A History of King's College Library, Aberdeen, until 1860 by James Roy PickardReview by: Ronald H. FritzeLibraries & Culture, Vol. 25, No. 2 (Spring, 1990), p. 278Published by: University of Texas PressStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/25542248 .

Accessed: 17/06/2014 18:13

Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at .http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp

.JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range ofcontent in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new formsof scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org.

.

University of Texas Press is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Libraries&Culture.

http://www.jstor.org

This content downloaded from 188.72.126.108 on Tue, 17 Jun 2014 18:13:59 PMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

278 L&C/Book Reviews

A History of King's College Library, Aberdeen, until 1860. 3 vols. By James Roy Pickard.

Aberdeen, Scotland: J. R. Pickard, 1987. 1056 pp. $42.00.

A historical monograph on the library of King's College, Aberdeen, totaling

1,056 pages may seem to be just a bit long. But the fact is that this library possesses a

long and distinguished history. King's College was founded in 1495 by a papal bull

issued at the request of the Scottish king James IV (1473-1513), making it

Scotland's third university. Its true patron, however, was the politician and scholar

Bishop William Elphinstone (1431-1513). He, in turn, attracted the scholar Hector

Boece (c. 1465-1536) to be the principal of the college. Until the second half of the

sixteenth century, the evidence from the college library indicates that the curriculum

of King's College remained basically medieval. Then in 1568 Protestantism came to

King's College with the appointment of Alexander Arbuthnot (1538-1583) as prin

cipal. From that point onward the library reflected, as did the university, the con

flicts in Scottish society: Protestant vs. Catholic, Presbyterian vs. Episcopalian, Covenanter vs. Royalist, and Jacobite vs. Hanoverian.

Meanwhile, the library continued to grow. In 1709 King's College was included

in the deposit scheme of the Copyright Act. But, in this and in other academic mat

ters, it faced stiff competition from neighboring Marichal College (founded in 1593) for the title of Aberdeen's university. In the eighteenth century members of

King's College contributed to the Scottish Enlightenment. Thomas Reid

(1710-1796) helped to reform the college curriculum along with debating philosophy with David Hume. William Ogilvie (1736-1819) combined library benefaction with

theorizing about communal ownership of land. By the nineteenth century King's

College had attained all the trappings of a fine university. Then, in 1860, it was

agreed to merge King's College with Marichal College, including the libraries, to

form the University of Aberdeen.

James Roy Pickard has provided his readers with an extremely detailed account

of the development of a university library. His study supplies much information on

manuscript books, incunabula, and Aberdeen printing. Therefore, historians of the

book and printing will find much to interest them. The evolution of King's College as a whole is mirrored in its library. Changes in the curriculum are described along with the growth of scholarship at the university. And, of course, the effects of Scot

tish political events are clearly reflected by the university and its library. Because this study is so rich in detail, it is also a difficult one. Any reader un

familiar with Scottish history will find this work tough going as Pickard assumes a

fairly detailed knowledge. The book is also hard to read physically because it is a

photographically reproduced copy of a typescript. At times the printing is somewhat

light. Furthermore, the author has not provided an index. Therefore, retracing in

formation can only be done by skimming the pages. Finally, the book is simply

overlong. The listing of title after title of old tomes overwhelms the reader. It is not a

book to be read for mere enjoyment. Still, this is an impressive piece of research that

students of the history of university libraries will find well worth consulting.

Ronald H. Fritze, Lamar University, Beaumont, Texas

This content downloaded from 188.72.126.108 on Tue, 17 Jun 2014 18:13:59 PMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions