Last week, I held in my hands Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s compiled “Basic Political Writings” and thought about the fact that I was holding a text that played a part in the French, Greek, American and Haitian Revolutions. I then casually put it back in my shelf, along with about 35 other really important books.
I had always appreciated my books in terms of the blessing that is education but not really for their own sake. Before noticing my easy access to Rousseau’s texts, although those arguably most influenced by him did not, I had never thought about how the concept of having a personal or private library is so much more common now that it used to be.
It amazes me how published writing has been read in history, or in some cases, not read but listened to. In medieval times, going to a lecture meant going to hear a book read aloud, even as a student. The privilege and ability to have different interpretations of books was stifled by listening to them, and although I can’t imagine reading a book without my own unique opinion about it today, most were unable to ponder upon texts the same way I can.
The invention of the printing press is said to have brought about an “information revolution.” This invention reduced the cost of books and, as such, widened their reach; in the long term, it even increased literacy.
After the invention of the printing press, listening to texts became reading them. However, it is noteworthy that having a personal library remained a practice for the elite. The printing press helped expand public libraries, but public libraries weren’t really public, that is, freely accessible to all. You needed a pass to tour them, and tours tended to be pretty short. Eventually, this exclusivity, and the concept of renting books, bred subscription libraries and circulating libraries, where the idea was to borrow books for a fee. This provided an affordable method of reading books, but it seems that these libraries were accessible only to selected members. These libraries became symbols of wealth and leisure, demonstrating the same exclusivity as libraries before them.
What’s important about all of this is that very few people, especially compared to today, could afford to rent books; buying books was essentially unheard of. This is such a stark contrast to my own life, where I just bought a new book for $1.50! It’s amazing to think I can have as a possession among many, the same printed text people would rent for a few hours, or sometimes by the chapter.
This article is not to say that having a personal library isn’t an incredibly privileged practice. As I alluded to before, it continues to be representative of literacy and access and an emblem for education. However, now when I think about my collection of books, I count my blessings, including more separately, my books as well as my access to education.
