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122-492: Old Washington County Library is a historic library building located at 21 Summit Avenue in Hagerstown , Washington County, Maryland , United States . It is a two-story Neo- Georgian stone masonry structure of monumental proportions, built 1900–01. The building appears to be one huge story from the façade. The building was designed by the noted late 19th-century American architect Bruce Price (1845–1903) and erected for
244-502: A special library or academic library, for example. Libraries may also be community hubs, where programmes are made available and people engage in lifelong learning. Modern libraries extend their services beyond the physical walls of the building by providing material accessible by electronic means, including from home via the Internet. The services that libraries offer are variously described as library services, information services, or
366-573: A Muslim Geographer, once got stunned by stepping into one of these well-designed libraries in Shiraz : a complex of buildings surrounded by gardens with lakes and waterways. The buildings were topped with domes, and comprised an upper and a lower storey with a total, according to the chief official, of 360 rooms....In each department, catalogues were placed on a shelf... the rooms were furnished with carpets... Though this flowering of Islamic learning ceased centuries later when learning began declining in
488-475: A breakthrough in the translation movement, public and private libraries started to boost all around Islamic lands. "libraries (royal, public, specialized, private) had become common and bookmen (authors, translators, copiers, illuminators, librarians, booksellers' collectors) from all classes and sections of society, of all nationalities and ethnic backgrounds, vied with each other in the production and distribution of books." A series of outstanding libraries within
610-479: A curator of the imperial library was the first to establish a library classification system and the first book notation system. At this time the library catalog was written on scrolls of fine silk and stored in silk bags. Important new technological innovations include the use of paper and block printing. Wood-block printing, facilitated the large-scale reproduction of classic Buddhist texts which were avidly collected in many private libraries that flourished during
732-676: A large library, the card catalogue often filled a large room. The emergence of desktop computers and the Internet , however, has led to the adoption of electronic catalogue databases (often referred to as "webcats" or as online public access catalogues , OPACs), which allow users to search the library's holdings from any location with Internet access. This style of catalogue maintenance is compatible with new types of libraries, such as digital libraries and distributed libraries , as well as older libraries that have been retrofitted . Large libraries may be scattered within multiple buildings across
854-538: A larger facility. Lamba (2019) reinforced this idea by observing that "today's libraries have become increasingly multi-disciplinary, collaborative and networked" and that applying Web 2.0 tools to libraries would "not only connect the users with their community and enhance communication but will also help the librarians to promote their library's activities, services, and products to target both their actual and potential users". Academic libraries are generally located on college and university campuses and primarily serve
976-586: A librarian and assistants, may have been originally located in the Patriarch's official residence before it was moved to the Thomaites Triclinus in the 7th century. While much is not known about the actual library itself, it is known that many of its contents were subject to destruction as religious in-fighting ultimately resulted in book burnings . During this period, small private libraries existed. Many of these were owned by church members and
1098-484: A love of books. One of the most popular programs offered in public libraries are summer reading programs for children, families, and adults. Another popular reading program for children is PAWS TO READ or similar programs where children can read to certified therapy dogs. Since animals are a calming influence and there is no judgment, children learn confidence and a love of reading. Many states have these types of programs: parents need simply ask their librarian to see if it
1220-793: A national library, putting less emphasis on the repository character. The first national libraries had their origins in the royal collections of the sovereign or some other supreme body of the state. Many national libraries cooperate within the National Libraries Section of the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) to discuss their common tasks, define and promote common standards, and carry out projects helping them to fulfill their duties. The national libraries of Europe participate in The European Library which
1342-915: A parent organization and may serve only members of that organization. Examples of research libraries include the British Library , the Bodleian Library at Oxford University and the New York Public Library Main Branch on 42nd Street in Manhattan, State Public Scientific Technological Library of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Science . Digital libraries are libraries that house digital resources, such as text, photographs, and audio. These are curated by digital librarians. In
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#17327934765441464-436: A public body such as a government, an institution (such as a school or museum), a corporation, or a private individual. In addition to providing materials, libraries also provide the services of librarians who are trained experts in finding, selecting, circulating and organising information while interpreting information needs and navigating and analysing large amounts of information with a variety of resources. The area of study
1586-465: A publisher's imprint on the spine of a book, or in this case, a tablet. The colophons stated the series name, the title of the tablet, and any extra information the scribe needed to indicate. Eventually, the clay tablets were organized by subject and size. Due to limited bookshelf space older tablets were removed, which is why some were missing from the excavated cities in Mesopotamia. According to
1708-504: A reference library, which does not lend its holdings, or a lending library, which does lend all or some of its holdings. Some extremely large or traditional research libraries are entirely reference in this sense, lending none of their materials; most academic research libraries, at least in the US and the UK, now lend books, but not periodicals or other materials. Many research libraries are attached to
1830-438: A result, Byzantium revived Classical models of education and libraries. The Imperial Library of Constantinople was an important depository of ancient knowledge. Constantine himself wanted such a library but his short rule denied him the ability to see his vision to fruition. His son Constantius II made this dream a reality and created an imperial library in a portico of the royal palace. He ruled for 24 years and accelerated
1952-552: A result, their survival varied. In the West many classical Latin works were copied and were thought fit for preservation in a parchment or codex, the progenitor of the modern book, but few Greek works because of the growing unfamiliarity with the language. In the East, however, this was not the case as many of these classical Greek and Roman texts were copied. "[F]ormerly paper was rare and expensive, so every spare page of available books
2074-430: A separate room or area for children. They are an educational agency seeking to acquaint the young with the world's literature and to cultivate a love for reading. Their work supplements that of the public schools. Services commonly provided by public libraries may include storytelling sessions for infants, toddlers, preschool children, or after-school programs, all with an intention of developing early literacy skills and
2196-507: A staff member. Ways in which a library's content is displayed or accessed may have an impact on use. An antiquated or clumsy search system, or staff unwilling or not properly trained to engage their patrons, will limit a library's usefulness. In the public libraries of the United States, beginning in the 19th century, these problems drove the emergence of the library instruction movement, which advocated library user education. One of
2318-518: A thriving book culture in East Asia. Several Asian religious and philosophical movements are responsible for stimulating learning, printing and book collecting: Buddhism , Confucianism , Taoism , and Jainism . Jainism, a major faith of the Indian subcontinent , had a tradition of religious, scientific, and cultural scholarship. Early practitioners of the faith not only produced scriptural writing
2440-424: A town, each having multiple floors, with multiple rooms housing their resources across a series of shelves called bays . Once a user has located a resource within the catalogue, they must then use navigational guidance to retrieve the resource physically, a process that may be assisted through signage, maps, GPS systems, or RFID tagging. Finland has the highest number of registered book borrowers per capita in
2562-405: A university. Some items at reference libraries may be historical and even unique. Many lending libraries contain a "reference section", which holds books, such as dictionaries, which are common reference books, and are therefore not lent out. Such reference sections may be referred to as "reading rooms" or "study rooms", which may also include newspapers and periodicals. An example of a reading room
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#17327934765442684-487: Is a service of the Conference of European National Librarians (CENL). A public library provides services to the general public. If the library is part of a countywide library system, citizens with an active library card from around that county can use the library branches associated with the library system. A library can serve only their city, however, if they are not a member of the county public library system. Much of
2806-847: Is accessible for use by its members and members of allied institutions. Libraries provide physical (hard copies) or digital (soft copies) materials, and may be a physical location, a virtual space, or both. A library's collection normally includes printed materials which may be borrowed, and usually also includes a reference section of publications which may only be utilized inside the premises. Resources such as commercial releases of films, television programmes, other video recordings, radio, music and audio recordings may be available in many formats. These include DVDs , Blu-rays , CDs , cassettes , or other applicable formats such as microform . They may also provide access to information, music or other content held on bibliographic databases . Libraries can vary widely in size and may be organised and maintained by
2928-470: Is an attempt to make the library a more user-driven institution. Despite the importance ascribed to public libraries, their budgets are often cut by legislatures. In some cases, funding has dwindled so much that libraries have been forced to cut their hours and release employees. A reference library does not lend books and other items; instead, they can only be read at the library itself. Typically, such libraries are used for research purposes, for example at
3050-476: Is available at their local library. A national or state library serves as a national repository of information, and has the right of legal deposit , which is a legal requirement that publishers in the country need to deposit a copy of each publication with the library. Unlike a public library, a national library rarely allows citizens to borrow books. Often, their collections include numerous rare, valuable, or significant works. There are wider definitions of
3172-435: Is known as library and information science . Library buildings often provide quiet areas for studying, as well as common areas for group study and collaboration, and may provide public facilities for access to their electronic resources, such as computers and access to the Internet . The library's clientele and general services offered vary depending on its type: users of a public library have different needs from those of
3294-824: Is most often an academic or national library , but a large special library may have a research library within its special field, and a very few of the largest public libraries also serve as research libraries. A large university library may be considered a research library; and in North America, such libraries may belong to the Association of Research Libraries . In the United Kingdom, they may be members of Research Libraries UK (RLUK) . Particularly important collections in England may be designated by Arts Council England . A research library can be either
3416-497: Is not lent out. Travelling libraries, such as the early horseback libraries of eastern Kentucky and bookmobiles , are generally of the lending type. Modern libraries are often a mixture of both, containing a general collection for circulation, and a reference collection which is restricted to the library premises. Also, increasingly, digital collections enable broader access to material that may not circulate in print, and enables libraries to expand their collections even without building
3538-454: Is not practical to have available as hard copies. Furthermore, most libraries collaborate with other libraries in exchange of books. Specific course-related resources are usually provided by the library, such as copies of textbooks and article readings held on 'reserve' (meaning that they are loaned out only on a short-term basis, usually a matter of hours). Some academic libraries provide resources not usually associated with libraries, such as
3660-528: Is now a registered UNESCO World Heritage document They were many other sizable libraries in major Islamic cities, e.g. Basrah , Damascus , Isfahan , Tous , Baghdad , Shoush , Mosul and Shiraz . The spread of religion and philosophy throughout the South and East Asia spurred the development of both writing and books. Chinese emperors were very supportive of this culture. Chinese printing and paper making , which predate Western development, gave birth to
3782-471: Is particularly attractive to younger library users. Digitization of books, particularly those that are out-of-print , in projects such as Google Books provides resources for library and other online users. Due to their holdings of valuable material, some libraries are important partners for search engines such as Google in realizing the potential of such projects and have received reciprocal benefits in cases where they have negotiated effectively. As
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3904-672: Is the Hazel H. Ransom Reading Room at the Harry Ransom Center of the University of Texas at Austin , which maintains the papers of literary agent Audrey Wood . A research library is a collection of materials on one or more subjects. A research library supports scholarly or scientific research and will generally include primary as well as secondary sources ; it will maintain permanent collections and attempt to provide access to all necessary materials. A research library
4026-668: The Pinakes ). The Library of Celsus in Ephesus , Anatolia , now part of Selçuk , Turkey was built in honor of the Roman Senator Tiberius Julius Celsus Polemaeanus (completed in AD 135) by Celsus' son, Tiberius Julius Aquila Polemaeanus ( consul , 110). The library was built to store 12,000 scrolls and to serve as a monumental tomb for Celsus. The library's ruins were hidden under
4148-671: The Atrium Libertatis , was centrally located near the Forum Romanum . It was the first to employ an architectural design that separated works into Greek and Latin. All subsequent Roman public libraries will have this design. At the conclusion of Rome's civil wars following the death of Marcus Antonius in 30 BC, the Emperor Augustus sought to reconstruct many of Rome's damaged buildings. During this construction, Augustus created two more public libraries. The first
4270-518: The Emperor Tiberius on Palatine Hill and one by Vespasian after 70. Vespasian's library was constructed in the Forum of Vespasian , also known as the Forum of Peace , and became one of Rome's principal libraries. The Bibliotheca Pacis was built along the traditional model and had two large halls with rooms for Greek and Latin libraries containing the works of Galen and Lucius Aelius. One of
4392-680: The Internet in a number of ways, from creating its own library website to making the contents of its catalogues searchable online . Some specialised search engines such as Google Scholar offer a way to facilitate searching for academic resources such as journal articles and research papers. The Online Computer Library Center allows anyone to search the world's largest repository of library records through its WorldCat online database. Websites such as LibraryThing and Amazon provide abstracts, reviews, and recommendations of books. Libraries provide computers and Internet access to allow people to search for information online. Online information access
4514-413: The Internet . Public and institutional collections and services may be intended for use by people who choose not to—or cannot afford to—purchase an extensive collection themselves, who need material no individual can reasonably be expected to have, or who require professional assistance with their research. Services offered by a library are variously described as library services, information services, or
4636-1098: The Islamic world , after many of these libraries were destroyed by Mongol invasions . Others were victim of wars and religious strife in the Islamic world. Many of those priceless manuscripts were transferred into European libraries and museums during the colonial period. However, a few examples of these medieval libraries, such as the libraries of Chinguetti in West Africa , remain intact and relatively unchanged. The contents of these Islamic libraries were copied by Christian monks in Muslim/Christian border areas, particularly Spain and Sicily. From there they eventually made their way into other parts of Christian Europe. These copies joined works that had been preserved directly by Christian monks from Greek and Roman originals, as well as copies Western Christian monks made of Byzantine works. The resulting conglomerate libraries are
4758-644: The Library of Ashurbanipal have been discovered at Nineveh, providing modern scholars with a wealth of Mesopotamian literary, religious and administrative works. Among the findings were the Enuma Elish , also known as the Epic of Creation , which depicts a traditional Babylonian view of creation, the Epic of Gilgamesh , a large selection of "omen texts" including Enuma Anu Enlil which "contained omens dealing with
4880-463: The Sassanid Empire (224 - 651 AD) once the country could gain a relatively political and economic stability. Priests intended to compile the existing Zoroastrianism manuscripts from all over the territory and rulers were keen on the consolidation and promotion of science. At the time, many Zoroastrian fire temples were co-located with local libraries that were designed to collect and promote
5002-610: The Tang dynasty (618–906 AD). The Ming Dynasty in 1407 founded the imperial library, the Wen Yuan Pavilion. It also sponsored the massive compilation of the Yongle Encyclopedia , containing 11,000 volumes including copies of over 7000 books. It was soon destroyed, but similar very large compilations appeared in 1725 and 1772. In Persia, collection of books once again attracted both rulers and priests throughout
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5124-688: The Villa of the Papyri at Herculaneum , apparently the villa of Caesar's father-in-law, the Greek library has been partly preserved in volcanic ash; archaeologists speculate that a Latin library, kept separate from the Greek one, may await discovery at the site. In the West, the first public libraries were established under the Roman Empire as each succeeding emperor strove to open one or many which outshone that of his predecessor. Rome's first public library
5246-401: The education of librarians and allied staff include accessibility of the collection, acquisition of materials, arrangement and finding tools, the book trade, the influence of the physical properties of the different writing materials, language distribution, role in education, rates of literacy, budgets, staffing, libraries for specially targeted audiences, architectural merit, patterns of usage,
5368-608: The 1960s, and changed many aspects of libraries. Library history is the academic discipline devoted to the study of the history of libraries; it is a subfield of library science and of history . The first libraries consisted of archives of the earliest form of writing – the clay tablets in cuneiform script discovered in Ebla in present-day Syria ; and in temple rooms in Sumer , present-day Iraq . About an inch thick, tablets came in various shapes and sizes. Mud-like clay
5490-648: The 21st century, there has been increasing use of the internet to gather and retrieve data. The shift to digital libraries has greatly impacted the way people use physical libraries. Between 2002 and 2004, the average American academic library saw the overall number of transactions decline approximately 2.2%. The University of California Library System saw a 54% decline in circulation between 1991 and 2001 of 8,377,000 books to 3,832,000. Many private businesses and public organizations, including hospitals, churches, museums, research laboratories, law firms, and many government departments and agencies, maintain their own libraries for
5612-559: The Achaemenids' mastery of recording, classifying, and storing a broad range of data. This archive is believed to be the administrative backbone of their ruling system throughout the vast territory of Persia. The baked tablets are written in three main languages: Old Persian, Elamite, and Babylonian. The cuneiform texts cover various contents from records of sales, taxes, payments, treasury details and food storage to remarkable social, artistic and philosophical aspects of an ordinary life in
5734-601: The Chinese would push soft paper onto the stone, apply ink to the back of the sheet, resulting in a black background with white letters. The Chinese also employed inked carved woodblock to produce printed materials. One of the major Buddhist canons, the Tripitaka , was published in 5,000 volumes using more than 130,000 individual woodblocks. In the eleventh century movable type was developed in China and Koreans established
5856-778: The Empire. This priceless collection of tablets, known as the Persepolis Fortification Archive , is property of Iran. A part of this impressive library archive is now kept in Iran while a major proportion is still in the hands of the Chicago Oriental Institute as a long-term loan for the purpose of studying, analyzing, and translating. Some scholars believed that massive resources of archives and resources in different streams of science were transferred from Persia's main libraries to Egypt upon
5978-747: The Fatimid palace library, which probably contained the largest trove of literature on earth at the time, as a "wonder of the world". Similarly, at the torching of the Alamut library , the conqueror Juwayni boasts that its fame "had spread throughout the world". Through these major knowledge expansion, libraries transformed into vibrant centers of the Islamic communities. These knowledge sharing centers were being attended constantly by varied patrons from mature scholars and enthusiastic students to poets and courtiers. Major libraries often employed translators and copyists in large numbers, in order to render into Arabic
6100-642: The Great who moved the capital of the Roman Empire in 330 AD to the city of Byzantium which was renamed Constantinople . The Roman intellectual culture that flourished in ancient times was undergoing a transformation as the academic world moved from laymen to Christian clergy. As the West crumbled, books and libraries flourished and flowed east toward the Byzantine Empire. There, four different types of libraries were established: imperial, patriarchal, monastic, and private. Each had its own purpose and, as
6222-610: The Imperial Library. The Library of the Patriarchate of Constantinople was founded most likely during the reign of Constantine the Great in the 4th century. As a theological library, it was known to have employed a library classification system. It also served as a repository of several ecumenical councils such as the Council of Nicea , Council of Ephesus , and the Council of Chalcedon . The library, which employed
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#17327934765446344-618: The Internet age is a matter of growing concern and advocacy; privacy workshops are run by the Library Freedom Project which teach librarians about digital tools (such as the Tor network ) to thwart mass surveillance. Libraries can have several different spaces for different functions such as: Libraries are usually staffed by a combination of professionally trained librarians, paraprofessional staff sometimes called library technicians , and support staff. Some topics related to
6466-609: The Islamic territories were founded and flourished alongside the Islam spread. Abbasid Caliphs were true patrons of learning and collection of ancient and contemporary literature. This genuine enthusiasm actualized as exceptionally fine royal libraries in Baghdad, a ruling heart of Islamic lands. The Caliphs' generous support for retrieving, copying and collecting the resources flourished all sorts of expertise associated with books. The emergence of theological schools, later on, multiplied
6588-452: The Muslim world have occurred ever since. By the 8th century China's art of papermaking was acquired by Iranians and then developed across the whole Muslim world. From the art, Muslims developed papermaking into an industry. As a result of this technical enhancement, the books were more easily manufactured and they were more broadly accessible. Coincided with the encouragement of science and
6710-799: The Nile in Africa. Known as the cradle of civilization, the Fertile Crescent was the birthplace of writing, sometime before 3000 BC. (Murray, Stuart A.P.) These archives, which mainly consisted of the records of commercial transactions or inventories, mark the end of prehistory and the start of history . Things were very similar in the government and temple records on papyrus of Ancient Egypt . The earliest discovered private archives were kept at Ugarit ; besides correspondence and inventories, texts of myths may have been standardized practice-texts for teaching new scribes. Over 30,000 clay tablets from
6832-623: The Washington County Free Library. It was used by the library until 1965. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978. This article about a Registered Historic Place in Washington County , Maryland is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Library A library is a collection of books , and possibly other materials and media , that
6954-572: The ability to check out laptop computers, web cameras, or scientific calculators. Academic libraries offer workshops and courses outside of formal, graded coursework, which are meant to provide students with the tools necessary to succeed in their programs. These workshops may include help with citations, effective search techniques, journal databases, and electronic citation software. These workshops provide students with skills that can help them achieve success in their academic careers (and often, in their future occupations), which they may not learn inside
7076-567: The actual codices. He also appointed educators and created a university-like school centered around the library. After the death of Constantius II, Julian the Apostate , a bibliophile intellectual, ruled briefly for less than three years. Despite this, he had a profound impact on the imperial library and sought both Christian and pagan books for its collections. Later, the Emperor Valens hired Greek and Latin scribes full-time with from
7198-526: The aristocracy. Teachers also were known to have small personal libraries as well as wealthy bibliophiles who could afford the highly ornate books of the period. Thus, in the 6th century, at the close of the Classical period , the great libraries of the Mediterranean world remained those of Constantinople and Alexandria . Cassiodorus , minister to Theodoric, established a monastery at Vivarium in
7320-482: The basis of every modern library today. al-Muqaddasi described the library as a complex of buildings surrounded by gardens with lakes and waterways. The buildings were topped with domes, and comprised an upper and a lower storey with a total, according to the chief official, of 360 rooms.... In each department , catalogues were placed on a shelf... the rooms were furnished with carpets . "This public library (Dar al-Masahef) shall deliver service to researchers for
7442-614: The best preserved was the ancient Ulpian Library built by the Emperor Trajan. Completed in 112/113 AD, the Ulpian Library was part of Trajan's Forum built on the Capitoline Hill. Trajan's Column separated the Greek and Latin rooms which faced each other. The structure was approximately fifty feet high with the peak of the roof reaching almost seventy feet. Unlike the Greek libraries, readers had direct access to
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#17327934765447564-412: The book trade, the influence of the physical properties of the different writing materials, language distribution, role in education, rates of literacy, budgets, staffing, libraries for targeted audiences, architectural merit, patterns of usage, and the role of libraries in a nation's cultural heritage, and the role of government, church or private sponsorship. Computerization and digitization arose from
7686-424: The bookshelves also supported the floors, which often were built of translucent blocks to permit the passage of light (but were not transparent, for reasons of modesty). The introduction of electric lights had a huge impact on lighting in libraries . The use of glass floors was largely discontinued, though floors were still often composed of metal grating to allow air to circulate in multi-story stacks. As more space
7808-480: The bulk of the available Persian , Greek, Roman and Sanskrit non-fiction and the classics of literature. At the time libraries were the place that books and manuscripts were collected, read, copied, reproduced and borrowed by students, masters and even ordinary people. New resources could be acquired in a range of ways, with bequest, waqf , the major contributor. Based on this well-grounded tradition, many scholars and men of wealth bequeathed their book collections to
7930-951: The classroom. The academic library provides a quiet study space for students on campus; it may also provide group study space, such as meeting rooms. In North America, Europe, and other parts of the world, academic libraries are becoming increasingly digitally oriented. The library provides a "gateway" for students and researchers to access various resources, both print/physical and digital. Academic institutions are subscribing to electronic journals databases, providing research and scholarly writing software, and usually provide computer workstations or computer labs for students to access journals, library search databases and portals, institutional electronic resources, Internet access, and course- or task-related software (i.e. word processing and spreadsheet software). Some academic libraries take on new roles, for instance, acting as an electronic repository for institutional scholarly research and academic knowledge, such as
8052-537: The collection and curation of digital copies of students' theses and dissertations. Moreover, academic libraries are increasingly acting as publishers on their own on a not-for-profit basis, especially in the form of fully Open Access institutional publishers. Children's libraries are special collections of books intended for juvenile readers and usually kept in separate rooms of general public libraries. Some children's libraries have entire floors or wings dedicated to them in bigger libraries while smaller ones may have
8174-682: The combination "library and information services", although different institutions and sources define such terminology differently. The term library is based on the Latin word liber for 'book' or 'document', contained in Latin libraria 'collection of books' and librarium 'container for books'. Other modern languages use derivations from Ancient Greek βιβλιοθήκη ( bibliothēkē ), originally meaning 'book container', via Latin bibliotheca ( cf. French bibliothèque or German Bibliothek ). The history of libraries began with
8296-441: The combination "library and information services", although different institutions and sources define such terminology differently. Organizations or departments are often called by one of these names. Most libraries have materials arranged in a specified order according to a library classification system, so that items may be located quickly and collections browsed efficiently. Some libraries have additional galleries beyond
8418-790: The conquest of Alexander III of Macedon . The materials were later translated into Latin, Egyptian, Coptic, and Greek and shaped a remarkable body of science in the Library of Alexandria . The rest is said to have been set on fire and burnt by the Alexander militants. Less historically tested claims have also reported a sizeable building in Isfahan , Jey, named Sarouyeh , which was being used by Iran's ancient dynasties to store collections of precious books and manuscripts. At least three Islamic scholars, al-Biruni , Abu Ma'shar al-Balkhi , and Hamza al-Isfahani , have named this hidden library in their works. The same references claimed that this treasury
8540-654: The construction of new libraries or extensions to existing ones, and the development and implementation of outreach services and reading-enhancement services (such as adult literacy and children's programming). Library materials like books, magazines, periodicals, CDs, etc. are managed using a library classification system such as the Dewey Decimal Classification Theory, though libraries will usually adjust their classification system to fit their needs. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) has published several standards regarding
8662-473: The course of a lifetime, but displayed the scrolls in bookcases ( armaria ) of citrus wood inlaid with ivory that ran right to the ceiling: "by now, like bathrooms and hot water, a library is got up as standard equipment for a fine house ( domus ). Libraries were amenities suited to a villa, such as Cicero's at Tusculum, Maecenas 's several villas, or Pliny the Younger's, all described in surviving letters. At
8784-431: The debris of the city of Ephesus which was deserted in the early Middle Ages. In 1903, Austrian excavations led to this hidden heap of rubble that had collapsed during an earthquake. The donator's son built the library to honor his father's memory and construction began around 113 or 114. Presently, visitors only see the remains of the library's facade. Private or personal libraries made up of written books (as opposed to
8906-518: The destruction of libraries has been critical for conquerors who wish to destroy every trace of the vanquished community's recorded memory. A prominent example of this can be found in the Mongol massacre of the Nizaris at Alamut in 1256 and the torching of their library, "the fame of which", boasts the conqueror Juwayni, "had spread throughout the world". The libraries of Timbuktu were established in
9028-574: The development of the library and the intellectual culture that came with such a vast accumulation of books. Constantius II appointed Themistius , a pagan philosopher and teacher, as chief architect of this library building program. Themistius set about a bold program to create an imperial public library that would be the centerpiece of the new intellectual capital of Constantinople . Classical authors such as Plato , Aristotle , Demosthenes , Isocrates , Thucydides , Homer , and Zeno were sought. Themeistius hired calligraphers and craftsman to produce
9150-454: The early leaders was John Cotton Dana . The basic form of library instruction is sometimes known as information literacy . Libraries should inform their users of what materials are available in their collections and how to access that information. Before the computer age, this was accomplished by the card catalogue —a cabinet (or multiple cabinets) containing many drawers filled with index cards that identified books and other materials. In
9272-493: The education of the monks and were seen as essential to their spiritual development. Although most of these texts that were produced were Christian in nature, many monastic leaders saw common virtues in the Greek classics. As a result, many of these Greek works were copied, and thus saved, in monastic scriptoriums. When Europe passed into the Middle Ages , Byzantine scriptoriums laboriously preserved Greco-Roman classics. As
9394-414: The educational institution. Academic libraries house current, reliable and relevant information resources spread through all the disciplines which serve to assuage the information requirements of students and faculty. In cases where not all books are housed some libraries have E-resources, where they subscribe for a given institution they are serving, in order to provide backups and additional information that
9516-466: The end, however, the library at Vivarium was dispersed and lost within a century. Through Origen and especially the scholarly presbyter Pamphilus of Caesarea , an avid collector of books of Scripture, the theological school of Caesarea won a reputation for having the most extensive ecclesiastical library of the time , containing more than 30,000 manuscripts: Gregory Nazianzus , Basil the Great , Jerome and others came and studied there. The need for
9638-495: The export of prepared writing materials was a staple of commerce. There were a few institutional or royal libraries which were open to an educated public (such as the Serapeum collection of the Library of Alexandria , once the largest library in the ancient world ), but on the whole collections were private. In those rare cases where it was possible for a scholar to consult library books there seems to have been no direct access to
9760-422: The first foundry for producing movable type. In spite of these developments, woodblock printing remained the norm in China, Korea, and Japan. Each ruler in China compiled its own official written archives. Every emperor decided which philosophical texts, which accounts of history, which rituals of faith, and what poetry and literature would be permitted in the empire; oftentimes chronicling their own version of
9882-581: The first century BC, but also established some of Asia's earliest libraries. Mainly housed in temples , these libraries later became known as "Jain Knowledge Warehouses" and is responsible for the preservation of hundreds of thousands handwritten manuscripts. The invention of paper in China allowed the Chinese to create an early form of printing (stone-rubbing). Writings the sixth-century philosopher, Confucius , were originally inscribed on stone tablets. To achieve this early form of printing
10004-401: The first efforts to organize collections of documents. The first libraries consisted of archives of the earliest form of writing —the clay tablets in cuneiform script discovered in Sumer , some dating back to 2600 BC. Private or personal libraries made up of written books appeared in classical Greece in the 5th century BC. In the 6th century, at the very close of the Classical period ,
10126-774: The forums of Rome: there were libraries in the Porticus Octaviae near the Theatre of Marcellus , in the temple of Apollo Palatinus, and in the Ulpian Library in the Forum of Trajan . The state archives were kept in a structure on the slope between the Roman Forum and the Capitoline Hill . Private libraries appeared during the late republic: Seneca inveighed against libraries fitted out for show by illiterate owners who scarcely read their titles in
10248-721: The fourteenth century and attracted scholars from all over the world. Libraries may provide physical or digital access to material, and may be a physical location, virtual space, or both. A library's collection can include books , periodicals , newspapers , manuscripts , films , maps , prints , documents , microform , CDs , cassettes , videotapes , DVDs , Blu-ray Discs , e-books , audiobooks , databases , table games , video games , and other formats. Libraries range widely in size, up to millions of items. Libraries often provide quiet spaces for private studying, common areas to facilitate group study and collaboration, and public facilities for access to their electronic resources and
10370-414: The great libraries of the Mediterranean world remained those of Constantinople and Alexandria . The Fatimids (r. 909–1171) also possessed many great libraries within their domains. The historian Ibn Abi Tayyi’ describes their palace library, which probably contained the largest collection of literature on earth at the time, as a " wonder of the world ". Throughout history, along with bloody massacres,
10492-532: The legend, mythical philosopher Laozi was the keeper of books in the earliest library in China, which belonged to the Imperial Zhou dynasty . Also, evidence of catalogs found in some destroyed ancient libraries illustrates the presence of librarians. Persia at the time of the Achaemenid Empire (550–330 BC) was home to some outstanding libraries that were serving two main functions: keeping
10614-550: The libraries the non-ecclesiastical content did not reach one third of the total" In addition to these types of works, in some libraries during that time Plato was especially popular. In the early Middle Ages, Aristotle was more popular. Additionally, there was quite a bit of censoring within libraries of the time; many works that were "scientific and metaphysical" were not included in the majority of libraries during that time period. Latin authors were better represented within library holdings and Roman works were less represented. Cicero
10736-718: The libraries. These schools that were called Dar al Ilm , Madrasa or House of Knowledge were each endowed by Islamic sects with the purpose of representing their tenets as well as promoting the dissemination of knowledge. Rich libraries were inseparable components of 'Houses of knowledge'. The Nizamiyeh , founded by Nizam al Mulk , and Mustansiriyeh Madarsa , founded by al-Mustansir , were two most renowned and popular schools which attracted passionate students all across Muslim lands. The Fatimids (r. 909–1171) and their successors at Alamut also possessed many great libraries within their domains, attracting scholars from every creed and origin. The historian Ibn Abi Tayyi' describes
10858-416: The management of libraries through its Technical Committee 46 (TC 46), which is focused on "libraries, documentation and information centers, publishing, archives, records management, museum documentation, indexing and abstracting services, and information science". The following is a partial list of some of them: Some patrons may not know how to fully utilize library resources, or feel unease in approaching
10980-508: The manuscripts, codices, and books; translate them to Pahlavi from diverse languages e.g. Sanskrit, Greek and Syriac and bring them back to the centre. During the Late Antiquity and Middle Ages periods, there was no Rome of the kind that ruled the Mediterranean for centuries and spawned the culture that produced twenty-eight public libraries in the urbs Roma . The empire had been divided then later re-united again under Constantine
11102-466: The materials located within a public library are available for borrowing. The library staff decides upon the number of items patrons are allowed to borrow, as well as the details of borrowing time allotted. Typically, libraries issue library cards to community members wishing to borrow books. Often visitors to a city are able to obtain a public library card. Many public libraries also serve as community organizations that provide free services and events to
11224-609: The moon, its visibility, eclipses, and conjunction with planets and fixed stars, the sun, its corona, spots, and eclipses, the weather, namely lightning, thunder, and clouds, and the planets and their visibility, appearance, and stations," and astronomic/astrological texts, as well as standard lists used by scribes and scholars such as word lists, bilingual vocabularies, lists of signs and synonyms, and lists of medical diagnoses. The tablets were stored in various containers, such as wooden boxes, woven baskets of reeds, or clay shelves. The "libraries" were cataloged using colophons , which are
11346-408: The mosques, shrines, libraries and schools through which their private collection would be not only properly preserved but also made accessible to the whole community. At the time even local rulers demonstrated their passion for knowledge by designing and developing public libraries that could stand out in both aesthetic features and creating a space that maximizes the patrons' comfort. Al-Maqdisi ,
11468-885: The necessity for these services in doubt. Library scholars have acknowledged that libraries need to address the ways that they market their services if they are to compete with the Internet and mitigate the risk of losing users. This includes promoting the information literacy skills training considered vital across the library profession. Many US-based research librarians rely on the ACRL Framework for Information Literacy in order to guide students and faculty in research. However, marketing of services has to be adequately supported financially in order to be successful. This can be problematic for library services that are publicly funded and find it difficult to justify diverting tight funds to apparently peripheral areas such as branding and marketing. The privacy aspect of library usage in
11590-426: The needs of the library. Basic tasks in library management include planning acquisitions (which materials the library should acquire, by purchase or otherwise), classifying and preserving items (especially rare and fragile archival materials such as manuscripts), deaccessioning materials, patron borrowing, and developing and administering library computer systems and technology. More long-term issues include planning
11712-421: The number of books in libraries have steadily increased since their inception, the need for compact storage and access with adequate lighting has grown. The stack system involves keeping a library's collection of books in a space separate from the reading room. This arrangement arose in the 19th century. Book stacks quickly evolved into a fairly standard form in which the cast iron and steel frameworks supporting
11834-509: The patronage of the Ptolemaic dynasty and functioned as a major center of scholarship from its construction in the 3rd century BC until the Roman conquest of Egypt in 30 BC. The library was conceived and opened either during the reign of Ptolemy I Soter (323–283 BC) or during the reign of his son Ptolemy II (283–246 BC). An early organization system was in place at Alexandria (compare
11956-626: The preservation of the Quran and the Traditions of Muhammad is what primarily inspired Muslims to develop collections of writings. Mosques that were playing a central role in Muslims' day-to-day life gradually welcomed incorporated libraries that stored and preserved all types of knowledge, from devotional books like Quran to books on philosophy, geography and science. The centrality of the Qurʾān as
12078-461: The prominence of and reliance on the Internet has grown, library services have moved the emphasis from mainly providing print resources to providing more computers and more Internet access . Libraries face a number of challenges in adapting to new ways of information seeking that may stress convenience over quality, reducing the priority of information literacy skills. The potential decline in library usage, particularly reference services , puts
12200-464: The prototype of the written word in Islam bears significantly on the role of books within its intellectual tradition and educational system. An early impulse in Islam was to manage reports of events, key figures and their sayings and actions. Thus, "the onus of being the last ' People of the Book ' engendered an ethos of librarianship" early on and the establishment of important book repositories throughout
12322-516: The public ones, where "reference" materials are stored. These reference stacks may be open to selected members of the public while others may require patrons to submit a "stack request" – a request for an assistant to retrieve the material from the closed stacks: see List of closed stack libraries . Larger libraries are often divided into departments staffed by both paraprofessionals and professional librarians. Their department names and occupational designations may change depending on their location and
12444-511: The public, such as reading groups and toddler story time. For many communities, the library is a source of connection to a vast world, obtainable knowledge and understanding, and entertainment. According to a study by the Pennsylvania Library Association , public library services play a major role in fighting rising illiteracy rates among youths. Public libraries are protected and funded by the public they serve. As
12566-512: The purpose of studying and copying the resources. Books are allowed to be used within the library. Taking out the library books requires some refundable deposit equates to the half value of the borrowed item. The loan period is not allowed to exceed one month. The borrowed item shall get stamped by the librarian in order to be recognized as the property of the library". The original Deed manuscript, being kept in National Museum of Tabriz,
12688-527: The records of administrative documents (e.g., transactions, governmental orders, and budget allocation within and between the Satrapies and the central ruling State) and collection of resources on different sets of principles e.g. medical science, astronomy, history, geometry, and philosophy. In 1933 University of Chicago excavated an impressive collection of clay tablets in Persepolis that indicated
12810-468: The religious contents. Academy of Gundeshapur being built by Shapur I can well-represents the Sasanid Kings willingness for collection and consolidation of science resources. The academy comprised an extensive library, a hospital and an academy. Enriching the library resources, the academy constantly was sending ambassadors to widespread geographical regions e.g. China, Rome and India to inscribe
12932-411: The role of libraries in a nation's cultural heritage, and the role of government, church, or private sponsorship. Since the 1960s, issues of computerization and digitization have arisen. Many institutions make a distinction between a circulating or lending library , where materials are expected and intended to be loaned to patrons, institutions, or other libraries, and a reference library where material
13054-602: The royal treasury to copy and repair manuscripts. At its height in the 5th century, the Imperial Library of Constantinople had 120,000 volumes and was the largest library in Europe. A fire in 477 consumed the entire library but it was rebuilt only to be burned again in 726, 1204, and in 1453 when Constantinople fell to the Ottoman Turks . Patriarchal libraries fared no better, and sometimes worse, than
13176-496: The scrolls, which were kept on shelves built into the walls of a large room. Reading or copying was normally done in the room itself. The surviving records give only a few instances of lending features. Most of the large Roman baths were also cultural centres, built from the start with a library, a two-room arrangement with one room for Greek and one for Latin texts. Libraries were filled with parchment scrolls as at Library of Pergamum and on papyrus scrolls as at Alexandria :
13298-464: The stacks. In all recorded cases the books were kept in a relatively small room where the staff went to get them for the readers, who had to consult them in an adjoining hall or covered walkway. Most of the works in catalogs were of a religious nature, such as volumes of the Bible or religious service books. "In a number of cases the library was entirely theological and liturgical, and in the greater part of
13420-539: The state or institutional records kept in archives) appeared in classical Greece in the 5th century BC. The celebrated book collectors of Hellenistic Antiquity were listed in the late 2nd century in Deipnosophistae . All these libraries were Greek; the cultivated Hellenized diners in Deipnosophistae pass over the libraries of Rome in silence. By the time of Augustus there were public libraries near
13542-623: The students and faculty of that and other academic institutions. Some academic libraries, especially those at public institutions, are accessible to members of the general public in whole or in part. Library services are sometimes extended to the general public at a fee; some academic libraries create such services in order to enhance literacy levels in their communities. Academic libraries are libraries that are hosted in post-secondary educational institutions, such as colleges and universities. Their main functions are to provide support in research, consultancy and resource linkage for students and faculty of
13664-399: The toe of Italy (modern Calabria) with a library where he attempted to bring Greek learning to Latin readers and preserve texts both sacred and secular for future generations. As its unofficial librarian, Cassiodorus not only collected as many manuscripts as he could, he also wrote treatises aimed at instructing his monks in the proper uses of reading and methods for copying texts accurately. In
13786-458: The use of their employees in doing specialized research related to their work. Depending on the particular institution, special libraries may or may not be accessible to the general public or elements thereof. History of libraries The history of libraries began with the first efforts to organize collections of documents . Topics of interest include accessibility of the collection, acquisition of materials, arrangement and finding tools,
13908-412: The world. Over half of Finland's population are registered borrowers. In the US, public library users have borrowed on average roughly 15 books per user per year from 1856 to 1978. From 1978 to 2004, book circulation per user declined approximately 50%. The growth of audiovisuals circulation, estimated at 25% of total circulation in 2004, accounts for about half of this decline. A library may make use of
14030-646: Was also an especially popular author along with the histories of Sallust. Additionally, Virgil was universally represented at most of the medieval libraries of the time. One of the most popular was Ovid, mentioned by approximately twenty French catalogues and nearly thirty German ones. Surprisingly, old Roman textbooks on grammar were still being used at that time. In 213 BC during the reign of Emperor Qin Shi Huang most books were ordered destroyed. The Han Dynasty (202 BC – 220 AD) reversed this policy for replacement copies, and created three imperial libraries. Liu Xin
14152-469: Was discovered in early Islam and the valuable books were selected, baled , and transferred to Baghdad for later reading and translating. As reported by observers, at the time of unearthing the archive, the manuscripts' alphabet was entirely unknown to that ordinary people. The Library of Alexandria , in Egypt , was the largest and most significant great library of the ancient world . It flourished under
14274-582: Was established by Asinius Pollio . Pollio was a lieutenant of Julius Caesar and one of his most ardent supporters. After his military victory in Illyria, Pollio felt he had enough fame and fortune to create what Julius Caesar had sought for a long time: a public library to increase the prestige of Rome and rival the one in Alexandria. Pollios's library, the Anla Libertatis , which was housed in
14396-489: Was needed, a method of moving shelves on tracks (compact shelving) was introduced to cut down on otherwise wasted aisle space. Library 2.0 , a term coined in 2005, is the library's response to the challenge of Google and an attempt to meet the changing needs of users by using Web 2.0 technology. Some of the aspects of Library 2.0 include, commenting, tagging, bookmarking, discussions, use of online social networks by libraries, plug-ins , and widgets . Inspired by Web 2.0, it
14518-533: Was performed in scriptoriums by monks. While monastic library scriptoriums flourished throughout the East and West, the rules governing them were generally the same. Barren and sun-lit rooms (because candles were a source of fire) were major features of the scriptorium that was both a model of production and monastic piety. Monks scribbled away for hours a day, interrupted only by meals and prayers. With such production, medieval monasteries began to accumulate large libraries. These libraries were devoted solely to
14640-545: Was placed in the wooden frames, and the surface was smoothed for writing and allowed to dry until damp. After being inscribed, the clay dried in the sun or, for a harder finish, was baked in a kiln. For storage, tablets could be stacked on edge, side by side, the contents described by a title written on the edge that faced out and was readily seen. The first libraries appeared five thousand years ago in Southwest Asia's Fertile Crescent , an area that ran from Mesopotamia to
14762-575: Was pressed into use. Thus a seventeenth-century edition of the Ignatian epistles, in Mar Saba, had copied onto its last pages, probably in the early eighteenth century, a passage allegedly from the letters of Clement of Alexandria". Old manuscripts were also used to bind new books because of the costs associated with paper and also because of the scarcity of new paper. In Byzantium, much of this work devoted to preserving Hellenistic thought in codex form
14884-637: Was the library of the Temple of Apollo on the Palatine, often called the Palatine library , and the second was the library of the Porticus Octaviae , although there is some debate that the Porticus library was actually built by Octavia . Unfortunately, the library of the Porticus Octaviae would be later destroyed in the disastrous fire of Titus that broke out in AD 80. Two more libraries were added by
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