SILENCE ON SET PLEASE…
Where did Harry Potter learn his magic tricks, or the X-Men hone their superpowers? Oxford’s Bodleian Library stood in as Hogwarts Library in the Harry Potter films and it has frequently been used as a film set, appearing in X-Men: First Class (2011) and The Madness Of King George (1994).
THE TOME RAIDER
William Jacques was Britain’s most prolific book thief. Jacques was first caught in 2002 when he admitted to stealing and selling more than 500 rare books worth over £1 million, including an Isaac Newton first edition he stole from Cambridge University Library. After fleeing to Cuba, he later returned to Britain and was imprisoned for his crimes. On release he went on to steal at least 13 rare books from a horticultural library.
The Vatican has long been rumoured to hold the world’s largest collection of pornographic material, which is supposedly known as the ‘inferno’
WHO’S THE MOST READ?
The Public Lending Right collects statistics from UK libraries in order to ensure writers are paid for the loan of their books. The following list reveals the most popular authors in the UK from 2000–2010.
1………. Jacqueline Wilson…………..16 million lent
2………Danielle Steele……………………….. 14 million
3………Catherine Cookson………………… 14 million
4……… Josephine Cox……………………….. 13 million
5……… James Patterson……………………..11 million
6………RL Stine………………………………….10 million
7………Mick Inkpen…………………………..10 million
8……… Janet and Allan Ahlberg………….9 million
9………Roald Dahl……………………………….8 million
10…….Agatha Christie……………………….8 million
BOOK TO THE FUTURE
In 2014, artist Katie Paterson created the Future Library, a project to collect 100 books by 100 writers over 100 years. The books will be sealed, unread, in Oslo Library until 2114. Margaret Atwood was the first author to submit a work. It’s called Scribbler Moon, but no one knows if it’s fiction, non-fiction, poetry, one word or 100,000 words long.
LIBRARY GIANTS: WHO’S GOT THE MOST BOOKS?*
- 162m – Library of Congress, Washington DC
- 150m – The British Library, London
- 54m – Library and Archives Canada, Ottawa
- 53m – New York Public Library, New York
- 44m – Russian State Library, Moscow
The Library of Congress in Washington DC. This library has the largest collection of books at 162m
*includes all items in collection as well as books
HOLY SMUT!
The Vatican has long been rumoured to hold the world’s largest collection of pornographic material, which is supposedly known as the ‘inferno’. However, no evidence for the collection has been found and the – admittedly incredibly secretive – Vatican librarians have denied its very existence.
LIBRARY MASTERS
Philip Larkin (1922–1985)
Larkin worked for 30 years at the Brynmor Jones Library at the University of Hull.
Giacomo Casanova (1725– 1798)
The legendary lover ended his career as a librarian for the Count of Waldstein in Dux, Bohemia, cataloguing the Count’s 40,000 volumes.
Lewis Carroll (1832–1898)
Otherwise known as Charles Dodgson, Carroll worked as sub-librarian at Christ Church College, Oxford.
J Edgar Hoover (1895–1972)
The FBI head honcho worked at the Library of Congress.
Mao Zedong (1893–1976)
Mao was assistant librarian at Peking University before becoming involved in politics.
PAST ITS RETURN-BY DATE
The oldest library in the world is Morocco’s al-Qarawiyyin Library in Fez, which was founded in 859AD by Fatima El-Fihriya, the daughter of a Tunisian merchant. The library has remained continuously open to scholars since its inception and recently underwent a restoration.
President George Washington
PRESIDENT NICKS ONE
In 1789, President George Washington borrowed law treatise The Law Of Nations from the New York Society Library; 221 years later, in 2010, the staff at his former Mount Vernon home finally got around to returning the book. The library waived the $300,000 fine.
‘A Library Miscellany’ by Claire Cock-Starkey is published by Bodleian Library, priced £9.99. Offer price £7.99 (20% discount) until March 11. Order at mailshop.co.uk/books or call 0844 571 0640, p&p is free on orders over £15