Today I went to see old books in Kroch Library. We were taken to the basement where all the ancient manuscripts were kept. The librarian first showed us the US constitution displayed at the entrance of the library. It was hard to believe that the piece of paper I was observing was actually signed by Abraham Lincoln and other famous political leaders of the time.

The librarian then took us to a small room where books of various ages were displayed on a table. He showed us ceramic tablets from thousands of years ago, first paper books that had wood covers, the original collection of William Shakespeare’s plays, the original books of Charlotte’s  Web by E. B. White, and many others. One interesting thing I learned during the lecture was the sensitivity of books to light. Each time a book is exposed to light, the page becomes darker and the ink fades. Because of this natural phenomenon, these ancient books are stored in the dark. In one way, it felt like we were observing zombie books that have been buried for thousands (literally) of years.

After his presentation, we were free to look around at different ancient manuscripts in the Kroch ancient book museum (or whatever it is called).  After seeing all these ancient manuscripts and books, it felt amazing to know that I (and all other Cornell students) have unlimited access to all these ancient treasures. I would definitely recommend checking it out!