The Cambridge History of Libraries in Britain and Ireland (review)

The history of libraries is the history of civilization, told with an emphasis on the particulars and peculiarities of humanity's devotion to recording, hoarding, and ultimately sharing knowledge. Intimately tied to technological innovations and trends, the history of libraries requires a sweep across centuries, with all the attendant cultural, philosophical, economic, and political shifts that have shaped our relationship with recorded knowledge. The editors and authors of this handsome and large three-volume set recognize and embrace this charge, covering almost fifteen centuries of often troubled times for the people of Britain and Ireland. (How nice to see recognized the national distinctions lost on so many others, including a minority of the authors herein.) More than two thousand pages, this is a work on a grand scale that traces the history of literacy in these islands in great detail, from the first written records to the emergence of the World Wide Web.

Given the remit to cover all that such a history involves, there will be readers who feel there are gaps in coverage. Others may feel the final selection emphasizes some subjects or areas at the expense of others. Such reactions are inevitable, but in practical terms this is as close to a definitive history as we have seen or indeed may ever see. Each volume covers a fixed period and is overseen by a different pair of editors. Volume 1, covering early history up to 1640, is edited by Elisabeth Leedham-Green and Teresa Webber of Cambridge University, fellows of Darwin and Trinity Colleges, respectively. Containing twenty-five chapters grouped under five major headings, the volume traces developments from the earliest collections of written records (largely early monastic works that predate even the use of the word "library") through to the private collections of the wealthy and powerful, ending in the early seventeenth century, when the idea of a national library was first seriously discussed. This early history is complicated by both the lack of extant records and the different cultures that were wrestling for control in these small islands at the start of this journey. Britain, already with a mixed population, was conquered by the Romans and spent four centuries under their control before the Saxon and Norman invasions brought other, very distinctive influences to bear.

Volume 2, edited by Giles Mandelbrote of the British Library and Keith Manley from the University of London, contains thirty-one essays covering the period 1640–1850, from the English Civil War through the French Revolution to the Public Libraries Act. Broad thematic sections examine the rapid growth of book collecting and the emergence of libraries at local, regional, national, and continental levels. We witness in this period the shift in reading patterns that caused some to complain, much as they do today, that easy access to materials was encouraging young minds to read and circulate the profane and obscene. Indeed, it is from this period that many of our current concerns with information policy and literacy levels arose. This moment in history, when access to materials truly opened up for the general public, could be seen as the beginning of the modern library movement. This period also saw increased public discourse on the right to access information as well as criticism of attempts by the powerful to control or influence who should be able to read certain materials.

The third volume, edited by Alistair Black (now of the University of Illinois) and Peter Hoare from the University of Nottingham, brings us to 2000, from the emergence of the public library system in England in the nineteenth century, through the rise of professional societies and credentials, to the impact of digital technology. Such a sweep covers the period of most rapid change in the nature of library work and...