Introduction:

For my Research topic I have chosen the Burning of Books throughout the centuries, beginning with a quote from the "Mirror of the World" exhibition at the Victorian State Library - "The power or even perceived danger of the printed word is reflected in the fact that books have been regularly banned and burned". History has shown that when one nation or group attempts to dominate another, the first thing they aim to do is to erase all traces of the societal memory. This is done in order to reconstruct and remake the identity of the particular nation or group being overtaken and seems to come from a desire to acquire control over both a society and the individuals in it. It is also a way of asserting power and domination, by forcing the weaker group into submission, and exerting the dominant will - or in this case culture - over it, so as to ensure the old culture no longer exists. Book burning is also seen as a means of making a complete break from the past and starting afresh with a clean slate.


As a brief overview, it is beginning to look something like this:
History of Book Burning begins in Ancient China in 213 BC; Jewish Holy Books burnt 168 BC; Egyptian Alchemy books of Alexandria burnt in 292; Library of Antioch burnt in 364; Sibylline books burnt in 405; Libraries of Alexandria had fires in 392 and 640, however exact dates are not clear……continuing throughout history, selecting information on each burning ie. In ancient China scholars were buried alive along with the burning of their books!, etc, through to the present day (Nazi book burnings and, incredulously, the burning of Harry Potter books in America). However, I would like to keep it fluid and open to changing ideas, so do not have a set structure as yet.

Books located so far, in both Swinburne and City of Boroondara libraries are: A universal history of the destruction of books: from ancient Sumer to modern Iraq by Fernando Baez; Burning Books by M. Fishburn; The Vanished Library by Luciano Canfora and An Unquiet History by Matthew Battles. Citations as follows:

REFERENCE LIST:
BOOKS:
Baez, F 2008, A Universal history of the destruction of books: from ancient Sumer to modern Iraq, Atlas & Co, New York.
Fishburn, M 2008, Burning books, Palgrave Macmillan, New York.
Battles, M 2003, Library: An unquiet history, W.W. Norton, New York.
Canfora, L 1994, The Vanished library, Hutchinson Radius, London.
Macleod, R 2000, The Library of Alexandria: centre of learning in the ancient world, I.B Tauris, London

WEBSITES:
American Library Association, 2010, Book Burning, viewed on March 18,2010, http://www.ala.org/ala/aboutala/offices/oif/bannedbooksweek/bookburning/bookburning.cfm
2010,Book burning, free online encyclopedia, Wikimedia Foundation Inc, viewed March 18 2010, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Book_burning