24 - Library administration (c. 1475 to 1640)

Summary

From the beginning of library history, the same fundamental administrative issues have preoccupied the keepers of libraries. Librarians have in the first place sought to establish, build and maintain collections of information – whether in tablets, scrolls, documents, manuscript books or printed books. They have always been concerned about the ordering of knowledge represented in their collections. On a more practical level, they have had to find physical space for their texts and readers. They have had to look to the conservation and preservation of collections and, when storage space was limited or there were compelling reasons to modernise, librarians have had to turn their attention to the orderly disposal of books. Defining and regulating readership are recurring issues too. Record-keeping – of the books and objects in the collection, of readers, of benefactors – while not always formally practised or preserved, continues to concern anyone who has ever had to manage a large library. All of these issues have been incorporated into library administrative policy, formally in statutes and written rules, and more casually in the policies that can be deduced from what is known of early modern library practice.

While the underlying principles have remained more or less the same, some of the details of library administration evolved, or at least changed, during the period between 1475 and 1640. British library collections at the beginning of the early modern period were generally smaller ones, limited by the expense of handwritten books and the technologies of making printed books. Their keepers and readers might well have been expected to use their common knowledge of the more informal collections, rather than a catalogue or marks on books or shelves, to find their reading material.