The Beautiful History of Libraries

Verse of the Day: "He that dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress: My God; in him will I trust." Psalm 91:1-2

I remember the excitement of receiving my very first library card and all that it would grant me access to. The checkout limit was 50 and I was above the moon and up to my chin with enough reading material to last me for ages. Whenever I needed a space to escape, the public library was my home. It would be many years later while reading Wendy Welch's "The Little Bookstore of Big Stone Gap" that a thought would occur to me....where did libraries come from? I'd then go on a week-long journey of researching and note taking in pursuit of my answers. Here are 7 fun facts and information regarding the very beginning of what we now know as the Public Library :)

1. There are four major library types

• Academic libraries that serve to accommodate colleges and universities

• Public libraries that are accessible to the general public of cities and towns.

• School Libraries which are reserved for children from grades k-12

• Special libraries exclusively for hospitals, corporations, museums, military, private business and government.

2. 1st and Oldest Libraries of the world according to

- The Library of Ashurbanipal of modern day Iraq (7th century B.C)

- The Library of Alexandria (323 B.C)

- The Library Pergamum (Third Century B.C)

- The Villa of the Papyri

- The libraries of Trajan's Forum (112 A.D)

- The Library of Celsus (120 A.D)

- The Imperial Library of Constantinople

- The House of Wisdom

3. Benjamin Franklin established the first subscription based lending library in America in 1731.

4. Public libraries in modern western society can be traced back to the fifteenth century England, it wasn't until the 17th century that libraries became public.

5. The first FREE public library was established in 1833 in Peterborough, New Hampshire.

6. A man by the name of Andrew Carnegie began funding public and academic libraries between 1886 and 1923, 32 of which were communities of Texas!

7. The word library is derived from the Latin word Librarius and means a building or room containing collections of books, periodicals and sometimes films and recorded music for people to read, borrow or refer to.

Researching the history of libraries proved to be a fruitful endeavor, and something I encourage all lovers of the written art to look into. Let's discuss. What do you know about the history of libraries? Comment below and as always.....

"For the love of life and literature, stay prayerful, stay positive and write on!"