The ancient Sumerians would use a stylus fashioned from a reed to carve characters on clay tablets to store information. Evidence has survived until today which shows that the Sumerians had several collections of the tablets. These archives are the earliest known form of a library. While it is possible that earlier civilizations had forms of writing, no evidence has survived through the centuries.
Around 300 BC the Egyptians built the Great Library of Alexandria.
"Books" housed there were written on scrolls made from papyrus, rolled into cylinders
and stacked on shelves, with tags attached to their ends. It is generally believed that
the library and its content was destroyed by fire, perhaps set by Julius Caesar c. 48 BC.
During the dark ages, monks throughout Europe are credited with preserving western civilization. Monasteries began establishing libraries in the sixth century. Monks would ceaselessly labor in the library's "scriptorium" to copy manuscripts for preservation. Monasteries would lend out to other monasteries their manuscripts, creating the first "intra-library" lending system.
When Johannes Gutenberg presented his invention of the first printing press,
forever changed the world. Books which had previously had to be copied by hand were only afforded by the very wealthy and educated. With Gutenberg's
invention, books eventually became affordable and attainable. This led to the
revolution of learning and ideas known as the Renaissance.
With the invention of the computer and the evolution of the internet,
we are in the midst of an "information revolution." As they always have, libraries are evolving and embracing modern technology. Digital libraries abound, and large scale efforts are underway to digitize millions of books and documents, as well as music and images, around the world.
