"The majority of the chapters in this volume were originally presented at the conference Private libraries and private library inventories, 1665-1830: locating, studying and understanding sources, funded by the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme .... The conference was organised ... at the former Soeterbeeck Convent (Ravenstein) in January 2019 as part of the MEDIATE project (Measuring Enlightenment Disseminating Ideas, Authors and Texts in Europe (1665-1830))"-- Acknowledgements.