Rare Privilege: Granted Tour of St. Paul's Library-July 18

We are one lucky bunch of librarians! It's not every day someone is given a guided tour of St. Paul's library but our wonderfully connected British organizer was able to pull it off. This was a real treat. St. Paul's librarian first led us up narrow winding stairs and through ancient hallways to a room displaying rejected architectural models of Christopher Wren's vision for St. Paul's Cathedral. One rejected huge domed model looked very much like the present St. Paul's. Why was it rejected? Because 17th century English Protestants thought the new-fangled dome look too much like Catholic Rome's St. Peters. The British prefer spires on their churches. So how did the dome finally pass Protestant muster? Our guide said Wren pulled a sneaky fast one during construction of the dome by hiding it from view. Then viola--St. Peters clone on the Thames! Isn't English humor great?

We were then led into another room that houses St. Paul's library. I smelled, then saw, old books. This collection was a musty-smelling, leather-bound witness of St. Paul's, London and England. This collection, said our guide, belongs to the diocese. I asked our guide how the books were grouped (they don't use Dewey or Library of Congress) and heard him answer "Big books near bottom, smaller books on top." Did I mention our guide's name? It's Jo Wisdom. Great name for a librarian, don't you think?