If you think having to remember your library card to borrow a book is a hassle, relax. You have it easy, young whippersnapper. Back in the days before Gutenberg and his newfangled printing press, all books were created completely by hand in a time-consuming, laborious process. Entire lives were dedicated to transcribing texts, handcrafting ornate covers, and illuminating pages with colorful details. Books were extremely rare, and also considered extremely valuable. When public libraries were developed in the later Middle Ages, security measures had to be set up to make sure visitors didn’t abscond with the books. This book comes from the Guildhall Library in London. Note the hoop on the back cover where the chain is attached.
The measures were pretty straightforward: the books were affixed to chains through ringlets on their covers or spines, and attached to the shelf. That way, patrons could read the texts, but couldn’t remove the books from the libraries. Books were stored with their page edges facing the browsers, rather than their spines. This might have made finding the right book more challenging (this was also well before the Dewey decimal system), but it allowed people to open and read the book without tangling the chain. The only people who could free the books with keys were the librarians. Over the centuries, the need to keep books under lock and key diminished, and the practice died out altogether by the 19th century. Today, only a few remain in Europe, and they really only for the sake of preserving a slice of history; many of the books kept there have been replicated and reprinted……….
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Image: Caroline’s Miscellany