How to organise a library

“Founding libraries is like building public barns, piling up stock to tackle a winter of the spirit that, as several clues reveal, I fear will soon be here.” Words by Marguerite Yourcenar, from her book Memoirs of Hadrian, which summarise in a sharp, effective image the roles that good books have, especially in times of crises and uncertainty – just like ours. This is the theme of this review: books that talk about books. Starting with a key text, Come ordinare una biblioteca (How to organise a library) by Roberto Calasso, published by Adelphi. It's about one's personal organisation, of course, determined by inclination, passion, aesthetic taste, practical choices (books need to be easily found when you need them because, as Umberto Eco taught us, “educated individuals are those who know where to locate particular information when, once in their lifetime, they need it.”). Yet, a library's organisation also reflects the vision one has of the world, of scientific and cultural processes, of historical evolutions, and it gradually changes as the librarian makes new experiences and acquires new knowledge. Calasso, founder and key figure of the Adelphi publishing house, has chosen, published and promoted many books and, of course, he's also written a few valuable ones himself. In these pages, through anecdotes and testimonies (by Rochefoucald, Warburg, Cassirer and many others), he helps book lovers to keep on moving forward with the inquisitiveness and daring that keen readers possess.  

Come ordinare una biblioteca (How to organise a library)
Roberto Calasso
Adelphi, 2020