Library - SpeedyLook encyclopedia

History

See also: Amorce=Voir also, History of the book

Antiquity

The libraries appear with the need to organize the conservation and the work of the texts. These places depend on the religious and political capacities, in variable proportion according to civilizations.

With Ninive, the archeologists found in part of the palate of the kings of Assyrie, twenty-two thousand clay shelves, undoubtedly corresponding to the library and the Archives of the palate. In Egypt, the houses of life , located near the temples, libraries sheltered where officiated of the librarian-teachers whose courses were considered, including out of the country.

The most famous ancient library is that of Alexandria, in Egypt, created at third century BC. The hellenistic kings having evil to legitimate their capacity with the eyes of the Egyptians autochtones were to follow a policy of evergetism, in order to seem benefactors. They constituted and maintained large libraries open to the public, in cultural complexes (museum, gymnasium). The cost of this equipment was very high because, in addition to the purchase price or of copy of the books and the papyrus, which one found only in Egypt, it was necessary to recopy the works regularly since they were damaged quickly. The kings also maintained the slaves readers to facilitate the work of the users of the library. Athens and Pergame had also large libraries, cash several hundreds of thousands of volumes. Libraries a little more modest existed with Rhodos and Antioche.

With Rome, certain private houses could have a library beside the Triclinium . There existed also libraries open to the public, often managed in a private way or, in any case, based on individual initiatives. These creations were largely justified by objectives of political prestige. For example, Lucullus installed of them one in its gardens, Jules César wanted to open some for the same reasons. Time of Auguste, Rome counted three large libraries. Under the Empire, this number increases: in 377, one counted 28 libraries thus. So some were autonomous establishments, libraries were often integrated into the thermal baths. In other big cities of the Empire, there existed also libraries. In China, the diffusion of the texts takes importance during the Royaumes combatants (IV^e ~ III^e front J. - C.), one moment of intellectual effervescence comparable with traditional Greece. The courses seigneuriales maintained the well-read men, but appear also traditional schools compiling their . Qin Shi Huang unified the empire (- 221), founded the imperial library, according to a method of sorting rather authoritative, since it burned certain books and the well-read men who claimed themselves some (Confucianisme). The Dynastie Han perpetuated the institution during four centuries, the Confucianism became official ideology, without to repress the other schools. In history of the Chinese ideas, she played a part as essential as the Bibliothèque of Alexandria for the transmission of the Western philosophy. The category of Taoïsme for example, is due to a Han bibliographer, as vague and yet fertilizes as the title of Métaphysique given to a book of Aristote.

The Middle Ages

The tradition of ancient Rome did not completely disappear with the Early middle ages. It is continued without interruption in the Roman Empire of Orient.La town of Constantinople is seen equipped with a library by Constantin I {{er}}. However, the quarrel iconoclast causes a dispersion of the books (730 - 840). In Occident, Cassiodore creates in 550 an important library with Vivarium in Calabria. However, with the the Middle Ages, in fact primarily the monasteries maintain and enrich the libraries, in which are preserved the texts useful for the liturgy and the prayer, but also texts of Antiquity. The Benedictines often devote their obligatory working time to scriptoria (singular: Scriptorium ), workshops of copy of the books become extremely rare in Occident. This work allowed the transmission of ancient works which would have perhaps disappeared today, even if the monks censured certain works or certain passages. The scriptoria were generally coupled with a library. Most important of Occident, that of the monastery of the Mount-Cassin, counted two to three thousand volumes. It is necessary to also quote those of Saint-Gall or Cîteaux. As of their creation at the 12th century, the universities take over and supplement the action of the monasteries. The universities which are created little by little in all Europe often have their own libraries. It is advisable to add to it many the Collège S, which is also places of studies and has libraries. The kings create in their turn their own libraries, which become sometimes great extensive, like those of holy Louis or Charles V. Some of them are at the origin of the current libraries, like the library Vaticane, founded by Sixte IV.

Important libraries also create for themselves in the Islamic world , in particular allowing the diffusion of the Greek culture, translated into Arab language.

With the Middle Ages, the word bookstore (resulting from imperial Latin) is used in French in the direction of library, which will perdurera until the Rebirth (ex: the “bookstore of Montaigne”).

Rebirth and modern time

The development of Humanism as from the 14th century involves, with the private interest carried to the public utility , the opening of public libraries and the development of private libraries. The invention of the Imprimerie modifies, as from the 16th century, the contents of these libraries. At the end of the 14th century with Florence, Niccolò Niccoli bequeaths its private library so that it is opened with the public. The organization of this library is entrusted to Cosme Old the and the public Bibliothèque Médicis is open in the Dominican convent of San Marco. In parallel, throughout Cosme then Laurent de Médicis and their descendants, the first of which Cosme I {{er}} of Médicis enriches a private library (where the manuscripts still hold the first rank) that they make arrange by Michel-Angel to finally open it to the public in 1571: it is the Bibliothèque Laurentienne ( biblioteca Mediceo Laurenziana ), which exists still today. Cosme Old the wanted to concentrate the productions of the human thought and to make it public (accessible to well-read men people).

In France, François I {{er}} institutes the Registration of copyright, obligation for the printers - booksellers to deposit a specimen of each one of their publications to the library of the king. The libraries open gradually with the public starting from the end of the 16th century (with Salins in 1593), very timidly at the beginning, rather largely at the 18th century. Large libraries as the library of the king know a prestigious reputation and become a place of visit obliged for the travellers of mark, in particular in the north of the Italy. Several private libraries, given or bequeathed by their owners, become public libraries, like the Bibliothèque Inguimbertine of Carpentras.

The European model of library moves in the colonies, in particular in the United States futures, where many current college libraries result from the educational establishments based as of the 17th century on the model of those of the Old continent.

In Florence, the collection bequeathed by Antonio Magliabechi in 1714 to the city (thirty thousand volumes) constitute the beginning of what will become then the central National library of Florence (BNCF), become public since 1737. François II of Tuscany decides to make there also deposit a specimen of all that is printed in Florence (1737) then in all Tuscany (1743). It always receives part of the Italian registration of copyright.

Contemporary time

The development of the libraries of all types accelerates between the end of the 18th century and the 21e century. The transfer of collections deprived to the public continues. In France, this transfer is done mainly following the confiscation of the goods of the Clergé and of the noble emigrants by the French revolution, which in many cases constitutes the core bases public libraries of the 19th century. However, so certain cities build a specific building (Amiens, 1823), in general the library belongs to the Mairie and occupies only one reduced space. In parallel, an associative movement develops popular libraries. Determinant was the role of Alexandre Vattemare (1796-1864), founder of the first system of international cultural exchanges and promoter of the public libraries. The development of the higher learning involves that of the college libraries, in particular in Germany which devotes main efforts to it; France follows, but with an important delay. The libraries experience a real development at the 20th century, under the impulse of the American Melvil Dewey and the French Eugene Morel. It results in particular by an improvement of the catalogs and classifications, but also in a will to reinforce the reception and the service near the public. In the United States, the librarians found thus, as soon as they can it, the direct access with the documents. This policy of free access is spread and exported, but slowly: in the Years 1980, the majority of the documents of the French college libraries are still in indirect communication. In the same spirit, the libraries diversify little by little their activities, with exposures, readings (hour of the tale), conferences and conferences, various animations. Always under the impulse of these two people, develops, as of the end of the 19th century, a professional training of the librarians, coupled with a better co-operation between libraries. These two phenomena support the better and better formed emergence of an autonomous profession, which does not remove however the voluntary help. The development of the public libraries develops starting from the Années 1970, in relation to the increase on behalf of the population prosecuting of the higher learning, the cultural policy of the State and the territorial collectivities and the possibilities offered by the Informatique. Indeed, as of the beginnings of this novel method in the Years 1950, the engineers had the idea to adapt it to the libraries. However, the experimental phases lasted long enough, so that effective computerization dates often only from the Années 1980, and imposed itself only slowly. From now on, the majority of the libraries of the developed countries are computerized, but it is not the general case; on the other hand, of many libraries are with the reinformatisation. The 20th century sees also the construction of specific buildings, sometimes of big size like the library of Share-God, with Lyon.

Types of libraries

The libraries have a great diversity. They are sometimes establishments with whole share, sometimes of the services belonging to another establishment. Some are very largely open, the other accessible ones to a restricted public. Certain libraries are managed by the public authorities, others by organizations of private law. However, the principal criterion in the typology of the libraries is that of their function.

In each country, the national libraries collect and preserve the documents which are the subject of the Registration of copyright; they preserve often also other documents. They generally ensure the role of national bibliographical agency, by ensuring the description of the national printed production and the diffusion of national bibliographies. Certain countries can have several national libraries.

There exist also regional libraries in certain countries. Of varied statute (some are also university), they ensure the long-term conservation of a great number of documents. They can serve as “libraries of recourse” for the population of the area and take part in networks of co-operation with the smallest libraries. Such is the case of the public libraries of State in Italy, of the cantonal libraries in Suisse or of the libraries of Land in Germany.

The term of Public library, copied on public English library , is returned also in French in the form “library of public reading”. These libraries are intended for the whole of the local population to enable him to get information and to divert themselves. They are often managed by the local government agencies, but can function in the form of associations or conceded with the Private sector; they can also be managed by the State.

The libraries of teaching and research bring their support to the teaching activities and scientists who are held in the establishment of which they form part. They are on the one hand libraries of school, of college, according to the names employed in the various countries, as well as college libraries.

The specialized libraries, as their name indicates it, develop collections in a discipline or around a topic. There exist thus libraries musical, medical, legal, etc

These types of libraries are not always partitioned and the same library can have several functions:

a national library can open with many people and play the part of a public library.
certain countries have public libraries and academics.
a library of public reading can have a specialized section.

Activities of the libraries

Linked activities with the collections

These activities are most traditional:

acquisitions: purchase or collection by gift, deposit or Registration of copyright of new documents, Bulletinage
description: cataloguing, description (description by words of the contents in order to allow research) documents had by the library and choice of the indices of classification for the collections of free access. The Thesaurus of description the most used in France are Rameau Répertoire of authority matter encyclopedic and alphabetical unified and the high-speed motorboat-matter “Danset White-Montmayeur”. The most widespread classification for the classification of the documents in free access is the Decimal system of Melvil Dewey. The universal Decimal system, formerly widespread in the college libraries, is in very strong regression. The Classification of the Library of the Congress is largely used in the world, especially in the university world or certain specialized libraries.

The libraries more and more often lay out for their printed papers form and periodicals of a catalogs computerized their collections, sometimes accessible by Internet.

conservation: for the current collections, equipment, Binding, repair; for the collections of conservation, maintenance of stable hygrometrical conditions, conditioning, programs of preventive conservation, restoration, etc
elimination: usually called “weeding” by the librarians, this activity consists in withdrawing collections the documents not having to be preserved, because of their physical status, of the obsolescence of their contents, their inadequacy with the missions of the library or the lack of interest of the public.

Linked activities with the public

These activities strongly developed since the end of the year 1970:

ready, return and arrangement of the documents;
information on the spot with the library and, sometimes, remotely (by telephone, mail, fax or Internet and transport), in particular with traveers of the services of virtual reference:

Sindbad of the National library of France
the counter of the knowledge of the public library of Lyon;
BiblioSés@me, co-operative network of answer remotely controlled by the Bpi in co-operation with the libraries and municipal media libraries of Lille, Marseilles, Montpellier, Troyes, Rheims, Limoges, Brest and Valencians where one can put remote questions;
Askal in several libraries in the world; in France, this system is especially used by college libraries.

animation (exposures, tales for children, meets with writers, conferences, etc).

Personnel of the libraries

Large libraries

The largest current libraries in the world are:

Library of State of Russia to Moscow: 42 million volumes
Library of Saint-Petersbourg: 33 million volumes
Library of the Congress (Washington): 29 million volumes
Library of Beijing: 22 million volumes
Bibliothèque of Novossibirsk: 13 million volumes
Library of the University of Harvard: 13 million volumes
National library of France (Paris): 13 million volumes
British Library London: 12 million volumes
Public New York Library: 11 million volumes
British Library off Political and Economic Science: the library of the London School off Economics, with more than 4 million printed volumes - thus constituting the largest library of the Social sciences in the world.

These figures should however be moderated. Certain libraries, in particular in Eastern Europe, count each periodical like a volume.

For a few years, these establishments, but also of the Internet search engines have developed a practice of Numérisation books as of the Web sites which will result soon in relativizing the importance of these data, by taking of account the services offered by these libraries to the distant users.

Imaginary libraries

Many writers developed the topic of an ideal library, therefore imaginary. The poet and Argentinian short story writer Jorge Luis Borges is one of the most famous examples.

Some examples:

the library of Babel (Borges)
the Library of Doctor Faustroll (Jarry)
the lost library (Gift Rosa)

Rarer are the painters who make the subject of their painting of it. Bernard Lacombe belongs to the small number of those which know that the books without the strict structure of the library are lost and disperse like hearts in sorrow. A such solitary bibliophile, an archeologist of the knowledge, it walks in the large ones and old libraries of Europe. Gerard-Georges Lemaire, writer, translator, editor, the close friend accompanies it.

Random links:

Wedge-shaped | Polynomial of Legendre | Carry Saint-Anthony (Paris) | Harnois | Kostajnik