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

by Maureen Sawa, Bill Slavin (Illustrations)

Everyone who has a library card (and those who don’t will want one after reading this book) will love this fascinating account of how libraries have evolved. From camels delivering books in Kenya to information compression today, this is a book that’s long overdue!

Award-winning librarian Maureen Sawa takes readers on a breathless ride from the origins of libraries to the first bookshelves, from pack-horse librarians in Kentucky to the revolution that was vertical shelving. She presents familiar library heroes like Gutenberg and Benjamin Franklin and the more obscure ones, such as Hypatia, the great female librarian of Alexandria killed by a mob for opposing the teachings of Plato, and Vizier Abdul Kasem Ismail, the Persian bibliophile who traveled with forty camels carrying 117,000 books in alphabetical order.

Libraries, past, present, and future, have a history as fascinating as the books they house. A must-have for every reader!

Genres: Nonfiction, Juvenile, History, Books About Books

72 pages, Hardcover

First published May 9, 2006

Reviews

[Kavitha Sivakumar]

Small but very, very informative! Absolutely awesome book that talks about the evolution of libraries including the history of the choice of materials for the book, printing press, patrons of the libraries and many more!!! Also includes unfortunate and sad incidents of destruction of libraries and books :(

[SaraKat]

I thought this was a great history of libraries. It covered libraries and books in multiple regions across the world so it wasn't Eurocentric in its history. I took off a star because the book is a bit dated and the last chapter is all about the future of libraries and it describes things that have already happened. I definitely think it's a great book to show kids how access to books has changed over time.

[Ed]

This is an awesome book about Library History. I could see using it everytime I begin a new Information Literacy class to give the group a perspective of how libraries have developed through the centuries.

It's a Juvenile book, but great for anyone interested in the history of libraries. It Intremingles pop culture w/ the history as well, for instance talking about the library in Harry Potter movies modeled after the Bodlein Library of England's Oxford University (founded 1602!)

[Erika]

I liked how it was NOT a European/Christianity centered narrative. (though the last half WAS focused on the west)
However, as an East Asian, I would have enjoyed it more if I leant more about the ancient libraries and rental book shops in China/Korea/Japan. ('cause I know that there were many rental book shops in Japan in the 17C Edo. Because... well, the literacy rate was extremely high in Japan compared to Europe at the time).
Oh well, I guess you can't have everything.

[India Lavoyce]

Quick, fun, and informative read. The illustrations are wonderful as well. Who doesn’t love a book about books!? I love History and this has such good info presented in a fun way. I didn’t feel like I was reading a textbook.

[MKG]

Great informative book of libraries and how they have changed over time.

[Sally]

I loved every page of this.

[Cindy]

This may be written for kids, but I really enjoyed it and learned something. Recommend this.

[Lynn Davidson]

So very interesting story about libraries and the forms and methods of their existence, growth, survival, and reach. Amazing. Great illustrations.

[Sybra Dacy]

Didn't realize this was a children's nonfiction book when I put it on hold, but I really liked it. Informational, covering a deep history of libraries, and not just from a western perspective.

[LisaKaren]

I wanted to enjoy this, but it was mostly a chore to read. Interesting, but a bit like an old history textbook. Too many names and not enough connection to remember them. I was annoyed by "this probably didn't happen, but I'm going to tell you the story anyway", and a lot of disconnected side-bar stories. Because it is told chronologically it is also already a bit dated. I guess it was good for me to read, since I am in charge of a library and don't have the formal education to be a librarian, but I doubt my students would stick with this one for long.

[Kathleen Garber]

I didn't know anything about where libraries came from so this book was interesting. My only qualm was that I found it a little hard to follow. I don't know my history and so all the names and places mentioned got me a little mixed up. I couldn't keep them straight. I think someone who knows their world history would have done better with that.

However I learned a lot of interesting things about early books as well as libraries. The illustrations are good and fit well with the book.

[Mandie]

Have you ever wondered what early libraries looked like? This book covers libraries from the days of Aristotle all the way to the digital libraries of today. It talks about the earliest forms of writing as well as the physical forms these writings took from stone or clay tablets through papyrus scrolls and stitched bundles or parchment to the invention of Gutenberg's printing press. This well written book takes you on an adventure through the history of printing and libraries.

[LMS]

Well written and well illustrated, although the conclusion was a little flat.