 However, Petroski notes that Ramelli's illustration lacks space for writing and other scholarly work, and that the "fanciful wheel" may not have been appropriate for any activity beyond reading.While the design of the bookwheel is commonly credited to Ramelli, some historians dispute that he was the first to invent such a device.Joseph Needham, a historian of Chinese technology, stated that revolving bookcases, though not vertically oriented, originated in China "perhaps a thousand years before Ramelli's design was taken there."