I was having a discussion about the history of books and the question came up about what was considered the very first ‘official’ library. My thoughts went immediately to the Library of Alexandria—but was that the correct answer? Here’s what I found:
An archaeological discovery in what is now modern-day Iraq unearthed over 30,000 clay tablets (excavated between the 1850s and 1930s by the British Museum). The site was the imperial capital, Nineveh, and belonged to Ashurbanipal, King of Assyria (668-c 630 BC), which predates Alexandria.
There was also one other remarkable place that manuscripts were gathered for scholars from around the ancient world. You’ve probably heard of it as well, but didn’t realize it was a crossroads of commerce and culture: Timbuktu.
“It wasn’t until the late 15th century, however, that Timbuktu experienced its “Golden Age.” But it was books, not gold bars, that brought Timbuktu its prosperity. Hundreds of scholars studied at the nearly 200 maktabs (Quranic schools). These scholars worked as scribes, thus increasing the number of manuscripts in the city.”
The treasures of Timbuktu did not disappear like the library at Alexandria. Hundreds of thousands of manuscripts (both secular and religious) survived and were stored at various locations around the city. In 2012, militant Islamists gained control of the area and threatened to destroy cultural icons (including these documents). You can read a remarkable account of the effort to save these treasures in The Badass of Librarians of Timbuktu and Their Race to Save the World’s Most Precious Manuscripts, which reads like something straight out of Raiders of the Lost Ark. I highly recommend.
Now, I wondered where the first public library opened in the United States. It was the Franklin Public Library (Franklin, Maine), founded in 1790 with a donation of books from Benjamin Franklin. People debated who could borrow from the collection. A vote at a 1790 town hall approved lending privileges to all Franklin town residents free of charge. This vote established the first public library in the United States.
In my travels, I’m always thrilled to see the local ‘little libraries’ that dot communities—sometimes in the most unexpected places.
I was shocked to find this tiny library inside a campground restroom, high in the Sierra Nevada.
Click the above image for a list of more creative little free libraries from littlefreelibrary.org
It should come as no surprise that I surround myself with books whenever possible. Here’s my workspace in the back room of the library where I volunteer. My job is to research and price books for sale. The most valuable are sold on EBay, and the rest go into our bookstore or one of our Friends of the Library book sales, which we do 2 times a year. Proceeds go to fund childern’s programming.
My work station amongst the stacks, which gives new meaning to being surrounded by books!
There are two more isles just like this full of donated books, and I get first pick!
Be a badass like the librarians of Timbuktu.
Read banned books!