The Library Book: The Story of Libraries from Camels to Computers

Anne Hutchings, a former elementary-school teacher-librarian with the
Durham Board of Education, is an educational consultant.

Lovers of libraries, books, and reading will delight in this book. The
author, a librarian with the Hamilton Public Library, has written a
lively and informative account of the development of libraries and books
from earliest times to the cyberspace libraries of today. Each of its
five chapters focuses on a different era; background and historical
details as well as notes on the influential people of the time are
included. Additional information highlighted with bold print on coloured
background and in sidebars abounds.

Beginning with the famous library at Alexandria, Chapter 1 looks at the
Ancient World. The cuneiform tablets of the Sumerians as early as 2700
BC, the Greeks, the Chinese, and the Romans are all here. Chapter 2
covers the Dark Ages, the Middle Ages, and the illuminated manuscripts
of the monastic libraries in Europe. Developments happening at the same
time in the Islamic world are also discussed. Of particular interest is
the account of Grand Vizier Abdul Kassem Ismael, who used 500 camels,
trained to walk in order, to carry his 100,000 books—hence, the
reference to camels in the title. Gutenberg’s invention of the
printing press, the Renaissance, the Reformation, and the beginnings of
some of the earliest and greatest libraries of the modern world, such as
Oxford’s Bodelian, are discussed in Chapter 3. In Chapter 4, the
emphasis is on the major players, such as Benjamin Franklin, Andrew
Carnegie, and Melvil Dewey. Finally, Chapter 5 examines the changes
brought about by technology and how libraries are adapting to and
incorporating these innovations.

Slavin introduces each chapter with a colourful, full-page illustration
connected to an event or person in the chapter. Numerous smaller
drawings are interspersed throughout the text. For those who wish do
further reading or research, Sawa has included a list of sources, an
annotated list of websites for many of the world’s greatest libraries,
and contact information for several library associations.

Chock full of fascinating library and book trivia, humorous, and
extremely readable, The Library Book is a “must have” for both
school and public library collections. Highly recommended.