One of the most famous stories about libraries tells of the tenth century Grand Vizier of Persia, Abdul Kassem lsmael who, "in order not to part with his collection of 17,000 volumes when traveling, had them carried by a caravan of 400 camels trained to walk in alphabetical order. "However charming this tale may be, the actual event upon which it is based is subtly different. According to the original manuscript, now in the British Museum, the great scholar and literary patron Sahib lsma'il b. 'Abbad so loved his books that he excused himself from an invitation by King Nuh II to become his...