Preface

In 1619, librarian Mulerius compiled a list of the books then present in the University Library of Groningen, which had been founded in 1615. Mulerius and his successors kept adding acquisitions to this Librorum Academicorum Syllabus. In the early years, the university made available a fair amount of money to acquire books, and the province did the same. The growth of the collection benefited greatly from donations by private citizens. The library consisted mainly of reference works, text books, and standard editions in large formats, such as editions of and commentaries on the bible, canon and Romab law, ancient texts on philosophy and medicine, and the works of the reformers Luther, Melanchthon, Zwingli and Beza. How often the library was actually used is not clear. The books themselves do not show signs of heavy use. We have to remember that the library also functioned as a status symbol of the new Academy. This collection, part of the University Library for almost four centuries, is an invaluable source for research into the history of scholarship and teaching at this university. The books as historical objects are also the subject of various types of modern bookhistorical research. The bookbindings, for example, often contain fragments of medieval manuscripts that have been used as reinforcements. To answer questions on the provenance of these fragments and the reasons for discarding these particular manuscripts, much research is still needed. The study of the decoration of bookbindings may clarify questions concerning the production of bindings and the provenance of the books. This website presents the first part of the contemporary neat copy of the Syllabus, the list compiled by Mulerius in 1619. By linking the entries in the Syllabus to the relevant entries in the OPAC, the oldest collection of the library is made accessible for further study.