A book for the general reader on an esoteric subject has to argue for its own interestingness by being interesting. And never argue for its own importance, which a work of scholarship may do. I consider the balancing act of “being accessible” a discipline rather than a limitation. What I hope is that I’m inviting people to think about libraries and what they mean to us. To think about what’s kept, what’s lost, what’s destroyed. My book has to be welcoming, like a public library, rather than an archival collection.’
