Internet and digital technologies generate an unobservable stream of texts, which causes the danger of information overload. However, this phenomenon is not unique to our era. Centuries ago - and especially after the invention of printing in Europe in the middle of the 15th century - scientists complained about an overabundance of books. Anne Blair explores the means that had to be devised to cope with this barrage of lyrics. In her work, she traces the methods of information management in Antiquity and the Middle Ages, in traditional Islamic and Chinese cultures, and also pays special attention to the tools and practices used in early modern Europe. Combining intellectual history with the history of the book, Blair once again emphasizes the inevitable continuity of past and present. Scientific editor Mikhail Sergeev.