The Library

Lang, Andrew, 1844-1912Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.3

Word count: 225K words
Chapters: 23

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.The Library by Andrew LangAuthor: Lang, Andrew, 1844-1912,Language: English, Class: Z: Bibliography, Library science, Release Date: Dec 1, 1999

Editor's review

Andrew Lang's The Library is an essayistic work centered on book collecting, reading, and library culture, released as a public-domain eBook by Project Gutenberg. Writing from the perspective of a book lover, the author discusses the collecting, organizing, and use of books, interwoven with personal observations on bibliographies, editions, and the pleasures of reading; the prose carries the ease and miscellany of late nineteenth-century English belles-lettres. Its value lies not in systematic library science theory but in showing how a bibliophile lives with books, making it suitable for readers interested in book history and bibliophilic culture to dip into at leisure. Read it as informal essays rather than a complete system; for the bibliographic and edition details it mentions, consult selectively according to your own collecting interests. For readers curious about traditional bibliophilic taste and the reading life of men of letters, this small book offers an approachable entry point.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Enthusiasts interested in book collecting, editions, and book culture
Readers who enjoy the essayistic style of nineteenth-century English prose
General readers curious about the reading life of traditional men of letters
Beginners in library science or book history

Not a good fit for

Practitioners seeking systematic library science textbooks or operational guides
Readers who prefer contemporary fiction or strongly plotted works
Readers hoping for a modern methodology of reading

Reading tips

Read it as an essay collection, dipping in for one or two pieces at a time.
When you encounter an unfamiliar title or edition, note it down and look it up later.
Read it alongside your own experience of organizing bookshelves to better appreciate the author's tastes.
No need to read straight through; start with chapters that interest you.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

Is this book a professional textbook on library science?

No. According to the source, it is a public-domain text classified under bibliography and library science, but its content is closer to a book lover's essays on collecting and reading than to a systematic textbook. For professional textbooks, choose modern works on library science instead.

Will it be dull for readers with no experience in book collecting?

Some chapters may feel discursive. Treat it as informal essays: start with passages related to book collecting and the pleasures of reading, and don't feel obliged to read it all or to chase every bibliographic detail.

Is this edition suitable for academic citation?

It is a public-domain electronic text provided by Project Gutenberg, suitable for general reading and preliminary reference. For formal academic citation, check the print or authoritative edition and cite the specific edition information.

Comments

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About the author

Lang, Andrew, 1844-1912 Author

Andrew Lang (1844–1912) was a British writer, poet and folklorist best known for compiling collections of fairy tales and myths. The library holds 77 of his works, including The Blue Fairy Book, The Red Fairy Book, The Yellow Fairy Book, The Violet Fairy Book and The Brown Fairy Book, as well as Tales of Troy and Greece and The Homeric Hymns. He gathered, edited and retold folk tales from Europe and around the world, naming the volumes by colour; his clear, fluent prose served both children and folklore scholarship. These collections preserved a wealth of oral material and shaped the modern English-speaking world's image of fairy tales, leaving a lasting influence on fairy-tale publishing and comparative story research. Public information on his life is limited, so this note focuses on his editorial and literary contributions.