A library represents the mind of its collector, his fancies and foibles, his strength and weakness, his prejudices and preferences. Particularly is this the case if, to the character of a collector, he adds - or tries to add - the qualities of a student who wishes to know the books and the lives of the men who wrote them. The friendships of his life, the phases of his growth, the vagaries of his mind, all are represented.
Sir William Osler, Osler Library (1969). “Bibliotheca Osleriana: A Catalogue of Books Illustrating the History of Medicine and Science”, p.10, McGill-Queen's Press - MQUP