Mary Jo Bellner Swartzberg
Ever since I was a little girl, I knew that the word “library” meant a place of discovery and learning. The word “library” comes from the Latin word “liber,” meaning book. Loosely translated, the word “library” would then be a place to find books.
Have libraries always been around? When were they discovered? Who, or what country, claims ownership of this knowledge repository? Let us step back in time.
About 5,000 years ago, the first libraries were in Southwest Asia’s Fertile Crescent. This is a region that ran from Mesopotamia to the Nile in Africa. It is known as the cradle of civilization. This is when the first known libraries were organized, and they consisted of archives of some of the earliest forms of writing: cuneiform script and clay tablets. In 3000 B.C. the location of the Fertile Crescent was considered the birthplace of writing.
Moving forward, during 550-330 BC, Persia had some of the most outstanding libraries, containing administrative documents and resources such as astronomy, geometry, history, medical science, and philosophy.
Soon the Romans and the Greeks realized the need for the development of libraries, which were filled with papyrus or parchment scrolls. The Ancient Library of Alexandria, considered a center for learning, was in existence for over six centuries. It housed 700,000 scrolls and was open to scholars of all cultures.
China soon was on board with books written on scrolls of fine silk, followed by books being developed in India and elsewhere. Christianity became a new and strong force in Europe, and Christians wanted to have access to these scrolls. Of course, only the wealthy could have access to any libraries at the time.
By the 8th century, China established the art of papermaking, which transformed the library “industry.” In addition, religion and philosophy were spreading throughout Asia, which resulted in the development of writing and books.
In the early Middle Ages, monastery libraries developed and flourished. And from the 15th century onward, libraries spread across all of Europe. The 17th and 18th centuries are what is known as the Golden Age of Libraries.
In the new United States, a congressional library was proposed by James Madison in 1783. In 1800 the Library of Congress was established.
In the late 19th century, philanthropist Andrew Carnegie built more than 2,000 public libraries in the U.S.
In the 21st century, library trends have been the digital library, Internet access and Internet skills, digital book clubs, digital magazine, digital library cards for ebooks, and audiobooks. With all of these in use, use in libraries globally reached a record high, with 326 million loans by the end of 2018.
Source for this article: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_libraries
Our three SaddleBrooke Libraries offer convenient and free access to more than 10,000 books, large print books, movies and TV series on DVD, and audiobooks. The libraries are staffed 100% by volunteers, and more than 50,000 items are loaned out annually.
For further details, go to sblibraries.com.