2d or 3d? button on bottom left;xNLx;;xNLx;Use the slider at the bottom to move through the timeline.;xNLx;;xNLx;You can find more settings by clicking the "spanner" icon, bottom right.
The first archives and libraries in Ancient Rome were inherited from the Greeks from about 120 BC. Collections of events in archives probably made up the first collections of the Roman Republic with other collections developing over time Initially only private libraries were common in Rome and the only public collections were the temple and government archives. The first public library in Rome was a collection of spoils of war brought together in the Temple of Liberty. Asinius Pollio is credited with beginning this first public library by using his wealth to organise the collection of archives already in existence and by adding his own libraries to it. The library was opened to the public in 37BC.
The library at Pergamum was founded around 200 BCE. It is claimed the library was set up in competition withthe great library of Alexandria. Pergamum was an important city in the Greek world with a large population. The library there is said to have held around 200000 books or scrolls. It is said that the important material that was produced in Pergumum was parchment--and the word itself comes from the name of the city. This was in contrast to the papyrus being used in Alexandria. This innovation meant that the Roman empire did not need to depend on papyrus anymore. The librareis of Alexandria and Pergumum were fierce competitors trying to out do each other with their collections, facilities and the scholars they attracted. The library was dedicated to Athena, godess of wisdom and was comprised of four rooms--three rooms for the collection and one as a meeting/confernce and events room. The remains can be found in modern day Turkey.
The original library at Alexandria in Egypt was one of the wonders of the ancient world. Founded by Alexander the Great in 300 BC , built and enlarged by Ptolemy I, Alexander's successor, the city's library comprised perhaps as many as 700,000 manuscripts. The first recorded Librarian was Zenodotus of Ephesus
In 324 CE Constantine the Great became emperor of both the eastern and western Roman Empire and declared Christianity the official religion with Constantinople (now Istanbul) the capital. Byzantium became an important centre of learning and while over the centuries learning rose and fell in importance, generally speaking, schools, libraries and monasteries were far ahead in the Byzantine empire during the 13th, 14th and early 15th centuries than in either the Moslem world or western Europe before the Renaissance.
During the disorder and confusion of the Dark Ages in Western Europe. The role of Christian monasteries in preserving literature in Europe becomes vital Two key people in this are St Benedict and Cassiodorus. There were also some bright points including the court library of Charlemagne at Aachen
Neighbours and enemies of the Byzantine empire were the Moslems, who for several centuries had access to books and learning far superior to the people of medieval western Europe, especially in the areas of medicine and mathematics. Their capital city, Mecca, was rivalled only by Constantinople as the greatest city in the world in that period. While Europe was considered to have drifted into a time of limited scholarly activity sometimed called the 'dark ages' learning, libraries and books thrived in this part of the world. Importantly many of the works from the classical period had been copied by scholars in this region and therefore they were saved along with the knowledge they contained.
Clastrum sine armarie est quasi castrum sine armamentaria (a monastery without a library is like a castle without weapons)
"Do fidem me nullum librum vel instrumentum aliamve quam rem ad bibliothecam pertinentem, vel ibi custodiae causa depositam, aut e bibliotheca sublaturum esse, aut foedaturum deformaturum aliove quo modo laesurum; item neque ignem nec flammam in bibliothecam inlaturum vel in ea accensurum, neque fumo nicotiano aliove quovis ibi usurum; item promitto me omnes leges ad bibliothecam Bodleianam attinentes semper observaturum esse" ENGLISH TRANSLATION: I hereby undertake not to remove from the Library, nor to mark, deface, or injure in any way, any volume, document or other object belonging to it or in its custody; not to bring into the Library, or kindle therein, any fire or flame, and not to smoke in the Library; and I promise to obey all rules of the Library
There is evidence of palace libraries with collections of clay tablets by the Mycenaean Age (1400-1200BC) but between 1100 and 700BC there was little or no written Greek language following the invasion of Greece by the Dorians - this was the Greek ‘Dark Ages’.
The first records in China were government records inscribed on animal bone and held in the Royal archives of the Shang Dynasty about 1500 BC. Official record keeping for archival purposes began during the Chou dynasty. Between 202 BC and 220 CE an effort was made to collect, catalogue and organise all written works. The first libraries were for historians and scholars. They contained literature and the records of events. There were many Imperial and private libraries in ancient China including the famous Library of the Four Treasures.
A subscription library is a lending library to which borrowers pay a membership fee either instead of or in addition to a specific charge for books borrowed. There can be a great deal of overlap between subscription libraries and Mechanics’ Institutes’ and there are some similarities also with circulating libraries. These libraries often cater for a particular interest group or community and the subscription might provide access to other services. Some of these libraries were also part of private organisations and learned societies. A number are still in existence.
As you have read in your modules archives existed in the ancient world but the whole modern idea of archives came from the decision during the French Revolution (1789) to make archives available to the public. These archives were the combined result of records seized during the revolution from various government, religious and private records. Today the Archives Nationales is said to be the largest in the world.
The first national libraries were founded before 1800 and included the British Museum (now British Library), the Library of Congress in Washington and the Bibliotheque Nationale (now called the Bibliotheque Nationale de France) in Paris. They were established as monuments to nationalism and their collections began either from royal collections e.g. the Bibliotheque Nationale, or with the acquisition of large private libraries eg. Library of Congress and British Museum.
Parliamentary libraries serve the needs of state or federal governments internationally. In some instance these libraries are solely for the use of government ministers and officials while in other instance they can act as de facto state or federal collecting institutions.
The story of libraries in Australia began before the arrival of Europeans with many books being kept on board the Hulks which housed the convicts prior to transportation. These tended to be religious texts meant to provide moral guidance. Books were brought to Australia with the first fleet, including books necessary for surgeons, surveyors, judges and chaplains etc. to practice their occupations in the new colony. The colonists also brought with them an understanding of 18th century British libraries – subscription, parochial and circulating libraries – and the idea that the lower classes needed libraries to ‘improve their minds’ and keep them out of trouble in their leisure time!
The increase and spread of popular literature—magazines, newspapers and novel in the late 18th and early 19th centuries led to the development of circulating, or rental libraries. Readers in a circulating library could, for a small fee, access a wide selection of popular reading materials. These unlike other lending libraries were not to benefit their members but were a commercial concern much like a video library has been in more modern times.
Mechanics institutes flourished in the late 1800s with the purpose of providing recreational reading, self improvement and education for the working man - generally agricultural workers in Australia where there were not many mechanics! By the 1930s the mechanics institutes, and their counterparts Schools of the Arts, Schools of Mines and Athenaeums, had largely declined to merely being the social centres of almost every country town – weddings, parties, everything - with council operated public libraries taking over their educational/recreational reading role from 1945.
Public libraries have been around almost as long as books and printing however it was not until the mid-nineteenth century that our modern idea of a public library started to develop.
The Mundaneum was founded in 1910 by two lawyers, Paul Otlet and Henri La Fontaine. It is said to be the pre-cursor of the Internet and an examination of the ideas and aims of this organisation make it clear what this is often seen as the case.
The earliest known organised records in Egypt were archives kept for government purposes such as taxation. These archives included the 3 houses of writing and the House of taxation. (2613-2345 BC). We find terms such as ‘Controller of the Library’ mentioned on tombs.
In this period there are 253 known archives and libraries from 51 different cities, of which 125 archives and libraries date from 1500-1000 BC and 128 to 1000-300 BC.
We'd love to hear from you. Please send questions or feedback to the below email addresses.
Before contacting us, you may wish to visit our FAQs page which has lots of useful info on Tiki-Toki.
We can be contacted by email at: hello@tiki-toki.com.
You can also follow us on twitter at twitter.com/tiki_toki.
If you are having any problems with Tiki-Toki, please contact us as at: help@tiki-toki.com
Close