Money for Preserving Books

Evidence in support of my contention that our culture still values libraries for preserving the culture comes now in the form of two major gifts for precisely this purposes. Fine Books & Collections reports that the University of Pennsylvania's Rare Book & Manuscript Library has received $4.25 million towards renovations of the library that will include "a fully equipped and staffed conservation suite [that] will ensure continued effective stewardship of Penn's rare book and manuscript collection." Meanwhile, Mount Vernon has received $38 million to construct a George Washington Library at Mount Vernon.