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History of Library Science

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24 views4 pages

History of Library Science

Uploaded by

Rajparna Bhuiyan
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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History of Library science

Library in Mesopotamia: Ashurbanipal, king of Assyria in the seventh century BC, is


considered by historians to be the first great librarian. King Ashurbanipal was the last great king
of the Assyrian Empire. The oldest known library was assembled by Ashurbanipal, King of the
Assyrians, between 668 and 631 BCE. It was located in his royal palace in Nineveh (in present-
day northern Iraq, near Mosul), and included some 30,000 clay tablets, inscribed with cuneiform
writing.

Libraries in Ancient Greece: The Greek government was the first to sponsor public
libraries. By 500 BCE both Athens and Samos had begun creating libraries for the public, though
as most of the population was illiterate these spaces were serving a small, educated portion of the
community.

Library of Alexandria: The Great Library of Alexandria in Alexandria, Egypt, was one of the
largest and most significant libraries of the ancient world. The library was part of a larger
research institution. The librarians at Alexandria collected, copied, and organized scrolls from
across the known world. According to a primary source, every ship that came to Alexandria was
required to hand over their books to be copied, and the copies would be returned to the owner,
the library keeping the original. The Library of Alexandria was damaged by various disasters
over time, including fire, invasion, and earthquake. Scholars believe the collection slowly
diminished over time due to theft and efforts to remove it ahead of invading armies. While there
are popular stories about how the library was ultimately destroyed, most of these are more myth
than fact.

Libraries in Rome: Julius Caesar and his successor Augustus were the first to establish public
libraries in ancient Rome, including the library of Apollo on the Palatine Hill. Roman aristocrats
also had personal libraries, which usually contained works in both Greek and Latin. Papyrus
manuscripts in Herculaneum's Villa of the Papyri were encased in ash after the eruption
of Vesuvius in 79 CE.

Libraries in the Middle Ages: In the European Middle Ages, libraries began to become more
prevalent. Most libraries were initially connected to monasteries or religious institutions.
Chained books were found at Wimborne Minster library.

Early 19th and 20th century: In the early 19th and 20th century, representative titles were
created reporting library history in the United States and the United Kingdom. American titles
include Public Libraries in the United States of America(1876), Memorial History of
Boston (1881), Public Libraries in America (1894), etc.
In India:

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