When reading chapter one of The Book, I was intrigued by the history of how the book has evolved as an object. From rock, to clay, to the papyrus scroll, etc- the book has changed forms so many times throughout our history. I knew that paper and the book evolved, but I had not realized how or why these technologies were created. To record history yes, but more importantly it seemed writing and reading was a big way to show off your education or high status in society. On page 15 of The Book it says “Unlike today’s libraries, the collection was developed not as a public good, but as a symbol of King Ashurbanpal’s stature and scholarly achievement. Evidence suggests the library was also consulted by priests, professionals, and members of the learned class- some tablets are inscribed with threats to would-be thieves demanding borrowed tablets be returned the same day.” This quote stood out to me because of the discussion of status and education like I mentioned earlier, but also the discussion of libraries. We talked in class today about how libraries have changed and what a library is has changed. The SDSU library (shoutout Trinity who mentioned this) has no books. It does, but you don’t see them unless you are searching for them. When I think of a library I have always thought about it as a home for books, or a quiet place where you go to check out a book. Now a library, like the Love library, is a place to study, chat, eat, and sit. Old libraries were used for the educated and the wealthy, not for the public, which is such a weird concept to think about because to me the library is the most public shared space I can think of. Books are meant to be shared and discussed, they are not meant to sit on shelves unread. I go to the library everyday of the week to do my school work, but in my four years of being here I have never checked out a book- I do that at the bookstore, where you pay for the book. In high school the library is how I always thought it was- a quiet place to rent out/read books, college libraries are very different. I am not sure when this changed or why, or maybe they were always like this. But until the discussion we had today I had never even thought about this fact. The library of my youth is drastically different from the library of my now. I guess this is like the book itself as an object, the library a place that used to hold them, that has changed as well after time. Now I am more motivated to actually check out a book here at SDSU and check out the stacks, but before this class I have never done so in my college experience. I can’t even remember the last time I went to an actual library with books.