Library history

Library history is a subdiscipline within library science and library and information science focusing on the history of libraries and their role in societies and cultures.[1] Some see the field as a subset of information history[2] Library history is an academic discipline and should not be confused with its object of study (history of libraries): the discipline is much younger than the libraries it studies. Library history begins in ancient societies through contemporary issues facing libraries today.[3] Topics include recording mediums, cataloguing systems, scholars, scribes, library supporters and librarians.[4]

Earliest libraries

The earliest records of a library institution as it is presently understood can be dated back to around 5,000 years ago in the Southwest Asian regions of the world. During the time, civilizations that began to keep records would do so by writing on mediums that ranged from clay tablets, bones, skin, bamboo, to papyrus. One of the oldest libraries found is that of the ancient library at Ebla (circa 2500 BCE) in present-day Syria. In the 1970s, the excavation at Ebla's library unearthed over 20,000 clay tablets written in cuneiform script.[5]

The Al Qarawiyyin Library was founded in 859 by Fatima al-Fihri and is the oldest working library in the world. It is in Fez, Morocco and is part of the oldest continually operating university in the world, the University of al-Qarawiyyin. The library houses approximately 4,000 ancient Islamic manuscripts. These manuscripts include 9th century Qurans and the oldest known accounts of the Islamic prophet Muhammed.[6]

The Assyrian King Assurbanipal created one of the greatest libraries in Nineveh in the seventh century BCE. The collection consisted of over 30,000 tablets written in a variety of languages. The collection was cataloged both by the shape of the tablet and by the subject of the content (Murray, 2009, p. 8-9).

The Greek government was the first to sponsor public libraries. By 500 BCE both Athens and Samos had begun creating libraries for the public, though as most of the population was illiterate these spaces were serving a small, educated portion of the community (Murray, 2009, p. 14).

The library at Alexandria, Egypt, was renowned in the third century BCE while kings Ptolemy I Soter and Ptolemy II Philadelphus reigned. The library included a museum, garden, meeting areas and of course reading rooms (Lyons, 2011, p. 26-27).[7] The Great Library, as it is known, was one of many in Alexandria. Beginning at its inception through the first century BCE Alexandria was a well known center for learning, the quantity and quality of the libraries speak to this renown (Murray, 2009, p. 17).

It wasn't until the Middle Ages that libraries became a part of culture. During the Renaissance era, more people became educated and relied on libraries as a place to study and gain knowledge. During the Renaissance most of the text held in libraries were religious text. Libraries helped enrich the culture of those who were educated by providing this valuable resource otherwise unavailable.[8]

Journals

  • Libraries & the Cultural Record; exploring the history of collections of recorded knowledge (L & C R); until 2006: Libraries & Culture; until 1988: The Journal of Library History; until 1974: Journal of Library History, Philosophy, and Comparative Librarianship; until 1973: The Journal of Library History
  • Library & Information History (until 2008: Library History; until 1967: Library Association. Library History Group. Newsletter)
  • Library History Review
  • Library History Round Table Newsletter (L H R T Newsletter), until 1992: L H R T Newsletter; until 198?: L H R T; until 1979: A L H R T Newsletter]]
  • Information and Culture; a journal of history
  • Libraries: Culture, History, and Society; peer-reviewed journal of the Library History Round Table of the American Library Association[9]

Library history reports and writings of the early 19th and 20th century

In the early 19th and 20th century, representative titles were created reporting library history in the United States and the United Kingdom. American titles include: Public Libraries in the United States of America, Their History, Condition, and Management (1876), Memorial History of Boston (1881) by Justin Winsor, Public Libraries in America (1894) by William I. Fletcher, and History of the New York Public Library (1923) by Henry M. Lydenberg.[10] British titles include: Old English Libraries (1911) by Earnest A. Savage and The Chained Library: A Survey of Four Centuries in the Evolution of the English Library by Burnett Hillman Streeter.[11]

In the beginning of the 20th century, library historians began applying scientific research methodologies to examine the library as a social agency. Two works that demonstrate this argument are Geschichte der Bibliotheken (1925) by Alfred Hessel and the Library Quarterly article from 1931, “The Sociological Beginnings of the Library Movement in America” by Arnold Borden.[12]

With the establishment of library schools, master’s theses and doctoral dissertations represented the shift in serious research regarding libraries and library history. Two published doctoral dissertations that mark this trend are Foundations of the Public Library: The Origins of the American Public Library Movement in New England, 1629 – 1855 (1940) by Jesse Shera and Arsenals of a Democratic Culture: A Social History of the American Public Library Movement in New England and the Middle Atlantic States From 1850 to 1900 (1947).[13] Additional models of library historical analysis include: The New York Public Library: A History of Its Founding and Early Years by Phyllis Dain, a work that exemplified institutional history and The Power and the Dignity: Librarianship and Katharine L. Sharp by Laurel Grotzinger, a biographical study.[14]

Cataloging

The earliest methods of cataloging involved storing tablets separately based on their content. The subject matter was identified by small descriptions or color coding. Common practice was to have different rooms or chambers for the various subject types. Moving to the Renaissance period, cataloging took on a whole new level. Materials were still stored by content, but now titles were being listed and organized alphabetically. Catalogs were kept in ledger form listing all the materials in the collection, new additions added at the margins, until a librarian would redraft the catalog. Maintaining and revising the catalog became crucially important as collections grew. It was during the Renaissance period that one would find the first catalogs that referenced other collections to make finding materials easier. As printing grew, so did the need for accurate catalogs of material available. Additionally catalogs needed to be descriptive enough to help librarians in the locating and storing of books. As collections grew, so naturally did catalogs. Materials continued to be separated by subject and would then be further divided by more specific heading, still listed and stored within these sub headings alphabetically.[15]

Awards

See also

References

  1. ↑ Buchanan, Anne L. & Herubel, Jean-Pierre V. M. (2011). Subject and Historiographic Characteristics of Library History: Disciplinary considerations and scholarship. Journal of Scholarly Publishing, 42(4), 503-522
  2. ↑ Black, A. (2006). Information history. Annual Review of Information Science and Technology, 40 , 441-473.
  3. ↑ Murray, Stuart (2009). The Library an illustrated history. New York: Skyhorse Publishing. ISBN 978-1-60239-706-4.
  4. ↑ Hildenbrand, Suzanne, red. (1996). Reclaiming the American library past: Writing the women in Norwood, N.J.: Ablex.
  5. ↑ Basbanes, Stuart A.P. Murray ; introduction by Donald G. Davis, Jr. ; foreword by Nicholas A. (2009). The library : an illustrated history. New York, NY: Skyhorse Pub. ISBN 9781602397064.
  6. ↑ http://www.businessinsider.com/inside-al-qarawiyyin-the-oldest-library-in-the-world-2016-6
  7. ↑ Lyons, Martyn. (2011). Books: a living history. Los Angeles, CA. Getty Publications. ISBN 978-1-60606-083-4
  8. ↑ https://www.britannica.com/topic/library/The-Middle-Ages-and-the-Renaissance
  9. ↑ http://www.psupress.org/Journals/jnls_LCHS.html
  10. ↑ Summers, F. Williams; Wiegand, Wayne A. (2015). "Historiography of Library History". In Wiegand, Wayne A.; Davis, Jr., Donald G. Encyclopedia of Library History (ebook). Routledge. p. 261. ISBN 9781135787509.
  11. ↑ Summers, F. Williams; Wiegand, Wayne A. (2015). "Historiography of Library History". In Wiegand, Wayne A.; Davis, Jr., Donald G. Encyclopedia of Library History (ebook). Routledge. p. 261. ISBN 9781135787509.
  12. ↑ Summers, F. Williams; Wiegand, Wayne A. (2015). "Historiography of Library History". In Wiegand, Wayne A.; Davis, Jr., Donald G. Encyclopedia of Library History (ebook). Routledge. p. 261. ISBN 9781135787509.
  13. ↑ Summers, F. Williams; Wiegand, Wayne A. (2015). "Historiography of Library History". In Wiegand, Wayne A.; Davis, Jr., Donald G. Encyclopedia of Library History (ebook). Routledge. p. 261. ISBN 9781135787509.
  14. ↑ Summers, F. Williams; Wiegand, Wayne A. (2015). "Historiography of Library History". In Wiegand, Wayne A.; Davis, Jr., Donald G. Encyclopedia of Library History (ebook). Routledge. p. 261. ISBN 9781135787509.
  15. ↑ Murray, Stuart. (2009). The Library: an Illustrated History. Skyhorse Publishing: New York.

Further reading

  • Campbell, James W.P. "The Library: A World History" (University Of Chicago Press, 2013).
  • Hildenbrand, Suzanne. Reclaiming the American library past: Writing the women in (Ablex, 1996).
  • Mehra, Bharat, et al. Encyclopedia of library and information sciences (2009).
  • Murray, Stuart A.P. The library: An illustrated history (Skyhorse Publishing, Inc., 2013).
  • Pawley, Christine. "History in the library and information science curriculum: Outline of a debate." Libraries & culture 40.3 (2005): 223-238. online
  • Wiegand, Wayne A., & Davis, Donald G., eds. Encyclopedia of library history. (Garland, 1994).
  • Wiegand, Wayne A. "American library history literature, 1947-1997: theoretical perspectives?." Libraries & Culture (2000): 4-34. in JSTOR
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