“The foremost finding aid of the physical book”
A symposium at Oxford’s Bodleian Library, June 2017
I for my part venerate the inventor of Indexes, that unknown labourer in literature who first laid open the nerves and arteries of a book.
–Isaac Disraeli, Literary Miscellanies
The Bodleian is one of the oldest libraries in Europe, and in Britain is second in size only to the British Library with over 12 million printed items. First opened to scholars in 1602, it incorporates an earlier library built by the University in the 15th century to house books donated by Humfrey, Duke of Gloucester. (Wikipedia)
The library is presenting a history of the book index — how the index has affected reading and research over the last 800 years.
