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In an age of increasingly ephemeral sounds and images, and the promotion of the virtues of oral cultures, these essays are a strong reaffirmation of the enduring values of the written word, of books, and of libraries. The written word belongs to all of humankind - and this emphasis on the common culture which all literate peoples share provides the unifying theme for incisive examinations of book collecting in New Zealand, the 'new' book exhibition, research libraries, the Alexander Turnbull Library, publishing history, the power of the printed representational image, and the preservation of the records of the past.
