Actio 5.1: Dig Deeper Articles
THEMES AND CONCERNS IN
18th CENTURY LIBRARY DESIGN
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VISUAL DESIGN
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According to Kells, there was an 18th century principle of library design that stated, every single book should be in sight from all vantage points (2018). The purpose was to show the grandeur and vastness of the collection at all times. Even though libraries were structures dedicated to knowledge, the 18th century library was “designed to delight the senses -especially the visual sense. (Kells, p. 115)”
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Some libraries even went so far as the rebind books to match one another and create a cohesive look. The Admont Library in Austria did this with white leather in an effort to match the color scheme of the interior (Kells, p. 115). This was a practice used in private libraries like the collection of Samuel Pepys in 1665 (Gwynn, p. 61).
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The Admont Library; Admont, Austria
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(R) The specially bound white leather volumes still make up a substantial amount of the collection even today
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LIGHTING & WINDOWS
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Light is required for reading, but certain sources could cause damage to the collection or the entire library structure. The large number of historical libraries destroyed by fire, ruled out candles and electricity had not yet been discovered. Natural light was the only feasible solution.
However natural light created problems as well. Leather, which was the most common book binding material of the time, was vulnerable to direct sunlight. Leather that received the most exposure to direct sunlight would start to rot and crumble to dust. (Kells, p. 115)
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The natural light had to be fixed! This process took several experiments before they had figured out the tinted glass formula that reduced the light’s damage to the books. The windows tinted red, green or yellow are “highly protective of leather bindings. (Kells, p. 115)” The experiment concluded that the colors blue and violet didn’t help and were equivalent to no glass tint at all.
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All of this glass experimentation could have been avoided if they had decided to cover the leather as a way to protect the books. Dust jackets, in the form of “a plain paper wrapper sealed with wax”, as a way to protect delicate leather book covers were not believed to have been invented until the 19th century (Houston, p. 304).
FAKE BOOKS & OPTICAL ILLUSIONS?!
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Library designers striving for the mere perception of grandeur played with perspective, creating an illusion of height and exaggerated scale (Kells, p. 119). In order to achieve these extremes, higher shelves would be designed to look the part but were unable to actually fit real books. Fake books in the form of book-shaped blocks with labels were made to further the illusion.
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Some libraries "have bulked out their collections with ornate looking volumes" that contain blank pages or no pages at all (Kells, p. 121). Others have used mirrors and faux windows for a more robust looking collection, including the Biblioteca Angelica in Rome (Kells, p. 127)
RESOURCES
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Gwynn, L. (2010). The architecture of the English domestic library, 1600-1700. Library & Information History, 26(1), 56-69. [Available through IUPUI]
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Houston, K. (2016). The book: A cover-to-cover exploration of the most powerful object of our time.
Kells, S. (2018). The library: A catalogue of wonders.
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PHOTO RESOURCES
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Admont Library: https://www.thisisglamorous.com/2019/04/places-admont-abbey-library-austria.html/#sheader
LIS 580: History or libraries
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Spring 2020 / professor annette lamb
Submitted by Amy Coleman
ASSIGNMENT DESCRIPTION (link here)
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The past century has seen the concept of "library" redefined through new philosophies, specialized libraries, and technological innovations. A library is much more than "bricks and mortar." Select one of the DIG DEEPER articles from this section of the course to serve as the foundation for a discussion about the changing function(s) of libraries in society during the 20th and early 21st century. How does the focus (i.e. person, place, institution, event) of the article reflect larger changes in the profession? Provide at least three additional professional citations to support your thoughts. Or, identify your own article to serve as the foundation of your discussion. Be sure to provide a direct link to the article so others can access the information source.