Libraries in the Ancient World

In this amazingly complete 150-page volume, renowned author Lionel Casson, takes us on a wonderful journey of discovery of the role of libraries in the ancient world, from their origins in the Near East in 3000 BC through their evolution until the fall of Roman Byzantium in 1453 AD. Written in a lively prose, this well-researched, fact-filled book explains when, where, why, and how the forerunners of today's modern libraries were created and developed, treating in detail topics such as: *How did they acquire their materials? *How were they physically organized? *Which, if any, system of cataloguing they used? *Who had access to their holdings? *How they solved problems like theft and damage of their collections? *What was their connection with the rise and fall of education? The author also presents a concise account of the history of books from clay tablet to papyrus roll to parchment codex to our modern day volumes. He shares fascinating insights into the development of writing and the evolution of writing technology, including: *What was the purpose of writing? *Which topics were more commonly written about? *Which materials were used and why? *Who did the writing? The best part of this book is the entertaining and charming way in which the author illustrates his exposition. By employing captivating anecdotes from sources contemporary to the facts, literary sources that have survived to this day, and archaeological finds combined with modern technology that make possible the reconstruction of ancient library buildings, he makes what would otherwise be a very boring topic feel like a true adventure. As a bonus, the book also explains where many modern words related to libraries and books come from, and includes many drawings and pictures, which perfectly illustrate the points being made, and a thorough bibliography that is an excellent starting point for further exploration. If you are at all interested in the history of writing, books, and libraries this pleasurable and compact volume is definitely a must-read. --Reviewed by Maritza Volmar

In less than 150 pages, Lionel Casson has written a history of libraries of the ancient world that is captivating to read. Most of the chapters are about the libraries of the Classical World from the library of Aristotle to the library of Alexandria to the libraries of Rome to the libraries of the far parts of the Empire. The reader will find out how libraries gained books, who read them, and how they were maintained. There are additional chapters on the rise of libraries in the ancient Near East, the development of the codex, and libraries after the fall of Rome.What makes this book captivating is that each chapter is filled with anecdotes. For example, a tablet from Uruk warns that anyone who fears Anu and Antu will return the tablet to the owner the same day. In ancient times library fines were not just 10 cents per day.

Great! to be concise (as the book was). A very informative and detailed description of early libraries and, to an extent, their role in the ancient world. This work is filled with important facts regarding the institutions we now call libraries. Casson also puts his well researched data into the context of time and place of the Ancient World. It is amazing to learn when and where certain libarary conventions we take for granted today, come from. This book is a great starting point for further exploration of early libraries or libraries in general. It is also sufficient by itself as a quick survey of the first 1000 years of libraries and texts.Casson also keeps the work interesting by including the derivation of certain words such as "ostracism" and "parchement". He also gives an important sense of how scrolls and tablets were used in ancient times and by whom.This book would probably not be adequate for a library scholar but I did not think it was intended as such. For the other 98% of us with deep interests in Classical history, antiquity, and libaries in general, it is a wonderful work and well written.

There were libraries before there were books. A fascinating survey, _Libraries in the Ancient World_ (Yale University Press) by Lionel Casson, explains how the libraries were similar and different from our own, and how they managed without printing and without books as we know them. The similarities are reassuring and often delightful. We suspect there were Egyptian libraries, but we have never found one, because there are no masses of papyrus documents; such collections may have been lost in fires. The Sumerians, however, had written records were in cuneiform letters, pressed into clay. Some of the collections of these tablets offered the privilege of borrowing, and librarians then seem to have been bothered by two of the same problems that beset librarians now, theft and damage. Tablets bore warnings or curses calling upon the services of the local gods: "Whoever removes the tablet... may Ashur and Ninlil, angered and grim, cast him down, erase his name, his seed, in the land", "He who carries it off, may Adad and Shala carry him off!", and "Who rubs out the text, Marduk will look upon him with anger."It was the Greeks who instituted libraries with aims similar to our own, shelves full of books on a wide range of subjects, available to readers who could come in and consult them. There was a demand for books, and by the fourth century BCE, bookselling was a flourishing industry. The booksellers probably employed scribes to turn out copies of works. There were no such things as royalties or author's rights. Rome conquered all, but Greece held intellectual sway over the Romans, who continued the library tradition. Roman libraries had bookshelves of a particular type set into the walls, and archeologists can spot the tell-tale imprint of the bookshelves and thereby identify a chamber as a library. Independent public libraries faded as the libraries became incorporated, surprisingly, into other structures, the baths. Here they served as part of a recreational and cultural center. Casson ends his story with the codex and the great monastic libraries. The codex is very much like a modern book, not a scroll, but a mass of pages sewn together with covers (perhaps of wood). It was less bulky (both sides of the paper being used) and could be held in one hand, with the other hand taking notes. It took a long time for the scrolls to die out, except among the Christians who used codices for their scriptures, possibly because of the pagan association to scrolls. Casson, a Professor Emeritus of Classics, has gathered together an important tale not just of libraries but of reading and publishing. It is the first full study of libraries in the ancient world. If you love libraries and books, this is a fine book for learning about their earliest foundations.

For a book that could have been unspeakably dull, Libraries in the Ancient World is a fascinating (and easy to read) look at a neglected aspect of the classical world. Starting with Ebla and the Sumarians, it travels through Greece, Egypt, Rome and up into the Medieval world providing insight and amusing anecdotes about historical figures from ancient times. Most people have heard about the burning of the Library at Alexandria -- not many might realize it burned several times, and was rebuilt until the last burning finally destroyed it. One of Marc Antony's gifts to Cleopatra was scrolls to replace some burned in one fire. Early clay tablets show that one thing never changes for libraries; there is an invocation to the Gods asking that they wipe from the earth -- book thieves. It includes a bibliography if you want to do more investigation.