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.
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