History of Libraries

1. History of Libraries An Overview of the Library Mission Presented by Cynthia Naden Professor Steve Tash Libr200-11 April 16, 2011

2. I. Earliest Mission: Maintaininga Records Archive • Exact date libraries were established is unknown • Two significant factors in archive development • Invention of writing • Rise of commerce • Earliest written records form Samaria and Mesopotamia dated 3000 BC

3. II. Religious and Practical Missionsof Egyptian Libraries Earliest association of libraries - temples as historical archives & places of learning Libraries notable for medical collections & pharmacological information Egyptian Royal Library - first effort to build a reference & research library As many as 20,000 scrolls existed in private collections among Egyptian royalty & wealthy Egyptians

4. III. Mission of Scholarshipand Research • 8th Century BC Assyrian King expanded his library at Nineveh, Mesopotamia • Contributed to the education of future generations • Included as many as 30,000 Sumerian and Babylonian tablets on literature, history, omens, astronomy, mathematics, grammar, linguistics, dictionaries, commercial records and laws • “Keeper of Books” was first librarian and played significant role in library activities • Concerted effort to acquire vast materials to translate and systematically organize • First attempt to build a reference & research library • One of the notable contributions of Greek libraries was advancing the scholarly mission • Private libraries developed by scholars & aristocrats to help them achieve social & political success

5. III. Mission of Scholarshipand Research—cont’d • One of the notable contributions...—cont’d • Philosophical schools of Socrates, Plato and Aristotle made reading and writing more commonplace in the 4th century BC • Value of reading & maintaining written records spread with the expansion of the Greek empire under Alexander the Great • Following his death, the Macedonian general Ptolemy encouraged scholars to immigrate to Alexandria, Egypt, a center for culture and learning • Ptolemy and son Demetrios founded the Alexandrian Museum and Library • Purpose was to collect the entirety of Greek literature

6. III. Mission of Scholarshipand Research—cont’d • One of the notable contributions...—cont’d • Following the death of Alexander the Great,…—cont’d • Items collected from throughout the world • Cargoes of books often confiscated from ships to copy, organize, edit and translated into Greek • Entire collection stored in two buildings—the Brucheion for research and the smaller Serapeum for students and the public

7. IV. Mission of Personal Statusand Public Use • Following conquest of Greece, libraries were plundered by the Roman Empire • Romans considered possession of a library as a symbol of status, rank & personal pride • 1st century AD - numerous private libraries i.e. Aristotle, Cicero, Lucullus & other aristocrats • Julius Caesar had major works in Greek & Latin, believing literature should be made public • Planned & began construction of a major library • Passed away before library was completed • Emperor Augustus, built two additional libraries

8. IV. Mission of Personal Statusand Public Use • The Romans considered possession—cont’d • 29 public libraries in Rome associated with Roman temples by the 4th century • Included religious items, public records & general literature • History & accounts recorded on papyrus scrolls • 4th century AD, Roman Empire & its libraries in decline • Most of Western Europe in political, economic & social chaos • Scholarly mission of libraries maintained by monastic libraries of Western Europe, Byzantine and Moslem libraries in the East

9. V. Maintaining the Scholarly Mission • 353 AD Byzantine Emperor Constantine founded the Imperial Library in Constantinople • Library - home of the university library & the library of the Eastern Church leader • Housed Christian, Latin and Greek works • By 450 AD collection grew to 100,000 • Mission - scholarly & religious • Sustained roots of Western society • Renaissance would not have been possible without the preservation of Western materials in the library

10. V. Maintaining the ScholarlyMission—cont’d • 650 – 1000 AD libraries found in private homes, royal palaces & universities throughout Moslem Empire • 70 libraries throughout Spain • With 36 libraries, Baghdad became a cultural center for the study of Greek medical, scientific & philosophical works • Libraries were found in every important city in Persia • Earliest major library - Royal Library in Damascus • Research & learning were advanced in the large university libraries in Baghdad, Cairo and Cordoba • 200,000+ volumes housed in University library in Cairo • 400,000 – 600,000 volumes housed in University library in Cordoba, larger than library in Alexandria

11. V. Maintaining the ScholarlyMission—cont’d • Libraries were common in private homes, royal palaces and universities—cont’d • 70 libraries throughout Spain • Like libraries in the Byzantine Empire, Moslem libraries contained Arabic works, Persian literature, Greek & Latin philosophy & scientific works • Moslem libraries made a significant contribution to Western culture by preserving the works of Western thought such as Aristotle • Decline of the Moslem Empire resulted in the decline of libraries

12. VI. The Religious Mission • Middle Ages - monastic libraries survived fall of Roman Empire • Social & economic instability prevalent throughout Western Europe, resulting in the decline of libraries • 500-550 AD Christian monasteries provided a means of isolating Christian believers spiritually, geographically & from chaos spreading across Europe • Mission of the libraries –three fold • Provide a place for spiritual reflection • Archive religious texts • Copy & reproduce religious and secular texts in a room called the scriptorium

13. VI. The Religious Mission—cont’d • The mission of the libraries—cont’d • Monasteries in Italy, Ireland, England, Scotland, France and Switzerland regarded the copying of tests differently • Purpose of copying religious texts was to derive inspiration • Illuminated manuscripts were created to reveal the beauty of God • Monastic libraries preserved the writings of antiquity

14. VII. Educational Mission of Libraries • 800-1200 AD - educational mission of libraries changed due to improved economic & social conditions • Growth of cities & towns • Improved trade • Improved intellectual climate • Cathedral & university libraries in the late Middle Ages were larger than those in monasteries, & supported cathedral educational programs • Larger cities had a middle class that did not rely on church teachings to guide intellectual pursuits

15. VII. Educational Missionof Libraries—cont’d • Academic centers were created in Bologna, Paris and Oxford in cooperation with religions sects, such as the Dominicans and Franciscans, supporting classical & professional instruction in philosophy, medicine & law • Mid-13th century, University of Paris established the first university library, followed by Oxford & Cambridge Universities • Mission of small libraries less than 1,000 items was to support & expand the university educational mission, & support the transition from the domination of the medieval church to the Renaissance

16. VIII. Humanistic Mission and the Reemergence of the Personal Library • Centered in Florence & Venice, the period following the Middle Ages was a time of economic, social and political ferment • Factors included 1. Rise of secular monarchies, 2. Increased sense of nationalism, 3. Increase in literacy, 4. Renewed interest in natural sciences & secular politics, 5. Reawakening of philosophical traditions of the ancient Greeks and Romans and 6. Decline in the power of the church

17. VIII. Humanistic Mission—cont’d • Renaissance evolved into a revival of humanism • Increased enthusiasm from the Aristocracy • Developed great private libraries by leading literary figures i.e. Petrarch and Boccaccio • Sponsored by popes, dukes & passionate book collectors for personal vanity & a genuine interest in secular learning • Agents sent throughout Western Europe to locate and recover manuscripts in deteriorating monastic libraries • Libraries were richly appointed, filled with beautifully illuminated texts • Libraries served as places for scholarship • Places where aristocrats could display their sensitivity to classical Latin

18. IX. The Printing Press: Making the Modern Library Possible • 1454, invention of the printing press in Mainz, Germany had a profound affect on all libraries • Books were available to the masses for the first time • There was an increased desire for learning • The invention of the printing press resulted in numerous changes • Production of exact copies of manuscripts became possible • Volume of printed materials increased dramatically • More titles & copies were produced • More subjects were covered, i.e. bibles & prayer books, grammatical & scholastic works, papal bulls & indulgence certificates & vernacular works

19. IX. The Printing Press: Making the Modern Library Possible—cont’d • Invention of the printing press—cont’d • New techniques for the organization of published materials were created • Literacy & education for the general population was stimulated • Invention of the printing press coincided with the reawaking of secular and scientific interests during the Renaissance, forming a foundation for the growth in the number and size of libraries

20. X. National Libraries and Promoting National Pride • The emergence of the National Library coincided with the growth of secular monarchies & nationalism • National libraries were created in England, France, Germany, Denmark & Scotland in the 17th century • In the 18th & 19th centuries, national libraries emerged in Austria, Italy, Sweden, Norway, Greece, Spain & Iceland • National libraries had a special mission of preserving the cultural heritage by developing a comprehensive collection of materials by & about their respective countries through books, documents, manuscripts & other records

21. X. National Libraries and Promoting National Pride—cont’d • Depository Right - law passed in some countries requiring at least one copy of each item to be deposited in that country’s national library • In the United States, the depository right is held by the Library of Congress • Library of Congress is not the official national library of the United States but a close approximation

22. Thank you for your attention.