Library at St. Paul's Cathedral {way, way up}

TUESDAY, JULY 8th - After visiting the Barbican Library and a lunch break, the LIS class took a tour of the library at St. Paul's Cathedral, which is way up above the main part of the cathedral, but thankfully not as high as the dome (which you can also tour). The present cathedral building dates back to the 1600s and was designed by Christopher Wren (as have some other well known buildings throughout London). The library is an amazing space, and it is evident from the architecture that it was always meant to be a library. While the library isn't part of the usual public tour, it is open to students and others for research and study. The library houses books original to the library, dating back to the 1500s, as well as a few select documents dating back to the original St. Paul's that show the architecture, etc. of the original cathedral. 

(Photos of the interior of the cathedral aren't allowed, so the librarian said we could use photos available on their website)

One of the most interesting things the librarian showed us at the library was the problem of "hooking" books and the damage that is done to the integrity of the book's binding when this is done. At St. Paul's and elsewhere books are usually packed pretty tightly on the shelves. When a user tries to remove a tightly wedged book from the shelf by hooking the edge of book, they break the protective edge designed to guard the text block and spine. Instead of using such a damaging method to remove a book, the librarian showed us the proper way - push the books surrounding the book to be removed inwards. This allows you to grasp the book more firmly around the spine without causing damage. 

This document from the British Library details some of problems caused by mishandling books, including "hooking."