Today we were given a special tour behind the scenes of St. Paul's Cathedral. The cathedral librarian, Joseph Wisdom, showed us the "BBC View" of the cathedral, the intended library chamber which now houses Wren's Great Model, and, of course, the cathedral library. The "BBC View" of the cathedral can be seen from the area just above the main entrance. It's a truly majestic view, and makes it easier to understand just how large the cathedral truly is. Since it's also the area from which televised events are filmed, it's much easier to envision notable events in the cathedral's past. Of course, the most obvious of these is Princess Diana's wedding to Prince Charles.The first room we visited in St. Paul's Cathedral was, it is commonly believed, initially intended to be the library. It's not known why the library was placed elsewhere, but now the room holds Christopher Wren's Great Model of the cathedral. It's the inital model of what Christopher Wren wanted to build, although it was rejected due to its resemblance to St. Peter's in Rome. Wren was adamant that he wanted a dome, and the city was adamant that they wanted a spire. Therefore, Wren created a plan with a spire atop the dome, altered the floor plan slightly, and the plans were approved. It's easy to see, however, that Wren ended up much where he started. There is no spire, and the current cathedral is very much like the original plan. I suppose that, by the time it was built, it was too late to make changes. It's easier to apologize than to ask permission, I suppose. It's hard to complain, St. Paul's seems perfect to me!
The room that now houses the library in St. Paul's immediately struck me as the perfect embodiment of a library. It's old books on dark wood shelves, marble busts, and felt-covered tables in a dim, quiet room spoke to my book-loving soul. Mr. Wisdom was also able to point out some architectural details that I would have missed. In the past, people were able to read architecture much like we today read text. This room would have been readily identifiable as the library, not only by the presence of the books, but also by the nature of the wood carving around the shelves. There are representations of books and grapes beneath a skull flanked by wheat sheaves. This symbolizes learning and liturgy, communion, and Christ's triumph over death. These carvings would have told anyone who knew how to interpret them that they were standing in a cathedral library.
To respect the wishes of the cathedral, I did not take any photos of the library. Therefore, all library pictures on the blog have been taken directly from the library's website. Mr. Wisdom was a rich source of information about the library: what the collection is, how to care for it, and the day-to-day operation of a research library with archival responsibilities. The library's collection is made up of liturgy, bibles, theology, law, the Latin and Greek classics, travel, etc. It was built through bequests and the purchase of other library holdings. Mr. Wisdom explained to us that this method of building a collection has resulted in duplicate copies of early printed books. However, because of the unique and valuable nature of early printed books, they are considered multiple copies rather than duplicates. The collection was initially intended for sole use by the Dean of St. Paul's, although over the years it was opened up for the use of minor clergy. Today the library is available to the public for research purposes by appointment, although Mr. Wisdom informed us that members of the public will often be encouraged to use other institutions which can better serve their needs.
The library holds a great many volumes in need of conservation and preservation, and the room is kept at between 45-55% humidity (the recommended humidity for most library materials). Because of the nature of the library's collection, Mr. Wisdom explained that it is important for the librarian to be conscious of any events or changes that may affect the collection. He explained that drastic changes in weather, an open window, street repairs, and the presence of others in the library can all have negative effects on the collection. The librarian must be vigilant in spotting these changes and acting to protect the library. This visit was enlightening about the nature of librarianship in such a unique environment with such a unique collection.
