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daisydoolie's review against another edition
hopeful
informative
medium-paced
4.25
I really enjoyed this !! I read it slowly over two months, chapter by chapter with a pen in hand, and it sparked so many questions, conversations and ideas. It’s quite academic and getting use to the writing style took me some time to slip into, and at often it read a bit list-like, but overall I really enjoyed it and I feel like I learnt so much and thought of so many new ideas just from reading this book.
gracie_reads_everything's review against another edition
4.0
Interesting and informative but, disappointingly, largely euro-centric. Even though there are initial references to the Library of Alexandria and other non-western institutions built up since ancient times in Asia, South America, and Africa, it stops there. The rest of the book is a great overview of Euro-American library history. Libraries in other countries are only mentioned as established by western imperialism. I would be interested to know more about how libraries as a concept existed and flourished in the east as well, but the references made to these tend to be glorifying in antiquity, yet dismissive in modernity. A good read but disappointing in regards to information beyond the scope of the Euro-American library systems.
lauren_stewart's review against another edition
informative
slow-paced
2.75
A very in depth and more academic leaning look into the library. Not quite what I had expected, I had expected to encounter some more great collections. Sometimes felt more like an evolution of the book, granted this would be inherent in looking into the evolution of the library.