Some temporary answers

The answer to 'why books' seems evident. With the invention of printing books have become the essence of our cultural existence. Since cave men's iconic drawings on the walls of their dwellings, pictures and letters have been the core of human communication culminating in the first printing of  books mid 15th century. I would not go so far as to say that printed matter is the essence of being human but language definitely sets us apart from all other earthly organisms and has been essential not only for our cultural and intellectual developement but also for our material growth. Language converted into printed matter has passed on knowledge acquired through the centuries. It can be argued that illiterate tribes in remote places are of course also human and that their dependency on the oral tradition does not make them less developed. It can be argued that anno 2010 the book as format is not essential for passing on culture and knowledge. However this was the case in past centuries which makes books an emminently useful source for research on cultural and intellectual transferrance. 

Why focus research on books printed in Lyon?
16th century Lyon was affluent, industrious, cosmopolitan and, after Paris, the most important cultural city in Renaissance France. Lyon was also one of the most influential intellectual centers of Europe which is reflected in the book production of the Lyonnese printers who were surrounded by the humanist crème de la crème, both authors and customers. Their output was prolific. J.Baudrier compiled a reference work of 12 volumes on the literary world of printing, bookselling, bookbinding and type-founders in Lyon alone. Alfred Cartier filled two reference volumes with titles solely printed by Jean de Tournes. A preliminary survey of the titles in the collection of the U.v.A. shows a scala of subjects which would have been of interest to the contemporary Humanist reader. The marginalia found in the books will be the basis of the research. The research question has yet to be formulated.

'Why 1487-1600?' The earliest title printed in Lyon in possession of the library is an undated copy of Albertus Magnus' Compendium theologicae veritatis printed ca.1487. Should an earlier uncatalogued title be found, then that will automatically be the new starting point. 1600 seems a natural limit to set. A quick scan reveals a corpus of 300-500 titles. A next limitation will probably be to include only books with marginalia. Depending on the outcome the 1600 limit could be pushed forward.