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2000 BCE
Libraries in Syria
Libraries begin to pop up in Syria. Containing clay tablets and scrolls. -
48 BCE
The Library of Alexandria
During the height of the Roman Empire, the people attempted to place the entirety of human knowledge under one roof. The Library of Alexandria was created to attempt to fulfill this idea. The library was unfortunately burned down near the end of the Roman Empire. -
Jan 1, 800
The Dark Ages
During this time very little literary or scientific advancement had been made. The need for libraries thus was very low. Many were left to root along with the books inside. Some cities and villages even ransacked libraries. Using the contents as common goods such as fuel for fires. "The Dark Ages" began around 476 - 800 CE. -
Jan 1, 1200
The return of the Library
During the span of "The Dark Ages", the Christian church had a pivotal role in preserving books up until sometime in the 1200's. At this point monasteries began keeping catalogs of hand-written books in their collections. This catalogs were beginning to be shared between monasteries in order to keep track of the collection as a whole and to share books between monks. The first steps to a reinstated library system. -
Jan 1, 1300
Universities
Around 1300 CE, Universities began to surface with Libraries of their own. Filled with donated books, these became havens for students looking to further their education. -
Jan 1, 1440
The Printing Press
In 1440 Johannes Gutenberg is cited with creating the printing press. With this invention, libraries, monasteries, etc. could spend less time focusing on preserving their books and more time on finding/using their books. -
Gabriel Naude
Gabriel Naude was a librarian in the 17th century. He is credited with the creation of an early form of checkout system similar to the one we have today. Where an individual could check out a book for a period of time and if it was not returned they faced a fine if they wished to borrow more. -
Libraries in America
With the industrial revolution in America, more middle class citizens had spare time. Many began to form libraries/book sharing clubs. Before this point Library Companies were the most common book sharing service. A service mainly for those able to buy stock in the library (the upper class mainly.) -
America's First Public Library
1854 saw the creation of the first American public library, The Boston Public Library. Here anyone could come to learn. Anyone could check out books and use the facility. You didn't have to be a member or purchase any sort of stock to be allowed inside. -
Dewy Decimal
In 1876 Melvil Dewey gathered together librarians from across America to found the "American Library Association" (ALA) as well as pitch his "Dewey Decimal System" a book categorization system. Both the ALA and Dewey Decimal helped to unify the previously disconnected libraries across America at that time. Dewey Decimal went on to become the norm for book categorization in most public libraries. -
The Carnegie Libaries
From 1900 - 1915 Andrew Carnegie personally funded the creation of 1,679 libraries across America. It was up to the cities and town to maintain and stock these libraries but his money went to building the buildings. Each building was open to the public and had the aim of providing anyone who wanted to learn the potential to.
