On the History of Libraries

Libraries, or collections of recorded knowledge, are the collective memory of the human race. The story of libraries is the saga of what our predecessors thought was important enough to write down and preserve in order to inform or enlighten future readers. Thus, all libraries are acts of faith – faith that coming generations will make use of the contents of those libraries.

The record of human cultural achievement is found primarily in the writings and graphics preserved from previous generations. Archival and library collections enable us to understand our monuments and artifacts and to interpret their meaning and the context in which they came to be. The history of libraries is a cultural world history, seen through library-colored lenses. The present volume is a brief historical survey that serves as a modest introduction to human history as it relates to the transmitted record of civilization.