Old Books, New Technologies
The Representation, Conservation and Transformation of Books since 1700

'The great value of [this] book is that it attempts to provide a larger, longer-term context for understanding what is happening today not (primarily) to new books but to retrospective collections, as more and more are digitized and made available on the web. If the meaning and status of these historical artifacts are being challenged today in new and menacing ways, it is not for the first time. The history of the transmission and evaluation of old books is itself the record of shifting approaches to these artifacts … what makes McKitterick's narrative so compelling is the wealth of detail it includes as well as the breadth of cultural objects it embraces. McKitterick alerts us at every point that what was true for books was true for sculptures, paintings, buildings, and the whole repertoire of culturally significant objects …' College and Research Libraries

'This book will appeal to anyone with an interest in old books, both from the perspective of how their content as well as physical characteristics have been preserved. … Although quite detailed, Old Books, New Technologies is not a heavy academic tome and makes for an enjoyable read. It provides an interesting view of how old books were considered and treated during the 18th and 19th centuries.' Mary McIntyre, Journal of the Canadian Association for Conservation