Cataloging the World

In "Cataloging the World," Alex Wright explores the innovative life of Paul Otlet, a visionary librarian from the late 19th century who dreamed of creating a vast, interconnected system to organize all human knowledge. Otlet's ambitious project, the Mundaneum, sought to assemble and disseminate information through analog machines, foreshadowing modern ideas of the internet and hypertext. This engaging history highlights Otlet’s pioneering efforts to systematize knowledge, placing him among the great thinkers dedicated to the pursuit of wisdom and information sharing.