The Library: An Illustrated HistoryStuart A. P. Murray

Presentation by Jennifer Ureste, Carl Solorio, and Nicky Fairless

In the Forward, Nicholas A. Basbanes talks about the importance of libraries and how attendance goes up during times of stress: war, recessions, and depressions, etc.

In the Introduction, Donald G. Davis, Jr. discusses how libraries were used throughout the ages to preserve knowledge and to inform and enlighten future leaders. Libraries are a “collective memory of the human race.” He states, “libraries remind us of our humanity, preserve our legacy as a species, and provide the intellectual building blocks for the future” (X).

Forward and Introduction

5,000 years ago, libraries began here:

Ebla Library

Ebla Library Details

The Elba library is the earliest known library dating back to 2,500 BCE.

It contained 20,000 clay tablets with cuneiform writing.

The tablets were arranged on shelves. The tablets were found “in horizontal heaps, like cards in a file” (9).

Tablets found there contain the earliest references to the city of Jerusalem.

Ancient Egyptians used papyrus instead of clay tablets.

They were stored rolled up in wooden boxes, chests, and boxes in the shape of statues, as well as piled on shelves. Some were also stored in large clay vessels.

They were organized or grouped according to subject or author.

They were also labeled by using thin pieces of clay and attached with a string to the end of the scroll.

Because papyrus was almost exclusive to Egypt, ancient Egyptians controlled its distribution. This influenced the development of books and writing in the civilized world.

Ancient Egyptians and Papyrus

Examples of scrolls

Nineveh Library was the royal library of the Assyrian King Assurbanipal. The library was located in his palace.

It existed in the 7th century BCE.It is considered the first catalogued library.It contained over 30,000 clay tablets, written in several

languages, and broken up into 9 different rooms according to their category: “government records, historical chronicles, poetry, science, mythological and medical texts, royal decrees and grants, divinations, omens, and hymns to the gods” (6).

Assurbanipal sent out scribes to other libraries to record their contents. These were among the first library catalogs.

Nineveh Library

He also organized the copying of original literary works because “…he sought to study the “artistic script of the Sumerians” and the “obscure script of the Akkadians” (9).

Nineveh Library held the Epic of Gilgamesh.After his death in 627 BCE, the Assyrian

Empire weakened and by 612 BCE, Nineveh was ransacked and a fire raged through the library.

Nineveh Library

Bas-relief from Nineveh Library

Clay tablets found in Assurbanipal’s Palace

The Alexandria Library was named after Alexander the Great (356-323 BCE).

When he conquered lands, it almost always meant the destruction of major libraries.

After his death, Ptolemy I Soter, assumed kingship of Egypt and founded the Great Library, in 300 BCE.

The Great Library at Alexandria acquired the largest holdings of the age, estimates range from 40,000 to 400,000 scrolls.

Scrolls were laboriously copied from all over the known world. Sometimes originals were kept and copies were sent back to the libraries that originally loaned the materials to copy.

Alexandria Library

Despite legends, the Great Library, and several other libraries in Alexandria, were around for 700 years and suffered many fires and conquests.

For seven centuries, the city of Alexandria was known as the world’s repository for learning and wisdom.

Over the centuries, damage to the Great Library occurred through fires (one notable fire was started by Julius Caesar’s army who destroyed thousands of scrolls), and earthquakes.

“The Alexandrian book collections steadily diminished as a result of natural causes, war, and wholesale theft by corrupt administrators” (17).

Alexandria Library

Between the first century BCE to the fourth century, Romans established libraries throughout the known world.

Roman libraries contained books in Latin and Greek.Libraries were constructed as temples and separate rooms

were required for Greek and Latin works.As Christianity blossomed in Rome, many Roman book

collections were destroyed as unholy, pagan teachings.New libraries popped up in churches and monasteries where

many of the pagan books were saved and stored away from public view.

The art of illumination was advanced during this time. Bookbinding techniques advanced to vellum bound pages,

written on both sides. Calligraphy and art design sprouted up during this time.

The Roman Empire

“Public” libraries began during the Roman Empire. After the fall of the Roman Empire in the 5th century,

Europe entered into the Dark Ages. It would last for 300 years.

In the 5th century, while the Roman Empire of the West was fading, the libraries in Constantinople were gathering classical Greek and Roman works.

The Byzantine libraries were able to protect these works from invaders and Christians hostile towards pagans.

During the Dark Ages, monasteries continued to labor with copying manuscripts and books for preservation.

European Libraries of the Middle Ages

From the 4th century on, scrolls were no longer used. The preferred type of book was a codex.

The codex was invented by the Romans who folded scrolls into pages. It was thought that Julius Caesar was the first to fold scrolls.

A codex looks like modern books with its pages or leaves bound together on one side, writing on both sides of the vellum, and bound with protective covers made of wood enclosed with leather.

The word “codex” refers to handwritten manuscripts only.

Codex Format

Example of a codex

A major fire broke out in Constantinople in 476 destroying the imperial library.

Monasteries and churches became the leaders in collecting and copying old books.

The Rule of Monks was a guidebook started by the Order of Saint Benedict. One of its principles required that each monastery have at least one book for every brother.

They also worked as scribes who translated and laboriously copied books.

The Benedictine scriptoria was the most productive entity of the Middle Ages in turning out books and manuscripts.

The Rule of Monks

Monks and lay brothers worked as copyists and bookbinders.

Specialists were employed to illuminate the pages with elaborate capital letters, designs, and pictures.

The average scribe copied two books a year.Candles were generally forbidden. They did their

copying by windows.Copying the Bible took fifteen months.Scribes often left comments when they finished

copying a manuscript: “I have made an end at last, and my weary hand can rest” (38).

Monastic Scriptoria

Examples of Illuminated BooksThe Book of Kells Example of Dutch Illumination

Book curses date back to the beginnings of libraries.

“Ancient librarians called down the wrath of the gods of Mesopotamia, Egypt, Greece, and Rome upon book thieves and vandals” (39).

In Europe, many curses were built around expulsion from the church and eternal damnation.

Other curses wanted the perpetrator to be hanged.

They took their books seriously!

Book Curses

“He who entrusts this book to others’ hands, may all the gods who are found in Babylon curse him” (40)!

“Steal not this book my honest friend, for fear of the gallows should be your end, and when you die the Lord will say, and where’s the book you stole away” (41)?

“Him that stealeth, or borroweth and returneth not, this book from its owner, let it change into a serpent in his hand and rend him. Let him be struck with palsy, and all his members blasted. Let him languish in pain crying out for mercy, and let there be no surcease to his agony till he sing in dissolution. Let bookworms gnaw his entrails and let the flames of Hell consume him forever” (40).

Examples of book curses

Paper was invented in the 2nd century in China.The Chinese would do rubbings on Confucius stone tablets

with paper, making “prints”.By the 8th century, block printing was widely used in China.Block printing consisted of carved wood blocks with

characters in relief and inked. Then paper was applied to the block and rubbed with a brush.

“In the 10th century a major Buddhist canon, the Tripitaka, was published in 5,000 volumes using more than 130,000 individual woodblocks” (45).

China developed “movable type” in the 11th century. It consisted of single letters or characters placed alongside others in a frame.

Asia and Islam

Examples of individual blocks

Brass and ceramic blocks Movable type

Movable TypeA Chinese printed

book

The Caves of the Thousand Buddhas was discovered in the early 20th century in western China.

The “caves form a complex of almost 500 temples, with half a million square feet of religious wall murals. The complex contained more than 15,000 paper books and 1,100 paper bundles, each of which held dozens of scrolls” (49).

It was sealed in the 11th century.“Found in the caves were books from the Fertile

Crescent, including a version of the Old Testament written in Hebrew…Tibetan scrolls…Buddhist texts, written in Sanskrit….the world’s oldest-known printed book, dating from the ninth century…” (49).

Caves of the Thousand Buddhas

Papermaking came to Islam in the 8th century. Muslims were responsible for bringing papermaking to India and Europe.

Calligraphy flourished.By the 10th century, the library at Cordoba,

Spain held between 400,000 – 600,000 books.The Crusades, during the 11th – 13th

centuries, were responsible for widespread destruction of Islamic libraries and many books were lost to burning.

Islamic Libraries

Papermaking came to Europe during this time.

Paper was originally called bagdatikos, which means “from Baghdad”.

Paper revolutionized the book business.Books cost less to make, making them more

accessible to people.European scribes switched from large print to

small print to fit more words on a page.Libraries benefited the most by the increase

in production of less costly books.

Late Middle Ages

Encompassed the 11th – 13th centuries.Monarchies and cities came into prominence.Colleges and universities started during this

time.Wealthy patrons contributed books to the

university libraries.Book collectors moved from considering

collections as tokens of power to having love for books and knowledge.

“Humanism” came into prominence.Books were protected by chains in libraries.

Europe’s High Middle Ages

Beowulf was written down by a monk in the 13th century.

Beowulf

By the 14th century, books like the Canterbury Tales, the Anglo-Saxon Chronicles and poetry about King Arthur and his knights thrilled readers.

Canterbury Tales

“Humanism” started when scholars sought to understand the nature of human beings.

Humanism-inspired education consisted of languages, sciences, philosophy, and history.

In 1450, Johann Gutenberg invented the printing press.

It changed the landscape of books and libraries.

Gutenberg made individual letters that could be assembled into words and put into a frame to make identical pages.

Humanism brought about the Renaissance

Gutenberg, his printing press, and his Bible

Renaissance

“Rebirth”Free thinking was a hallmark of the ageMany libraries had many writers and

philosophersAcademies or associations of scholars were

formedAcademies were dedicated to higher learning

and philosophy

Cataloging in the Renaissance

Each library was categorized according to the individual in charge

Sorbonne libraryConrad Gesner - “Father of Bibliography”Librarians revised catalogs regularly

Renaissance Librarianship

The catalog listed, described, and classified books.

Libraries organized according to knowledge of librarians.

Books could be arranged by language, printed, or handwritten.

Books arranged according to law, Scriptures, and philosophy, to name a few.

Matthias Corvinus

Corvinus built a library of 3000 titles in the city of Buda.

Bibliophiles built libraries as temples to books and knowledge.

Libraries appeared as manifestations of immense wealth.

Libraries were used as courts for aristocrats and the Church.

Court libraries were housed in monumental buildings with woodwork.

Court libraries were built in Naples, Modena, and Cesna.

Court libraries were adorned with statues, paintings, and frescoes.

Court Libraries

France’s Charles VThe Royal library became the cornerstone of

National Bibliotheque in France.

Phillip II founded El Real Monasterio de San Lorenzo del Escorial.

Phillip II of Spain

Thought vs. Religion

Beliefs of academics put them at odds with the Church.

Religious leaders became angry when academic members appeared to favor classical culture and pre-Christian pagan ideas.

Martin Luther

Luther started the Protestant Reformation.

People of the Book

Islamic armies brought books and librariesFounded centers of scholarship and librariesMigration led to establishment of libraries in

other landsLibraries developed in towns and trading

centers

Timbuktu

City of mud brick buildingsGreat Mosque of cut stoneBooks were a valuable commodityFamilies had more than 100,000 manuscriptsManuscripts were the source of religion,

science, and musicConquered and the scholarly were persecutedFamilies managed to preserve their private

collections and would become a cultural treasure

South Asia - Islam

War over faithScholars shared knowledge in times of peaceMany ideas and forms of worship converged

and held similar principles

Delhi Sultanate

Developed several types of libraries which were open for public use

Safavid Dynasty

Created librariesDelhi Sultans established librariesOttoman Turks rose and established librariesLibrary growth was spurred by waqf

China, Korea, and JapanImperial library in Beijing grew in the Yuan and

Ming dynasties.Private libraries and academy libraries flourished.Government employed scholars to compile

encyclopedias.K’ang Hsi developed the Imperial Library.Libraries belonged to royalty and Buddhist

temples.Royal Libraries categorized by titles, such as,

classics, history, encyclopedias, and philosophy.Samurai had libraries on military strategy.Family libraries include the classics.

Golden Age LibrarianshipEmployed scholarly directors who classified

and organized informationTask of cataloging laggedCharacteristic was compulsiveness and

knowledgeable on objects

Francis Trigge Chained Library

First public libraryBooks fastened by chainsBooks donated by militaryTown libraries

Gabriel Naude

Instituted private collections on which books were practical

Cotton Library

Library home of books, artifacts, and coins -Original Manuscript of Beowulf -Lindisfarne -Pearl -Sir Gawain and the Green Knight - Codex Alexandrinus - The Battle of Maldon Catalog by nameShelf by letterTitle number1750s: the British Museum and Library took charge

and continues to organize the books

Thomas Bodley

The BodlianLibrary contained more than 2000 books

Colonial America

Books were cherished by pilgrimsWealthy colonists and clergyman built up

their librariesKnowledge and education was common to

colonistsBooks were essential to their spiritual healthPrinting presses, authors, and intellectuals in

Mexico CityPrinting began to grow rapidly

Sister Juana Ines de La Cruz

Nun who developed a library with more than four thousand books

1539: the first North American title was printed

1663: Harvard College published the earliest Bible in North America

Many bound books in the colonies were ledgers and court documents

1700s: manufacturing blank books was bigVolumes of public records made the first

reference libraries

1769: first colonial type was made in New Haven, Connecticut

William Caslon designed type faceBritish Americans did not think education

should be excluded for the wealthyHouseholds in the middle class had four or

five titles

Ben Franklin

Founder of the first American subscription library.

The New York Society Library

Foundation was laid in the 1700s by Reverend John Sharp

New York society or Junto bought seven hundred new books for the library

The Revolutionary War caused the library to be destroyed by 1783

The library moved in 1784 to Federal Hall, where the constitution was written

Libraries in the Young United States

“Father of the Library of Congress”

Thomas Jefferson(1743-1826)

• In 1800 President John Adams gave authorization to establish the Library of Congress.

• $5000 was appropriated for material selections.

• In 1801, Thomas Jefferson appoints the first librarian to the Library of Congress.

Interesting Fact

“As the national library of the United States, the LoC receives copies of every book,

pamphlet, map, print, and piece of music registered in the country” (229).

Tragedy Strikes

War of 1812 British forces capture Washington, D.C. and fire, yet again,

destroys another library.

During the 1700s and into the 1800s, “subscription” or “society” libraries were

established.Individuals paid dues for a membership.

The Subscription Library

The Boston Town Library

Athenaeum libraries issued “shares” to its members.

Boston Athenaeum

The Public Library

Recognizing the need for Professionalism

Henry M. Bailey organizes the first Librarian’s Convention in the New York University Chapel ~

1853

American Library AssociationEstablished in 1876

Cincinnati Public Library1874

• 1875 ~ 188 public libraries

• 1886 ~ 600+ public libraries

Andrew Carnegie1835-1919

Andrew Carnegie donated the funds to construct free public libraries in the United States.

San Diego Free Public Library

Melvil Dewey1851-1931

• New York State Librarian

• 1884 founded the Columbia School of Library Economy

• Developed a system of bibliographic classification

Yay for Peace

The second half of the 20th century provided the time to reconstruct archives and

libraries worldwide, in addition to the promotion of new community and university

libraries.

Private CollectionsAmong some of the most unique libraries in the world are private

collections.

• The Newberry Library in Chicago• The Folger Shakespeare Library in

Washington, D.C.• The Huntington Library in San Marino,

California• The Research Library at the Getty Institute in

Los Angeles• The Morgan Library and Museum in New

York

Do you know which type of library is the most numerous?

The school library

9,000+ public libraries3,600 academic libraries

9,000 special libraries1,500 government and military libraries

In addition to School Libraries in the United States--

A Sneak-Peek at Libraries Around the World

Bibliotheque National de France, Paris

Founded at Louvre Castle in 1368

Opened to the public in 1692

Staff of 2700Manages 13 million

books

British Library

Established in 1753Books are stored

underground in 185 miles of shelves

150 million items – one of the world’s largest libraries

Library and Archives of Canada

Founded in 195318 million in

holdingsHouses a

preservation center

New York Public Library

One of the world’s leading research library

7th largest public library in the United States

26th largest library n the country

Chicago Public Library

Founded in 1873 with documents saved in an abandoned water tower during the Chicago Fire of 1871

Largest library system in the Midwest

Has nearly 2000 public access computers (2007)

The Newberry Library

Established in 1887 Walter L. Newberry died at sea, and his daughters

never married or had childrenHas a copy of Thomas Jefferson’s Federalist Papers

All that mankind has done, thought, gained or been; it is lying as in magic preservation

in the pages of books- Thomas Carlyle