'Special erotic books that can not be readily viewed' are secretly stored in libraries around the world

by dilettantiquity

The library is a place where citizens and students can freely go in and out and read books necessary for books and research interested and borrowed. However, there seems to be a pattern in which the library collects erotic books secretly without putting them in public places, and such "difficult erotic books" are sleeping in libraries around the world.

Do Not Read | Lapham's Quarterly
https://www.laphamsquarterly.org/roundtable/do-not-read

About the 19th century, librarians from around the world began to have awareness of "how to make extreme pornographic books touch the public's eyes". As a result, it seems that special book shelves were created in many libraries, "Only for academic purposes only necessary for proper purpose" was allowed to view. Below, I explain about the library holding "browsing prohibited book" in such various places.

◆ "Private Case" of the British Library
In the British Library , a person named John Winter Jones managed to manage shelves of printed publications since 1856. Mr. Jones said that he began to manage separately from ordinary books by attaching a special label called " Private Case " to the books with heretical thought, pornography or erotic text.

Books that are basically classified as private cases are mostly pornographic and erotic and most of them are George Wit 's collection of prominent obscene (obscene) objects in the UK, and the Fenix ​​Worship Books Collection from 1890 to 1930 There was a collection of French erotic books collected by Mr. Charles · Reginald Daus over. The existence of the private case is hidden from the surroundings, it is not described in the catalog of the book stored in the British Library, and some people only knew existence. In 1983 catalogs also began to include books on private cases, and some books are now placed on regular shelves.

by Rain Rabbit

◆ "Inferno" of the Vatican Library
The Vatican Library is a library owned by the Roman Catholic Church and has a collection of centuries-long historically important books. Such a Vatican library has whispered rumors that "the world's largest pornography material" is kept secret, and named the collection " Inferno " that people are unknown whether they exist or not. Although it is said that there are massive amounts of pornographic materials collected from the world for many years, librarians deny existence of Inferno naturally.

by Storm Crypt

◆ "L'Enfer" at the French National Library
The French National Library has a collection of unburnable books named " L'Enfer " (meaning "hell"). L'Enfer was created to collect books that were said to be "contrary to morality" in 1830 and that most of the books collected were seized by people.

Librarians who thought that "libraries should preserve even books that are confiscated or contrary to morals" keep collecting L'Enfer while keeping them private, and when the catalog was created in 1913 There was a title of 855. Although no new collections are added in recent years, in 2007 we exhibited a part of the L'Enfer collection open to the public.

by Tilemahos Efthimiadis

◆ "The Three Star Collection" of the New York Public Library
At the New York Public Library , handwritten three star marks were attached to obscene pieces. When a user reads a book with this mark, it seems that the supervisor has been supposed to have to monitor the user. A system of three star marks was introduced in the middle of the 20th century, books of three star marks could be stored in a specific bookshelf, and users were marked with three star marks only at locations isolated from other users I was able to browse books.

by drocpsu

◆ "Phi Collection" of the Bodlean Library
Mr. Edward Nicholas served as a library librarian of the Bodleian Library owned by the University of Oxford from 1882 to 1912 and made a classification to hold books describing the sexual pathology called " Phi Collection " and erotic books.

In order for students to use books classified as "Phi Collection", it was necessary to obtain permission to borrow the subject books to the supervisor first. In recent years most of the books are returned to the usual shelf, but it seems that the mark of "Phi Collection" is still being used for the purpose of classifying the pornographic magazine " Razzle ", for example.

by kattebelletje

◆ "XR collection" of Widenor Memorial Library
At the Widener Memorial Library , the main library of Harvard University , there is a secret collection named " XR Collection " hidden in the copper door in the basement of the library. However, this was not quarantined for censorship purpose, but by pleading by Professor of Society that "Pornographic magazines that are in possession are often damaged, it is troubled" that pornographic books to be used for academic purposes It was a collection made in the 1950s for the purpose of isolating from general students.

In recent years, new books are no longer added, but since the person who intentionally returns trying to return the isolated books to the general book does not appear, the XR collection is still in the isolated place in the basement of the library deep inside the library It is in possession.

by Will Hart