The History of Libraries
Show notes
A library can be a cupboard of manuscripts, a room of chained books or a public building offering far more than something to read. How did these very different places develop, and who were they intended to serve?
In this episode of Compact History, we follow the history of libraries from the clay tablets of ancient Nineveh and the scholarly collections of Alexandria through medieval monasteries, Islamic centres of learning and China's established print culture. We discover how European printing transformed collecting, how subscription libraries shared the cost of books, and why publicly funded services faced resistance as well as enthusiasm.
Along the way, Thomas Bodley rebuilds Oxford's library, Benjamin Franklin helps readers pool their resources, and campaigners challenge the exclusion hidden behind the word public. The journey ends with electronic catalogues, digitisation and the continuing work of making knowledge available beyond the people who own it.
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