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The Case of the Missing Library
Booklovers are facing some new facts of life
It’s not breaking news, Virginia, but the printed book may well be on the way out, replaced by its oh so efficient e-book cousin.
How do you feel about this transition? Is it inevitable? People who love the feel, the heft and the artistry of the printed book mourn the process. E-book lovers on the other hand, talk disparagingly about, “dead tree books” and explain that all change is in the name of progress.
Will libraries of the future be completely digital? Well, probably yes. Even the most rare editions of antique books can even now be easily viewed free on Google Books.
Yet libraries remain deep in our consciousness as beautiful and satisfying places. Perhaps in the future we will think of them as cathedrals to be visited and enjoyed just like other ancient monuments.
Some of the most beautiful recent paper books are devoted to detailing the loveliest libraries in the world.
In their The Library: A World History, author James W P Campbell and architectural photographer Will Pryce spent three years together travelling the world and photographing these monuments to the written word. Their book is a sumptuous love letter to the library.
Jacques Bossier and photographer Guillaume de Laubier pulled no punches with their title. The Most Beautiful Libraries in the World gives the reader magnificent photographs of what the authors consider are the 20 most beautiful libraries in the whole world.
Looking for inspiration when writing? Perhaps you will find it in some of the wonderful interiors shown in these books.
