Towers of Books

The Boekentoren, designed by Henry van de Velde, has housed the Ghent University Library since 1942. But the library is much more than just an iconic building. In this book, the historian Ruben Mantels recounts the turbulent history of the library, from the 'liberation of the book' to the 'powerful thrust of Modernism', from the French Revolution to the digital revolution and Google Books.

Towers of books was initiated by Sylvia Van Peteghem, the first female chief librarian of Ghent university library.