![]() ![]() Later the doors were removed, and the evolution of the bookcase proceeded. ![]() These cupboards are the predecessors of today's bookcases. As manuscript volumes accumulated in religious houses or in homes of the wealthy, they were stored on shelves or in cupboards. When books were written by hand and were not produced in great quantities, they were kept in small boxes or chests which owners (usually the wealthy aristocrats or clergy) carried with them. Private libraries appeared during the late Roman republic: Seneca inveighed against libraries fitted out for show by illiterate owners who scarcely read their titles in the course of a lifetime, but displayed the scrolls in bookcases ( armaria) of citrus wood inlaid with ivory that ran right to the ceiling: "by now, like bathrooms and hot water, a library is got up as standard equipment for a fine house" ( domus). An illustration of a revolving bookcase is depicted in Li Jie's architectural treatise the Yingzao Fashi. Revolving bookcases were popularized in Buddhist monasteries during the Song Dynasty under the reign of Emperor Taizu, who ordered the mass printing of the Buddhist Tripiṭaka scriptures. Descriptions of revolving bookcases have been found in 8th- and 9th-century Chinese texts. Revolving bookcases, known as zhuanlunzang ( Chinese: 轉輪藏 pinyin: zhuàn lún zàng), have been documented in imperial China, and its invention is credited to Fu Xi in 544. ![]() History East Asia Bookcase in the Tianyi Chamber, the oldest extant library in China A 12th-century illustration of a revolving bookcase for Buddhist scriptures as depicted in Li Jie's architectural treatise the Yingzao Fashi In a library, large bookshelves are called "stacks." ![]() A bookcase is also known as a bookshelf, bookstand, cupboard and bookrack. In Latin and Greek, the idea of bookcase is represented by Bibliotheca and Bibliothēkē ( Greek: βιβλιοθήκη), derivatives of which mean library in many modern languages. Larger books are more likely to be kept in horizontal piles and very large books flat on wide shelves or on coffee tables. A small bookshelf may also stand on some other piece of furniture, such as a desk or chest. Especially valuable rare books may be kept in locked cases with wooden or glazed doors. Bookcase doors are almost always glazed with glass, so as to allow the spines of the books to be read. Ī bookcase may be fitted with glass doors that can be closed to protect the books from dust or moisture. In rooms entirely devoted to the storage of books, such as libraries, they may be permanently fixed to the walls and/or floor. Shelves may be fixed or adjustable to different positions in the case. Bookcases range from small, low models the height of a table to high models reaching up to ceiling height. Bookcases are used in private homes, public and university libraries, offices, schools, and bookstores. JSTOR ( March 2012) ( Learn how and when to remove this template message)Ĭomposite columns of a bookshelf from the Bibliothèque Mazarine (Paris) Household bookshelf arranged by colorĪ bookcase, or bookshelf, is a piece of furniture with horizontal shelves, often in a cabinet, used to store books or other printed materials.Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. This article needs additional citations for verification. ![]()
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