On Friday, I took my first trip to the Kroch Library. While we were there, we learned about the rare manuscript collection and some background history of Cornell. Learning both history of Cornell and about these rare manuscripts were very interesting.
One of the first books we saw was a book with a chain on it. When first showed the book, I was not sure what to think about the fact that there was a chain. But, we were told that the book belonged to a monastery and that it was chained so that it could not be taken from its place. The book was also hand printed and took a very long time to make. To me, this was the biggest eye opening thing we learned about. I was taken aback by the way these books were made and had to be kept under such protection. To see where people spent so much time putting books together and protecting them was very interesting. In addition to the chain, we also saw the hand work done on the inside of the book. There were hand done letters on every page that means so much time was spent making this book. This to me was really impressive. It reminds me how important our knowledge is and how lucky we are to be here with all these books at our fingertips. It also shows how much time and technology has changed. This book and the story behind it really caught my attention and made me think a little differently when it comes to my experience here.
Some other very interesting things we saw were the first draft of E.B White’s, Charlotte’s Web, along with a book that was at the death of Sitting Bull. I am glad that I went on this trip and I was able to experience such cool things that I otherwise would not have seen.