LIBRARIES. A term applied indifferently to buildings designed to contain books, and to the books deposited in these buildings. In the present article it is used chiefly in the latter sense.
Dismal. Though there were libraries in an cient times in Egypt, no remains of these col lections have been found. From very early days Babylonia was the seat of a learned and literary people, and almost every important temple con tained its library of clay tablets with cunei form inscriptions, carefully delved in regular order. Such a library was recently (1901) found at. Nippur, in the great temple of Bel, which was destroyed in the Elamite invasion (c.1782 we.). It was from the treasures of such li braries that King Assurbanipal of Assyria, in the Seventh century a.c., caused copies to he made for the great library which lie gathered in his palace at Nineveh. The tablets here found by Layard and his successors contain history. sci ence, religion. grammars. and dictionaries in the original languages of Babylonia. and in translation Among the Greeks private libraries doubtless existed during the fifth and fourth centuries me.. and there may be some truth in the stories of the collection of books by the earlier tyrants, such as Pisistratus and Poly crates: but these were of moderate size, even the library of Aristotle probably containing only a few hundred rolls. It is with the founding of the Alexandrian Library (q.v.) by the first the Ptolemies that the history of the great classical libraries begins. The library of Per gamum, a formidable rival to that of Alexan dria, NI as founded probably Attains I., and was largely increased by the fostering care ef his successors. It Was ultimately row ived to Alex andria, being sent by Antony as a gift to Cleo patra. At the time of this transference it omtained. according to Plutarch. 200,000 vol umes. At Rome interest in literature developed but we ore told that the library of the kings of was brought to Rome by _Emilius Paulus (n.c. 167). In the first century DX. there were some notable private collections, as that of the grammarian Tyranniim, estimated at 30,000 rolls, and the carefully selected and \ a 111:1 hie collection of _Wiens. the friend of Cicero. Oesar is said to have planned a public library: and Pliny states that C. Asinius Palo (n.c. 39) erected from the spoils of his Parthian victories the first public library in Rome, in the temple of Libertns, near the Forum: but acco•d ing to Plutarch this honor should be given to Lu•ullos. Another library was established by
Augustus on the Palatine, in connection with his new temple of Apollo. This was divided into Greek and Latin sections. Another was placed by the some Emperor in the Portico of Octavio. Tiberius and later emperors contin ued this work. Especially fanmus was the Ulpian library, established by Trojan, which soon surpassed all others in Rome, and was later removed from the Forum of Trojan to the Baths of Diocletian. Nearly 1700 and fragments of MSS. have been found in a library room at llereulaneum. about 400 of which have been more or less unrolled and deciphered.
In the ancient libraries the books, usually rolls of papyrus, were kept in closets. in somewhat small rooms. which, however, seem to have been arranged for the use of the books. Catalogues were prepared, and the tablets of Alexandria were valuable sources for literary history. The librarian was commonly a distinguished scholar. and at all times seems to have ranked as an important public officer. The first librarian of whom we have any record was a Babylonian named Amil-ann, who lived about 1600 n.c., one of whose signet cylinders is in the British Mu seum. Nehemiah is said to have founded a li brary, and references in the Books of Samuel and Kings to other books imply the existence of some collection in which these works might he found.
Eusebius mentions an early Christian library founded by the martyr Alexander. Bishop of Jerusalem. who died A.D. 250. Saint Pamphilus. another Christian martyr (A.n. 309). founded at Cresarea a public library of about 30.000 volumes, chiefly theological. which is said to have been destroyed by the Arabs in the seventh century. Saint Jerome had a large library, and made frequent use of that at Cresarea: in one of his letters he refers to the use of church libraries as though each church had one. Saint Augustine, on his deathbed, AM. 430, requested that the li brar• of the church at Hippo and all the MSS. should be carefully preserved. In the primitive monasteries of Tabenna, founded by Paehomius, in the depths of the Thebaid, there was a library in every house.