Contradiction in meaning
Contradiction in meaning
The passage below is from The Library: A Fragile History by Andrew Pettegree.
Great construction projects, in the nineteenth century as today, attract funding more easily than book cataloguing. While the new reading room of the British Museum could accommodate 300 readers, these readers had to jostle for the single copy of the reading-room catalogue that allowed them to request books. There was no published catalogue of all the book collections of the British Museum. Panizzi advocated strongly for an alphabetical catalogue to replace the more traditional method of classifying books by subject, as the mass of books was too overwhelming to classify consistently and adequately by genre. While he eventually prevailed, he would not live to see the project completed. The alphabetical catalogue was first proposed in 1834, when it was thought that the project would take five or six years to complete. By 1880, a year after Panizzi’s death, it was still unfinished, with 160,000 entries requiring revision. Printing nevertheless went forward, and in 1905, there was a complete catalogue, of 397 parts and 44 supplements with some 4.5 million entries and cross-references. For some readers, this came far too late, not least those who had abandoned the library to establish their own subscription library, the London Library, where they could be assured of more satisfactory provision.
Does ‘the library’ refer to the British Museum or does it refer to some readers’ personal libraries?
What would you suggest?
And why did this catalogue come far too late to those who had abandoned the library to establish their own subscription library, the London Library? It contradicts the sense that I guess from the last sentence. I think if they abandoned the library (whatever it refers to) to establish their own subscription library, the London Library, the completion of the catalogue does not matter to them, since their subscription library provides more satisfactory provision.
What do you think?
Thanks in advance.
Top answer
Stenka25 Does ‘the library’ refer to the British Museum or does it refer to some readers’ personal libraries? It seems to be the British Museum. I would have said "the Museum".
- Stenka25 Does ‘the library’ refer to the British Museum or does it refer to some readers’ personal libraries?
- It seems to be the British Museum.
- I would have said "the Museum".
- Stenka25 And why did this catalogue come far too late to those who had abandoned the library to establish their own subscription library, the London Library?
- I see what you mean, but it was nevertheless too late for them because they would not have abandoned the Museum if they had had the index.
Get the Weekly English Kit 📬
New words, one handy idiom, and a 2-minute quiz — delivered to your inbox to keep your streak alive.
Stenka25Does ‘the library’ refer to the British Museum or does it refer to some readers’ personal libraries?
It seems to be the British Museum. I would have said "the Museum".
Stenka25And why did this catalogue come far too late to those who had abandoned the library to establish their own subscription library, the London Library
0
Related Questions