Private libraries functioned mainly as intellectual and financial assets, not display

Evidence

For much of their long history, libraries were primarily an intellectual resource and a financial asset. Only the very rich could afford to treat their libraries as shiny toys with which to impress their friends, passers-by and, more incidentally, posterity. — Andrew Pettegree, Arthur der Weduwen, The Library- A Fragile History, 46

Categorization

• corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim — Andrew Pettegree, Arthur der Weduwen, The Library- A Fragile History, 46
• XREF: connects to: Private professionals, not institutions, shaped libraries for two centuries — Andrew Pettegree, Arthur der Weduwen, The Library- A Fragile History, 229; Libraries began to prize books for physical attributes over content. — Andrew Pettegree, Arthur der Weduwen, The Library- A Fragile History, 502

Broader Connections

• Libraries began to prize books for physical attributes over content. #complicates (0.70) — Andrew Pettegree, Arthur der Weduwen, The Library- A Fragile History, 502
• Private professionals, not institutions, shaped libraries for two centuries #corroborates (0.60) — Andrew Pettegree, Arthur der Weduwen, The Library- A Fragile History, 229