in Louisville because they had no healthy recreation or educational options, and so agitated for a YMCA and for a library.  This article was another that reiterated the role of literacy in societies, and the importance of education.

Entry #15

• Cook, Karen.  (2013)  "Struggles Within: Lura G. Currier, the Mississippi Library Commission, and Library Services to African Americans."  Information & Culture, 48 (1), 134-156.
• Accessible online at http://bit.ly/2mKiLZc

For my Actio #4, I researched into the Louisville Free Public Library Western Branch, which was the first public library for African Americans and staffed by African Americans.  It was horribly fascinating to read how public libraries, self-educational institutions that should be open to everyone, tried to navigate segregation.  Often, it seemed the libraries failed.

The difference in this article from my research for the Actio is that this article focused on a white woman, Lura Currier who felt obligated to follow Mississippi Law but was morally disgusted by it.  Mississippi was the site of a bus boycott and of a library sit-in, so civil rights was a hot issue and integration was desired by many (both blacks & whites), so Currier wasn't unique in her feelings--she was unique in her position.  She was the director of the Mississippi Library Commission.  One instance that struck me was how Currier had to turn down opportunities or vote against ALA movements that would bar segregated libraries, as she did not want to disavow her workplace(s).  There were split reactions to this then among the ALA, from 'how could she?' to agreement that Southern libraries shouldn't be abandoned over state laws.  It was interesting (although, again, horribly so) to read the internal strife the ALA suffered over civil rights.  But this article did show the need for places like the Western Colored Branch, which actually did something to serve African-American patrons, rather than argue.

This article also meshed with the topic of advocacy that has been discussed in my other class this semester, Public Library Management.  Currier did get involved in politics, albeit as lightly as possible, by working to desegregate the libraries.  Or perhaps it is better to say "not to seem fully committed to segregation," as she worked slowly but the quotes pulled from her correspondence that she did agonize over the right course to take in her decisions and tried to see ahead as far as possible.  But it highlighted the trouble that can come when libraries don't fall in with state or federal policy.

Entry #14

• Laskow, Sarah.  (2016)  "Protect Your Library the Medieval Way, With Horrifying Book Curses."  AtlasObscura.com.
• Accessible online at http://bit.ly/2lox3xn

When I saw this article posted by Atlas Obscura's Facebook page, I knew I had to read it.  And it put me in mind of the ancient Assyrians, who would also etch warnings into their tablets to prevent theft (see the 600s BCE), so then I knew I had to add this to my History Log.

This article is basically a quick summary of a book published in 1983, titled Anathema! Medieval Scribes and the History of Book Curses.  Its author, Marc Drogin, came across his first 'book curse' while researching medieval calligraphy.  At first it was just a curiosity, but as Drogin found more examples, he realized it was a sign of just how valuable books had been.  As mentioned in this article and as we've read in class, it was a laborious process to make a book--copying it out, perhaps illuminating it, binding it, creating a cover.  Let's not forget to add in travel time and all the dangers of the road if someone was making a copy outside their home monastery or library.  I liked the end of the article, which discusses repeats.  Not every monk was clever enough to come up with their own unique thief deterrant--Drogin marked this as one of the most common: "May whoever steals or alienates this book, or mutilates it, be cut off from the body of the church and held as a thing accursed."

I personally liked the effort that clearly went into this one:

"For him that stealeth, or borroweth and returneth not, this book from its owner, let it change into a serpent in his hand & rend him. Let him be struck with palsy & all his members blasted. Let him languish in pain crying aloud for mercy,  & let there be no surcease to his agony till he sing in dissolution. Let bookworms gnaw his entrails in token of the Worm that dieth not, & when at last he goeth to his final punishment, let the flames of Hell consume him for ever."

Entry #13

• Hammer, Joshua.  (2014)  "The Brave Sage of Timbuktu: Abdel Kader Haidara."  Nationalgeographic.com.
• Accessible online at http://bit.ly/1hdKVB3

Entry #6 of this History Log was about the Timbuktu's early history with libraries.  At the time, it reminded me of a book that I've been meaning to read, The Bad-Ass Librarians of Timbuktu by Joshua Hammer.  This is the article Hammer originally wrote about Haidara.  While this articles speaks on events less than a decade old, I believe it still ties into the class.

Just as in the previous entry regarding the Prussian music collection, Haidara oversaw the scattering of 350,000 manuscripts to "safe houses" in order to protect them from AQIM, the terrorist group who at that time had seized northern Mali.  I hope Haidara had better luck re-assembling his collection!  Haidara became a librarian to fill his father's shoes, who had been the head collector at the Ahmed Baba Institute.  Haidara would, after expanding the collection by 20,000 volumes, eventually leave the institute to build his family's archive (his father had also been a great scholar who had amassed his own personal library).  The former Libyan dictator, Qaddafi, attempted to purchase the family collection!  But Haidara turned the offer down, saying "...this isn't for me. This is the heritage of Mali, of a great nation. It's not for sale."

The purpose of Haidara's library to display Mali's rich intellectual history (as seen in Entry #6) and he  and his team rescued manuscripts from around the country, at great risk.  (Hammer tells the story of Haidara's nephew, who almost lost a hand for theft when he was discovered removing materials from a library within occupied territory.)  Again, I see the power the written word has on culture and the way librarians are working to diligently to preserve it because of its historical context.  It is argued in this article that the colonial conception that Africans had no written language was what led to the perception of a "subhuman position."  "So the presence of these books had high, high stakes, going back to the 18th century."

Here is the link to the Mamma Haidara Memorial Library's page through the Tombouctou Manuscript Project's site.

Entry #12

• Sroka, Marek.  (2007)  "The music collection of the former Prussian State Library at the Jagiellonian Library in Kraków, Poland: past, present, and future developments."  Library Trends, 55 (3), 651-664.
• A "Dig Deeper" article from Today and Tomorrow
• Accessible online at http://bit.ly/2lxLEL5

I thought this would be offer a different perspective than what I've been reading so far.  This article focuses on a specific collection, rather than on a building.

This was less on the specifics of the collection and more on the politics surrounding it.  WWII saw the destruction of many countries' cultural icons, be those buildings, statues, paintings or books.  Poland was hit hard but Germany was also no exception.  In an attempt to save their collections from bombings, the Prussian State Library divided their materials up and scattered them around the country...which was later sectioned off into occupation zones and some areas lost when borders were rearranged.  (I have read other accounts of similar situations, where personal or institutional materials were scattered in order to 'protect' them, but ultimately only to be lost in the post-war chaos.)  Poland ended up with the Prussian State Library's music collection, which included original scores of composers like Bach and Beethoven, but kept it secret.  Sroka called one of the motivations behind this secrecy "cultural justice," the idea that the Soviets wouldn't make the return of Polish artifacts the priority that was promised, meaning Germany would keep what was taken from them.  (This did turn out to be the case.)  To read how the return of these materials happened incrementally, with the bulk still being held by Poland today, was fascinating.  It's almost hard to believe that, as of the time of Sroka's writing, negotiations of exchange were still being attempted.  (I was unable to find any updates on this situation, if any more materials had been returned in the ten years since.)

Entry #11

• Cloonan, Michele Valerie.  (2007)  "The paradox of preservation."  Library Trends, 56 (1), 133-147.
• A "Dig Deeper" article from Today & Tomorrow
• Accessible online at http://bit.ly/2mONZy5

I was drawn to this article because it immediately made me think of the Digital Libraries class that I took last semester.  One of the major discussion points in that class had been the issue of preservation.  That sounds obvious, but there were several angles to it that I hadn't considered.  How does a library choose what to preserve when funds are low and shelf space is tight, yet server space is also limited?

"For had they remained buried, we would not know of them; thus the important information we have gotten from them would not be ours."  Cloonan writes this in regards to the Nag Hammadi bindings--codices that were sealed in a jar underground, eventually dug up by farmers.  In a variety of ways (including the farmers' mother using one or two to light her stove), these codices were damaged after being discovered.  Was the information contained on these scrolls worth this destruction?  Cloonan does not make an argument either way, merely points out the paradox.  I thought of it like Schrodinger's cat, almost.  We wouldn't know what was on the codices until we unrolled them...and what good do they do history if they are never read again?  Rather than be scared by mishandling or too much handling, we should take such anecdotes as evidence of the need for better digitization methods, and more funding.  (Digitizing an item would then allow it to be stored safely, with minimal further handling.)

He also uses politically incorrect/offensive cartoons as an example, to raise the issue of when do librarians and curators deem something "useless"?  I didn't find this particularly original, but did agree with one of the Islamic center librarians he spoke with--preserve, as "everything is grist for historians," but do not display.  I did find, however, his case for the Holocaust concentration camps fascinating.  I've never questioned why they were preserved, or how, nor did I ever think how that preservation of a physical site coincided with what we librarians do.  It does, on paper, seem almost wrong that Jewish organizations raise so much money to preserve these camps, which were meant as temporary sites, but it is important.  It can be horrifying to visit, but the sites will mean different things to different people.  Which of course raises the question of how to do so, such as with Cloonan's specific example of physical remains of hair samples taken from prisoners.  Some want the samples preserved for as long as possible, as a stark reminder of the people who suffered, but some want these remains buried as a sign of respect.  This is an extreme case most librarians may never deal with when preserving material, but it did make me think.

Entry #10

• Luyt, Brendan.  (2009)  "Colonialism, ethnicity, and geopolitics in the development of the Singapore National Library."  Libraries & the Cultural Record, 44 (4), 418-433.
• A "Dig Deeper" article from Contemporary Libraries
• Accessible online at http://bit.ly/2m3yF0v

There are many interesting things happening at this time in libraries.  The 1950s and 60s in America were particularly tumultuous and there seems no lack of articles available discussing how libraries reacted to different events or to changing societal attitudes.  But this particular article caught my eye because it is about the Singapore National Library, in a country whose history I do not know much about.

The theme of this article is striking--the power of language.  The British colonists were not concerned with investing into Singapore's infrastructure, so it was not surprising that funds weren't spent on education and libraries.  The Raffles Library existed, in theory for everyone, but the subscription and the English-language materials made it in practice only for Europeans.  Later on, when Singapore began moving towards independence, Lee Kong Chian offered the new government $375,000 to build a national public library--but only if it stocked materials in Asian languages.  The issue was that there were four languages to supply for.  Malay as the national language needed to be developed.  Mandarin materials overwhelmed the collection, as the Chinese (who, like the British, used Singapore for its economic opportunities) did put money into Singapore's social structure.  English, despite being the language of their occupiers, was still seen as "the language of the future."  Politics creeped into the library's collection development again during the Cold War.  Singapore's government was anti-Communist and passed several acts to restrict 'offending' literature--which meant Chinese-language literature suddenly wasn't coming into Singapore.  (And as most Singapore citizens had received a Chinese education, because that's who funded their schools, the librarians worried about alienating that demographic.)

In today's contemporary public library, we worry about how to split our CD funds so that Spanish-speakers (and others, depending on the individual community) feel represented and welcome in the library.  Which feels challenging enough!  So it was fascinating to read Luyt's article about how the Singapore National Library had to deal with the issue of languages to the extreme.

Entry #9

• Stotts, Stuart.  (2006-2007)  "A thousand little libraries: Lutie Stearns, the Johnny Appleseed of Books."  Wisconsin Magazine of History, 90 (2), 38-49.
• A "Dig Deeper" article from Contemporary Libraries
• Accessible online at http://bit.ly/2muxhmA

I live in the Fort Wayne area.  Of course I clicked on article with "Johnny Appleseed" in the title.

I admire Lutie Stearns' work ethic and commitment to her ideals.  In her time with the Wisconsin Free Library Commission, she "had helped to establish over 150 free libraries, 1,400 traveling libraries, and 14 county library systems."  She was also a member of the ALA, and an accomplished public speaker despite her stutter.  I liked that the beginning of her career as a librarian happened because she was a teacher bringing her students to check out book, trying to make up for inadequate school library.  She was very committed to getting books into the hands of children, which wasn't a popular idea at the time because it was thought kids would be destructive.  From excerpts of letters included, it seems like communities really took pride and ownership in their little libraries.  It was good to read this historical example of the library's purpose of self-education, and to find inspiration in such a woman as Lutie Stearns.

Entry #8

• Glynn, Tom.  (2005)  "The New York Society Library: books, authority, and public in colonial and early republican New York."  Libraries & Culture, 40 (4), 493-529.
• A "Dig Deeper" article from Modern Libraries
• Accessible online at http://bit.ly/2mgtWvz

I love learning about Colonial & Revolutionary Era America.  Ergo, this article's addition to my history log.

As America struggled to find its political footing, from republicanism to democracy, it would have an effect on the New York Library, evolving it from a patriarchal library that collected materials based on their worth to the "commonweal" to a more egalitarian public institution.  But even before the Revolution, the "founding of the New York Society Library reflected and was part of pre-revolutionary colonial politics" between the Whigs and Tories.  The founding of the library was in fact an attempt to counteract the Anglican/Crown influence that was coming out of King's College.

As a huge fan of the musical Hamilton, I had a laugh reading about the "contested election of 1825," in which the library board was almost completely replaced after an unprecedented level of votes came in.  A theory going around at the time was that the takeover would have turned the library into a bank.  Glynn points out that there is no evidence of this, but I thought back to reading Ron Chernow's Hamilton biography and the common belief that bankers were scamming the public with their stocks.  (Which is why Jefferson and Hamilton butted heads so much, and this fear of stocks led the private  investigation into Hamilton's relationship with James Reynolds, which then exploded into the very public sex scandal with Maria Reynolds.)

Entry #7

• Comerford, Kathleen M.  (1999)  "What did early modern priests read? The library of the seminary of Fiesol, 1647-1721."  Libraries & Culture, 34 (3), 203-221.
• A "Dig Deeper" article from Modern Libraries
• Accessible online at http://bit.ly/2l7H7tr

I chose this article to read because I knew how much influence religious institutions had on libraries and literacy in society.  "If a person is known through her books, then an institution is no less so, and these early inventories allow historians to understand the intellectual atmosphere of a fledgling establishment."  That is the thesis statement of Comerford's article, with which I agree and is why I was interested in this topic.

I was surprised by what I found.  I imagined churches and monasteries always seeking to have large libraries, the best copies.  Common sense would dictate that smaller institutions of course wouldn't or couldn't, but regardless, that isn't what I imagined.  But that was the case of the Fiesol seminary.  They kept a library as small as they were, although inventory records often seemed to be incomplete or missing.  What was available showed that the seminary was focused more on the practical aspects of their job, rather than the theological.  Rather than books on Scripture or debating it, they texts on how to hear confessions, punish sinners, and counseling methods.  Comerford also noted the increase in grammatical books over time, indicating either (or both) a renewed interest in education or the downward trend in age among those living in the seminary.  I did enjoy reading the conundrum Comerford also came across; that Fiesol held volumes by Tacitus, a critic of Christianity who had fallen so far out of favor as to have most of his books destroyed, and volumes by Justus Lipsius, who was mostly responsible for pushing Tacitus out of favor.  Judging by the rest of the library holdings, it wasn't out of intellectual responsibility to examine both side...but rather nobody realized and nobody weeded!

Entry #6

• Singleton, Brent D. (2004).  "African Bibliophiles: Book and Libraries in Medieval Timbuktu."  Libraries & Culture, 39 (1), 1-12.
• A "Dig Deeper" article from Early Libraries
• Accessible online at http://bit.ly/2kuUMez

My interest in this article is the same as in previous entries--what were libraries like in non-Western historical context?  This is the first article on African libraries that I have seen thus far, so I jumped at the chance to read it.

The beginning of Timbuktu's story is familiar--a succession of rulers who emphasize education and literacy bring the city and its library into a "Golden Age," famed throughout the Islamic world, before war "reduced the level of scholarship to a low from which the city would never completely recover."  During the Golden Age, the learned society was like that of other Islamic cultures I have read in this class.  Books were more than just information, they were status symbols!  No business, mosque or scholar's home was complete without a vibrant library.  I loved this (albeit extreme) example pulled from a man's journal, that he "was able to purchase a rare, imported copy of Muhammad ibn Yaqub al-Firuzabadi’s al-Qamus al-muhit for the enormous sum of eighty mithqals.  This amount was equal to the purchase of two horses and totaled roughly twelve ounces of gold."  As also evidenced by trading logs, paper and ink were in high demand.

No public libraries were established, however.  Funding for private libraries came completely from wealthy individuals.  This is apparently at odds with library culture in most Islamic countries, which were known for providing free supplies so patrons could copy materials at will.  But given that the city of Timbuktu was geographically isolated and its society already bent towards great displays of individual wealth, it is not surprising they did not adopt a public institution.

The Moroccan invasion of 1591 put an end to this Golden Age, but I don't think it put an end to Timbuktu's library culture.  I was reminded while reading this of a recent story about a movement of librarians, based in Timbuktu, to preserve historic manuscript deemed forbidden by al-Qaeda.  What a history within a single city! 

Entry #5

• Ranasinghe, R.H.I.S. (2008)  "How Buddhism Influenced the Origin and Development of Libraries in Sri Lanka (Ceylon): From the Third Century BC to the Fifth Century AD."  Library History, 24 (4), 307-312.
• A "Dig Deeper" article from Early Libraries
• Accessible online at http://bit.ly/2lxiJC4

It's common to hear how Christian ideals influenced literacy in Western Europe.  And in the assigned book for this class, Muhammad's emphasis on Muslims being able to read and write themselves, enabling them to think critically on Islam.  (This, despite the fact that Muhammad himself was illiterate, which should've convinced people that he was truly speaking/writing Allah's word, he said.)  So I was interested to read how Buddhism affected literacy.

Similar to Western history, education fell under the purview of monks in Sri Lanka.  "All education, sacred as well as secu-lar, was in the hands of the monks. They had the monopoly of learning and of the leisure to impart it. They were the only custodians and bearers of the Buddhist culture."  Buddhist scriptures were handed down orally, until famine and civil unrest in the first century CE drove monks away from their traditional temples.  During their flight, to protect their traditions, monks finally wrote their scriptures down.  From this would grow a new emphasis on handwriting.  "Buddhist scholars were motivated to write religious books, as it was considered to be a meritorious act."  This idea of writing as "a meritorious act" also similar to how copying was viewed in Christianity and Islam.  Libraries then developed, of course with large collections of religious texts.

What really helped spread literacy was the Buddhist ideal of writing down all meritorious acts of a person's life.  Beauty, health, intelligence, wealth, and the like were believed to be bestowed in the next life for these good deeds which would be recorded and then read on the deathbed.  Monks handled this themselves as a temple service but eventually began teaching the general public, taking it as a new tenet.  Buddhist kings would also eventually adopt this sense of responsibility:

"Further, Sinhala Buddhist kings did much work to develop the learning activities of the citizens and provide facilities for both adults and children to learn. They took responsibility for the welfare of citizens. They thought that educating citizens was a duty of royalty. In order to enlighten the public, some of the kings built preaching halls in every village of the kingdom and kept Buddhist books in them."

It was interesting to see how the Buddhist attitude towards literacy, initially jealously guarded, grew outwards.  The written texts that would accumulate in Sri Lanka would continue spreading outward as Buddhist scholars from India and China would come to study and then make copies to go home with them.

Entry #4

• Finley, Susan (2014).  "Census Library of Ephesus: The man and the city behind the famous facade." Libra, 64 (3), 277-292.
• A "Dig Deeper" article from Ancient Libraries
• Accessible online at http://bit.ly/2kLJPbJ

Thanks to Wikimedia Commons
http://bit.ly/2lix0TV

"Celsus Library of Ephesus is one of the oldest and most frequently photographed library structures in the world."  In case you're like me, and somehow still had never seen it, here's a pic:

Finley opens her article by pointing out that most researchers focus on the Celsus Library's predecessors (the Alexandrian Library, the Library of Pergamum, or just earlier Roman public libraries) and do not delve into the history of this particular one.  She argues that it is important to learn what we can of Celsus Library, even if it is done in a roundabout way due to a lack of operating records.  "Moreover, a public library dedicated to an individual, as the Library of Celsus was, can provide potential insights into the community the library serves and the person it honors as well as the intentions of its benefactors."  (pg. 2)  I liked this sociological viewpoint.

Indeed, the first 8 pages describe the history and socio-economic circumstances of the city of Ephesus.  This could seem beside-the-point, but actually shows how the city emphasized the arts with its theater that could seat 10% of the population at a single event, the importance of education in all the school records, and the seaport records show how the library's collection development was positively affected and that the general wealth of the city at the time of the library's construction explains its grandiosity.

Celsus was a distinguished statesman from a long line of nobility, who stood out as one of the few (Greek) Eastern men to serve.  He held a number of titles, both political and military, including "aedium sacrarum et operum locorumque publicorum populi Romani, or curator of public works in Rome." (pg. 10)  So it is not so strange that after his death, his son chose to build a library in his honor.  As Celsus was seen as an inspirational figure to his fellow Greeks, who were living under Roman prejudice, the architecture of the library itself fittingly includes traditional features from both cultures.  (One thing I found interesting in the discussion on architecture is that there is no evidence of any staircase having been built.  So how did the librarians transport books between floors?  One theory included trapdoor and ladders!)

Overall, this article was a worthwhile read not just because of its subject matter, but almost more so because of its historical viewpoint--using a sociological lenses to deduce details out of context.

Entry #3

• Jiang, Shuyong (2007).  "Into the source and history of Chinese culture: knowledge classification in Ancient China."  Libraries & the Cultural Record, 42(1), 1-20
• A "Dig Deeper" article from Ancient Libraries
• Accessible online at http://bit.ly/2l6aU6h

As so much of the readings are based on the Western history of libraries, I was interested to read an article based on Eastern history.

It is fascinating to think that ancient Chinese libraries cataloged their materials not by subject, but by function in society.  I think on my library's experience of converting from Dewey to WordWise, and all the debate that went into determining category and sub-category 'keywords' and what belonged where.  How much debate must've gone into placing a new material into a bibliography based on societal function!  Surely each librarian would have their own opinion.  (And obviously each regime...much of the article is devoted to how the state's bibliography would change with each new emperor, or how books would be destroyed.  Notably was the first emperor of Qin, who didn't want scholars reading "the past to criticize the present." [pg. 4])  I was further amazed that after decades of creating a bibliography of six categories, it was eventually further whittled down to four!

"Li Chong’s reorganization of the hierarchy established the standard order of the Chinese classification system, with Confucian scriptures first, histories second, masters third, and collections of writings fourth."  (pg. 9)  Clearly, the order of the categories was also important, with the number reflecting the importance of the function.  

Entry #2

• Gwynn, Lucy (2011). "The design of the English domestic library in the seventeenth century: readers and their book rooms." Library Trends, 60 (1), 43-53.
• A "Dig Deeper" article from The Beginnings
• Accessible online at http://bit.ly/2l11ixy

Why am I reading this?  For one, because my boyfriend and I are looking at houses and in every prospect, we immediately zero in on what room we can convert into a personal library.  (We're both lifelong readers, one who is a librarian and the other who works in a bookshop...as you can probably imagine, we have quite the collection between the two of us!)  And for two, this article right in the second sentence mentions Dumbledore and Gandalf!  Good job, Gwynn, you got this nerd's attention.

Dumbledore's office library...probably way cooler than
any other English library I could find

The concerns of 17th century English noblemen, as it turns out, are similar to our concerns.  Do we have enough physical space for all our books?  What do we get rid of to make room?  (May we not end up like Sir Edward Dering who blew a lot of money installing more and more shelves, and hidden drawers, only to die and then have his son stash the entire library away in old chests, in a forgotten closet.  At least donate the books somewhere when we die, future children!)  And how do we organize them, by size, by color, or by category? 

But where as we are really only concerned with creating a reading nook for ourselves with plenty of shelving, personal library owners were concerned with "the use of space to stimulate intellectual and social associations."  After all, what is the point of owning a lot of physical books if not to use them to impress others with your vast knowledge?  I would also eventually be concerned with decorating our library; seventeenth century Englishmen were not.  "The[ir] intention was to strip away distractions and to express austerity and sober dedication to learning."  But perhaps that shows the difference in reading habits over time--the personal libraries of old would be collecting informational and educational texts, while readers today lean largely towards fiction.

Entry #1

• Goedeken, Edward A. (2010). "Our historiographical enterprise: shifting emphases and directions." Libraries & the Cultural Record, 45(3), 350-355.
• A "Dig Deeper" article from The Beginnings
• Accessible online at http://bit.ly/2kaNdfn

This article caught my eye for a couple reasons.  When I began college, I started out as a history major.  Even though I switched my degree to Sociology, it was not for a lack of love on the subject.  So the discussion of historiography, especially as it pertains to libraries, grabbed my attention!  (It also discusses the "Book History Approach," and the History of the Book is an LIS class I took recently.)

After reading it, I thought this was a relevant article for today's libraries, as we continue to find our footing in this new information age.  Goedeken believes, and I agree with him, if we take these varied theories and approaches to put the library into context, it will serve us as we advocate for ourselves.  In particular, I liked the theory of "Library as Place."  It seemed suited to the public library today--"the library in the life of the user, instead of the user in the life of the library."  Its sociological bent is probably what gets me the most!  It's also an approach that makes for effective advocating and customer service...how do we make the library important to the lives of our users?

Introduction

Hello!  If you're here, you're most likely from the S580 "History of Libraries" class.  If you're not, then I surely don't know how you got here, but I hope you like libraries.

This collection of posts will be highlighting twenty interesting articles on the above subject.  If the post is marked with a gold star, then you'll know it's a particularly good one!

Thanks for checking out my blog and hopefully you'll learn something new too!