Logotopia: The Library in Architecture, Art and the Imagination

by Diane Klant, Alberto Manguel, Lise Bissonnette

Why are libraries such desirable commissions for contemporary architects and the frequent source of inspiration for artists and writers through the ages? LOGOTOPIA - the ancient Greek for word place - explores the library through architecture, art, and literature. With an astonishing multidisciplinary approach, these original writings examine both ancient and contemporary libraries - notably Egypt's Biblioteca Alexandria and Japan's Library of a Poet - as well as libraries of the imagination as seen through fiction, art, new media and pop culture. Punctuated with interviews and essays, LOGOTOPIA explores the library as a concept and a built form through four distinct the Universal Library, the National Library, the Public Library and the Private Library. Discussions range from ancient Alexandria to modern Baghdad and from personal experiences to national identities. This original collection is richly illustrated with photographs, sculptures, models and installations from the past, present and perhaps the future.

Genres: Nonfiction, Books About Books, Architecture

128 pages, Paperback

First published February 19, 2008

Reviews

[Angela · Rating 2 out of 5]

Some pretty pictures and some interesting tidbits of info, but mostly this felt disjointed and somewhat random and incomplete. Sure, all the pieces have a common theme of libraries, but why were these particular pieces chosen over all the other ones that could have been? For example, the section on "The Public Library" covers two different Carnegie Libraries, both in Canada. How about non-Carnegie libraries? Or public libraries in other parts of the world? It felt like this was pulled together from what photos and pieces of writing were most readily available, rather than as a result of trying to present a coherent narrative or thoroughly exploring a well-defined question.

[Chris · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is a bunch of short, superficial bits of things vaguely related to libraries. There are a few gems in here—the renovation drawings and photos of the Hespeler Library, for example, but I generally felt each time I read something that I would have enjoyed reading the original source material better. Instead, we have a beautifully repackaged book of snippets that really lacks substance and context.

[Keith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful pictures of beautiful libraries and a number of interesting essays to accompany the beautiful picture of, dare I say it, beautiful libraries.