Library history is a subdiscipline within library science and library and information science focusing on the history of libraries and their role in societies and cultures.Buchanan, Anne L. & Herubel, Jean-Pierre V. M. (2011). Subject and histography Characteristics of Library History: Disciplinary considerations and scholarship. Journal of Scholarly Publishing, 42(4), 503-522 Some see the field as a subset of information history.Black, A. (2006). Information history. Annual Review of Information Science and Technology, 40, 441-473. Library history is an academic discipline and should not be confused with its object of study (history of libraries): the discipline is much younger than the libraries it studies. Library history begins in ancient societies through contemporary issues facing libraries today. Topics include recording mediums, cataloguing systems, scholars, scribes, library supporters and librarians.Hildenbrand, Suzanne, red. (1996). Reclaiming the American library past: Writing the women in Norwood, N.J.: Ablex.
Earliest libraries The earliest records of a library institution as it is presently understood can be dated back to around 5,000 years ago in the Southwest Asian regions of the world. One of the oldest libraries found is that of the ancient library at Ebla (circa 2500 BCE) in present-day Syria. In the 1970s, the excavation at Ebla's library unearthed over 20,000 clay tablets written in cuneiform script.
Library in Mesopotamia
The Assyrian King Assurbanipal created one of the greatest libraries in Nineveh in the seventh century BCE. The collection consisted of over 30,000 tablets written in a variety of languages. The collection was cataloged both by the shape of the tablet and by the subject of the content. The library had separate rooms for the different topics: government, history, law, astronomy, geography, and so on. The tablets also contained myths, hymns, and even jokes. Assurbanipal would send scribes to visit every corner of his kingdom to copy the content of other libraries. His library contained many of the most important literary works of the day, including the epic of Gilgamesh. Assurbanipal's Royal Library also had one of the first library catalogs. Unfortunately, Nineveh was eventually destroyed, and the library was lost in a fire.
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. Athens developed a city archive at the Metroon in 405 BCE, where documents were stored in sealed jars. These would have saved the documents, but they would have been difficult to consult regularly. In Paros, around the same time, contracts were placed in the temple for safe keeping, and a book curse was placed for extra protection.
Library of Alexandria The Library at Alexandria, Egypt, was renowned in the third century BCE while kings Ptolemy I Soter and Ptolemy II Philadelphus reigned. The library included a museum, garden, meeting areas and of course reading rooms.Lyons, Martyn. (2011). Books: a living history. Los Angeles, CA. Getty Publications. The Great Library, as it is known, was one of many in Alexandria. From its inception around the second century BCE, Alexandria was a well-known center for learning. It earned renown as the intellectual capital of the Western world up through the third century CE. 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. Several emperors followed suit over the next four centuries, including Hadrian, Tiberius, and Vespasian. Roman aristocrats also had personal libraries, which usually contained works in both Greek and Latin. A valuable example of this has been found at Herculaneum near Pompeii. Papyrus manuscripts in Herculaneum's Villa of the Papyri were encased in ash after the eruption of Vesuvius in 79 CE. Modern archaeology is now able to scan these artifacts and discern their contents, including many writings from Philodemus.
The average Roman would not have been familiar with books beyond what they might hear read aloud in the forum. Public figures would pay for particular passages to be read aloud to the public from the steps of a public library.
Libraries in the Middle Ages
In the European Middle Ages, libraries began to become more prevalent, despite a widespread reduction in new writing beyond religious themes. Most libraries were initially connected to monasteries or religious institutions. Scriptoriums copied Christian religious texts to share with other religious centers or to be read aloud to their own parishioners. The Holy Roman Emperor Charlemagne (r. 786-814) had a large impact on the advancement of written culture in the Medieval Christian world, acquiring as many written works as he could, and employing many scribes to copy and recirculate vernacular versions of religious works. Most of the text held in small personal libraries was still religious in nature.
Early modern libraries
Libraries of the Renaissance During the Renaissance era the merchant middle class grew, and more people found benefits in education. They relied on libraries as a place to study and gain knowledge. Libraries provided a valuable resource, enriching the culture of those who were educated. Universities that had been started in the Middle Ages, founded their own libraries. Books in these libraries could not be borrowed from these libraries and were generally chained to the shelves to prevent theft. As more of the population became literate, new ideas like Humanism and Natural Law spawned an increase personal libraries, although they remained small.
Gutenberg's invention of the printing press in 1456 opened the door to the modern era for libraries.
Oldest working libraries According to the German librarian Michael Knoche, it is not possible to determine which library is the “oldest”: "Precise year dates are a construct, especially in the case of very old libraries. When a collection of books deserves to be called a library depends very much on the point of view of the observer." Various libraries are referred to as the “oldest”:
The library founded in the 6th century of the Saint Catherine's Monastery in Sinai is "reputedly the oldest continuously run library in existence today", according to the Library of Congress. Its collection of religious and secular manuscripts is ranging from Bibles, liturgies and prayer books to legal documents such as deeds, court cases and fatwahs (legal opinions).
The Al Qarawiyyin Library was founded in 859 by Fatima al-Fihri and is often regarded as the oldest working library in the world. It is in Fez, Morocco and is part of the oldest continually operating university in the world, the University of al-Qarawiyyin. The library houses approximately 4,000 ancient Islamic manuscripts. These manuscripts include 9th century Qurans and the oldest known accounts of the Islamic prophet Muhammed.
The Malatestiana Library (Italian: Biblioteca Malatestiana) is a public library in the city of Cesena in northern Italy. Opened in 1454 it is significant for being the first civic library in Europe open to the general public.
Library history reports and writings of the 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, Their History, Condition, and Management (1876),Miksa, Francis. “The Making of the 1876 Special Report on Public Libraries.” Journal of Library History, Philosophy, and Comparative Librarianship 8, no. 1 (1973): 30–40. Memorial History of Boston (1881) by Justin Winsor, Public Libraries in America (1894) by William I. Fletcher, and History of the New York Public Library (1923) by Henry M. Lydenberg. British titles include Old English Libraries (1911) by Earnest A. Savage and The Chained Library: A Survey of Four Centuries in the Evolution of the English Library by Burnett Hillman Streeter.
In the beginning of the 20th century, library historians began applying scientific research methodologies to examine the library as a social agency. Two works that demonstrate this argument are Geschichte der Bibliotheken (1925) by Alfred Hessel and the Library Quarterly article from 1931, “The Sociological Beginnings of the Library Movement in America” by Arnold Borden.
With the establishment of library schools, master's theses and doctoral dissertations represented the shift in serious research regarding libraries and library history. Two published doctoral dissertations that mark this trend are Foundations of the Public Library: The Origins of the American Public Library Movement in New England, 1629 – 1855 (1940) by Jesse Shera and Arsenals of a Democratic Culture: A Social History of the American Public Library Movement in New England and the Middle Atlantic States From 1850 to 1900 (1947). Additional models of library historical analysis include The New York Public Library: A History of Its Founding and Early Years by Phyllis Dain, a work that exemplified institutional history and The Power and the Dignity: Librarianship and Katharine L. Sharp by Laurel Grotzinger, a biographical study.
Edward A. Goedeken, writes a biennial review of publications on the history of libraries, librarianship, and information surveys that is published in the journal, Information & Culture Goedeken, Edward A. 2019. “The Literature of American Library History, 2016–2017.” Information & Culture 54 (3): 342–80. All biennial reviews are listed in "Further reading" on this page.
Cataloging The earliest methods of cataloging involved storing tablets separately based on their content. The subject matter was identified by small descriptions or color coding. Common practice was to have different rooms or chambers for the various subject types. Moving to the Renaissance period, cataloging took on a whole new level. Materials were still stored by content, but now titles were being listed and organized alphabetically. Catalogs were kept in ledger form listing all the materials in the collection, new additions added at the margins, until a librarian would redraft the catalog. Maintaining and revising the catalog became crucially important as collections grew. It was during the Renaissance period that one would find the first catalogs that referenced other collections to make finding materials easier. As printing grew, so did the need for accurate catalogs of material available. Additionally catalogs needed to be descriptive enough to help librarians in the locating and storing of books. As collections grew, so naturally did catalogs. Materials continued to be separated by subject and would then be further divided by more specific heading, still listed and stored within these sub headings alphabetically.Murray, Stuart. (2009). The Library: an Illustrated History. Skyhorse Publishing: New York.