Bibliothecarian

But to return to my dear Friend’s Miſtreſs, the Library of the Church of Worceſter. A little before I left the place, we had procured a fine Collection of the Bibliothecarian Writers of ſeveral Countries, with which he was much pleaſed, and I ſuppoſe never left off till he compleated them; […]

Far from encouraging mere bibliomania, Naudé proposed to direct a wealthy collector into paths of bibliothecarian righteousness, demonstrating as clearly as he could within the bounds of politesse the public and national values that might be possessed by a fine library liberally administered and available to all who could profit by its use.

Little wonder, then, that there has been a glut of books published about libraries lately, many of them displaying a tendency that may be described as nostalgic-fetishistic. These books express a sentimental and sensuous attitude to things bibliothecarian, and often embody this sensitivity to the past and the touch in their own production values.