Forbes has an interesting profile today of Michael Lamb, operations manager for Powells, who sidelines as a library consultant for the rich and famous. Right now he's assisting a Saudi sheikh who's building a new palace and wants it to contain a top-notch book collection. Lamb says the total cost when all the books are found will be upwards of $70,000.
"To ensure that the library includes proper representation in all areas, Lamb communicates with a number of elite, bookish investigators who regularly scour university syllabuses and prize-winning publications to find the most academically revered translations and pristine limited editions. Negotiations about the library’s ultimate contents have already taken six months."
This is just one of many rather interesting articles in Forbes' "Special Report: Books" which I will have to spend some further time with this weekend.
