A Library Miscellany

Everyone loves libraries, especially old, unique, or quirky ones. Libraries hold secrets you would never have imagined, and while there are more unusual libraries – collections of seeds, for example, and even a library of smells (a collection of scents and perfumes, several hundred of which are not possible to smell anywhere else) – even more mundane libraries hold plenty of riches…and surprises.

This lovely little volume, A Library Miscellany, explores all sorts of library trivia about libraries all over the world, past, present, future (a library that will not be opened for a hundred years), and even imaginary. Dipping into this book at random, you may learn about carefully designed library seating or Charles Darwin’s library on the H.M.S Beagle or the fact that Mao Zedong was a librarian before he became a revolutionary. The sinking of the Titanic, and the loss of its library along with one of its patrons, resulted in the establishment of the Widener Memorial Library at Harvard. Every page holds engagingly written facts and anecdotes interesting, curious, or even startling, and you’ll find yourself absorbed in discovery as you wander from one entry to another. It is like browsing a little mini-library in itself.