The library

Scholars identify the appearance of writing as the end of prehistory and the beginning of history.
Thanks to it, man was able to begin to "dialogue" with his fellow men not only verbally but also physically by imprinting the data that were important to him on physical media that he could then donate to other men or store in a given place to then retrieve when necessary.

As time passed and new trade routes opened, the need arose to create lighter and more manageable physical supports, but at the same time less fragile and more capacious. Thus, from primitive clay tablets we moved on to papyrus, parchments and finally to books using sheets of paper as material. During this evolution that lasted millennia, one element remained unchanged and that was the physical place where these documents were stored: the library.

The very first “bookcases” were simple, slightly decorated wall niches with shelves on which various documents and objects were placed. We have to go back a long way to the Middle Ages to find places specifically designed for the conservation of documents, namely monasteries. In these places, books containing man's knowledge were created and kept.

The bookcase, from a simple niche with shelves, became a well-designed piece of furniture with a wooden structure, sturdy shelves organized according to the type of document it had to house, and wooden or glass doors to protect the contents from dust. While the first real bookcases began to be built in monasteries, in the homes of nobles the few books they owned were stored in trunks or chests.

It was only between the end of the 16th and the beginning of the 17th century, the height of the Baroque period, that we find real bookcases made of fine wood with curved and soft lines, equipped with inlaid frames and Corinthian-style columns with refined finishes. A perfect example is the Baroque Library of the Klementinum in Prague.

With the advent of printing, books were no longer written by hand but printed, so that several copies could be made of each volume. This favored, in the years to come, especially among the nobles, the spread of private libraries in their homes as a symbol of wealth, superiority and wisdom.
In the nineteenth century this diffusion reached its peak. Every noble residence had to have a well-stocked library, but the style of the library changed, it went from the sumptuous decorations of the Baroque or Louis XVI style to the Empire style, cleaner, more practical, with more solid and squared shapes.
A notable example is Giacomo Leopardi's library.

In the twentieth century, the bookcase began to be present in almost all homes, becoming a piece of furniture thanks to which designers could indulge their imagination, creating solutions with a thousand shapes and colors, using it as a furnishing element capable of decorating and making a room unique. Today, the bookcase plays a multifunctional role, in fact it is no longer used as a simple container for books but also as a piece of furniture on which to place furnishing items to create games of full and empty spaces with touches of color.
Thanks to its modular nature, it can be accessorized with various elements, such as drawers, storage bases, display cases or closed wall units, excellent for containing various objects and giving it a lively and unique look. We can group the different models of bookcases into three distinct categories: wall-mounted, double-sided and suspended.

Wall bookcase

Double-sided bookcase

Thanks to its self-supporting feature, this type of bookcase can be placed either against a wall or free-standing, that is, it can act as a separating element to divide a single room into two or more distinct spaces, without having to give up natural light coming from windows or glass, which would instead happen if blind walls were built in brickwork or plasterboard.
A perfect example of a freestanding bookcase is the Tao designed by Designer Umberto Asnago for F.lli Orsenigo in the 2 arched and linear models.

This bookcase, composed of a matt lacquered MDF wood base, steel structure and lacquered MDF or glass shelves, is the ideal piece of furniture if you need to create, for example, a small study in a living room by dividing the spaces with an element that does not weigh down the space but rather enhances and enriches it, giving it character and elegance.

The suspended libraries

With suspended bookcases, you can create even more of that perfect combination between the utility of the piece of furniture and the need to have a decorative piece of furniture capable of decorating and making a wall unique. Nowadays, we find infinite solutions. We go from classic shelves with visible or hidden supports, to single or multiple cubes that can be placed next to each other to create increasingly disparate geometric shapes, bookcases with shelves with sinuous and curved shapes that are already capable of making a room special.
This category includes the famous Bookworm bookcase by Ron Arad, made in 1993. This bookcase brings an innovation to the world of bookcases and design in general. Initially, it was intended to be made of metal, but thanks to the meeting with Kartell, it was created in technopolymer, a lighter and cheaper material but equally resistant.

Mixed libraries

It is known that design is fantasy and does not have precise rules to follow, so this distinction between the various types of bookcases must be considered only ideally. There are solutions on the market that mix one or more types to create a completely new and innovative one. An example of this is the Lago company that with its double-sided suspended bookcase 30MM Weightless designed by Designer Daniele Lago combines two models of bookcases to create one with a truly suggestive visual impact.

As you can see from the photo, 30MM Weightless is created by merging a double-sided bookcase with a suspended one, in this case from the ceiling, made light by the play of long and short modules typical of stalactites, as the company itself defines them.

Relaxation area: the bookcase attached to the TV cabinet

It is not unusual to find bookcases attached to the TV wall unit. For example, the Tao bookcase discussed previously has a model with an attached TV panel. This happens because in modern homes, increasingly smaller than those of years past, there is a tendency to make spaces multifunctional. Hence the creation of living areas that can be used both to relax watching TV and to read a book, better if accompanied by the heat emanating from a lit fireplace on cold winter days.

In this solution, the useful was combined with the pleasant, as one might say. The owners needed a TV in the kitchen but at the same time did not like to insert additional furniture that would have made the space too crowded.
The solution was to frame the TV with suspended bookcases, with edges so thin as to make them light and almost invisible, which contain books and small decorative vases with succulents inside.

Another example of a wall unit with an attached bookcase is the Crossing model by Misuraemme designed by Mauro Lipparini.

The photo shows the Crossing wall bookcase, accessorized with wooden containers, LED lighting and TV compartment. Despite its large size, the various open compartments and the perfect combination of colors and finishes that it is composed of give it lightness and a very scenic appearance. The era of technology allows you to have everything at your fingertips in digital format but the charm and scent of the printed book can never be replaced and it is for this reason that the bookcase will be a piece of furniture that will always be present in every home.

Cover photo: LagoLinea bookshop