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LIS 688D Jonathan Eaker Review 1 Casson, Lionel. Libraries of the Ancient World. � Libraries of the Ancient World covers the history of the library starting with the Sumerians and going through the development of the codex. That covers over a thousand years of history so the many developments that took place are usually covered briefly. The book has only 145 pages of text so it only gives the basic details of all the major developments, but there is an annotated bibliography with sources for supplementary information. Equal emphasis is given to library development and development of the actual reading material. Casson also uses evidence and conjecture to discuss how the ancient libraries may have been organized, funded and managed. � The
author gives detailed information about the physical evidence we have of
libraries. The libraries in which some relics have survived are discussed in
detail. Physical descriptions of the exterior and interior of the structures
are presented, with images in many cases, and always include physical
dimensions. The author also adds in details of other libraries that are no
longer standing but were written about in ancient texts. Other physical
features and their purposes are also discussed. One example being how early
Greek libraries like the one at the � All of the chapters recount how libraries developed and grew toward what we know as libraries today. In many cases we see incremental advances that take what was at first just a collection of information and records for a ruler or high authority to a library of the people. Through the centuries more people were allowed access to the information kept in these libraries. First rulers and their workers, then the educated people who needed the information for their own writing or studies, and eventually anyone who could read were allowed access to materials that were accumulated in a collection. The author even finds a reference to a few instances in which scrolls were borrowed. In this case the author takes a good bit of liberty in assuming that because we have a few examples of a library lending a scroll that they all may have done it. At best that seems like an educated guess. There are also times that people who were known to have worked in the ancient libraries are compared to positions in a modern library. Like a person who ran the library or was appointed to lead it are compared to library directors and other library workers are compared to pages and librarian assistants because it was their job to retrieve and organize the collection of scrolls. This comparison comes off a bit forced. The author admits that in many cases little is really known about the exact responsibilities so saying someone is a page or director is more of a hopeful assumption. The one thing that he never mentions as a worker is someone analogous to the modern librarian. There is never mention of anyone who helps the reader find information, not just a particular text. The workers appear to only do the work of transporting texts and copying them when needed. � For the most part, the book is chronological. Occasionally though the author overlaps periods covered in previous chapters which make it difficult to keep the order of events correct. This is most evident in the chapter entitled “From Roll to Codex� in which the development of the scroll, from papyrus to parchment, and the development of the codex, from a collated set of boards to the book of today, is described. In this chapter material from all the other chapters is referenced. Since this topic was hardly mentioned in previous chapters it almost requires the reader to go back and recount what was going on in that chapter to understand how the development of the roll and codex fits into the larger picture. � Libraries in the Ancient World provides
a good introduction to what the precursors of modern libraries were and how they
were organized. It’s a basic book that only provides the essential facts and
would be a good starting point for someone interested in this area of history.
There is little in the way of real analysis of the importance of these
libraries or if they actually influenced modern libraries. There is a good bit
of speculation on the role the library served in the various societies, how
much the library was used, and in what manner. This does detract a little from
the factual nature of the book but most readers would be able to identify that
it is just one man’s guess as to what may have happened. It actually adds to
the book in a way, making it more interesting, as the recounting of written
records and building dimensions can get a bit dull. While this book may not be
for everyone it does provide the information if advertises and would be a good
starting point for any interested reader.�
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