READING COLLECTION
The reading collection was of substantial size and must
have been composed of at least as many books as there were
monks in the monastery, since the Rule prescribes that
each monk be handed a book at the beginning of Lent
which as the year went by he was bound "to read it in
consecutive order from cover to cover."[88]
The selection
and distribution of this material was one of the duties of the
provost. A directive issued at the synod of 816 allowed him
to augment the regular annual allotment at his discretion.[89]
The titles of the books loaned out in this manner were
entered in a check-out list (breve) to facilitate their return
and assure control over the holdings.[90]
Hildemar, in his
commentary to the Rule, written around 845, provides a
detailed, here abridged, description of this procedure:
The librarian (bibliothecarius) with the aid of the brothers
takes all the books to the chapter meeting. There they
spread out a rug, upon which the books are placed. After
the regular business of the chapter meeting has been concluded
the librarian announces from the check-out list
(breve) the titles of the books and the names of the monks
to whom they had been lent in the preceding year. Thereupon
each brother deposits his book on the rug. Then the
provost, or anyone else to whom he may have delegated this
task, collects each book, and as it is being returned, he
probes the brother with questions whether he has diligently
studied his assignment. If the response is satisfactory, he
inquires of the brother which book he considers to be of
use to him in the coming year and provides him with the
desired book. However, if the abbot finds that a book is not
suited for a brother who asked for it, he does not give it to
him but hands him a more suitable one. If the interview
establishes that the brother was derelict in his study, he is
not given a new book, but asked to study the old one for
another year. If the abbot finds that the brother has studied
with diligence, but is nevertheless not capable of comprehending
it, he gives him another one. After the brothers
have left the chapter meeting, the abbot sees to it that all
books that have been entered in the check-out list are
accounted for, and if they are not on record, searches until
they are found.[91]
The books disposed of in this manner were obviously
not kept in the central library, but were in permanent
circulation, each monk retaining his own copy, which he
probably kept on a shelf or locker under or near his bed,
together with the other modest supplies that the Rule
allowed him.[92]
