Salisbury Cathedral is a living church and a testimony to the faith and skills of the medieval craftsmen who built it. The church community takes the responsibility of caring for the future of this incredible place very seriously. The library’s book collection includes both manuscript (handwritten) and printed books. In the library's collection, there are 193 manuscript books written between the 800s and 1400s. These include around 60 manuscripts written at the first Salisbury Cathedral at Old Sarum. The total number of early printed books in the library is about 12,000. The oldest are a collection of 43 incunabula (books printed before 1501).