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Treasures from the world's great libraries

by National Library of Australia

This book tells the story of the Library's centenary exhibition of treasures from great libraries of the world, including the British Library, the Library of Congress, the Bibliotheque Nationale, and the National Libraries of China and Japan.

Accession 9780642107398 ISBN 9780642107398 Publisher National Library of Australia

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position_updated_at: 2026-05-05 17:11
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binding_type: Hard Back
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spine_text: TREASURES FROM THE WORLD'S GREAT LIBRARIES

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Topics and Themes

1. **The History & Culture of Libraries and Institutions**
The book documents a centenary exhibition drawn from iconic institutions — the British Library, the Library of Congress, the Bibliothèque Nationale, and the National Libraries of China and Japan — framing libraries themselves as civilisational pillars and custodians of humanity's collective memory.

Connect to books about: library history, archive culture, institutional memory, the politics of knowledge preservation.

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2. **Recording & Preserving Knowledge**
One of the exhibition's organising themes is how human societies have recorded and preserved knowledge across time and cultures, from ancient scrolls to printed books — raising enduring questions about what gets saved, by whom, and why.

Connect to books about: archival theory, oral vs. written culture, the history of writing, memory studies.

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3. **The History of the Book & Print Culture**
Highlights such as a Gutenberg Bible and a Caxton Chaucer place the book squarely in the narrative of how the codex and the printing press transformed the spread of ideas, literacy, and power across civilisations.

Connect to books about: the history of printing, book arts, manuscript culture, the Gutenberg revolution, early modern publishing.

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4. **Science, Exploration & Intellectual Discovery**
The exhibition's themes of scientific thought and world exploration — anchored by items such as an Albert Einstein manuscript — reflect humanity's drive to map, measure, and explain the world across centuries and disciplines.

Connect to books about: history of science, exploration narratives, cartography, the Scientific Revolution, intellectual biography.

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5. **Religion, Philosophy & Human Values**
The inclusion of a Dead Sea Scroll and the exhibition theme of "Religion and Values" positions the book within the long tradition of sacred and philosophical texts that have shaped moral frameworks, law, and culture across civilisations.

Connect to books about: world religions, sacred manuscripts, comparative religion, ethics and philosophy of values.

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6. **Literature, Language & the Canon**
Works such as a Caxton Chaucer anchor the book in questions about literary heritage — which texts are deemed worthy of preservation, how canons form, and how language and literature define cultural identity across nations.

Connect to books about: literary canon formation, world literature, translation history, language and identity.

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7. **Art, Music & Cultural Artefacts as Historical Documents**
A Mozart score and richly illustrated manuscripts are treated not merely as aesthetic objects but as primary sources — historical documents that reveal social, cultural, and intellectual life in their time.

Connect to books about: history of music, illuminated manuscripts, art history, material culture, cultural heritage.

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8. **Global Cultural Heritage & International Collaboration**
Drawing on 161 treasures from 38 collections across 24 countries, the book embodies the idea that cultural heritage is a shared human inheritance — and that its stewardship requires international cooperation and cross-cultural understanding.

Connect to books about: cultural diplomacy, UNESCO heritage frameworks, globalisation and culture, decolonisation of museums and archives.

Treasures from the world's great libraries

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