Spellbook Medding

[Bengala]

I am considering starting a toon to recapture that original EQ feeling. I have a question about the spellbook that I could not find diggin through the forums (for 2 days). Do casters have to stare at the spellbook like back in the day? I think it was in velious when that no longer became the case (at certain level, 35 perhaps... been so long ago, and I was super stoked when that happened). This may very well impact my decision about playing anew.

Thanks for reading,