Actio 3.4: Leaders and Cultures
How do the politics, religions, and culture of a society impact attitudes and actions toward libraries?
In order to establish a library--public, private, or academic--materials must be available for collectors or collection managers.
Before a flourishing book trade, this was done by creation or conquest. Royals or clergy would send scribes to search for and create copies of works for their master's collection.
ANCIENT GREECE
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In Ancient Greece around 1200 BCE, there was a "dark interval" as Casson describes it. During this time, royal splendors ceased and cities were destroyed or abandoned as was knowledge and writing (2001, p18).
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Thankfully in the 9th century BCE there was a shift, which celebrated achievements in history, poetry, drama, and philosophy. This shift began a cultural progression (as shown in the graphic on the left) that ultimately led to a sustainable book trade.
Many authors during this time desired to have their work copied and available to a wider audience. Reproduction of works was informal and occasional. Authors had copies made to give to friends or other acquaintances. They also often allowed others to make their own copies (Casson, p. 26).
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BOOK TRADE BEGINNINGS
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Near the end of the fifth century BCE, booksellers started to became popular in Athens.
In order to keep up with the demand for books, there needed to be a steady stream of merchandise. Scriptorias, shops staffed with scribes who made copies of works to sell, were established either independent of or in partnership with booksellers (Casson, p. 27).
Copyright was not a concern or even a thought during this time. It is believed that in some instances manuscripts were copied with or without the authors’ permission.
By the fourth century BC, bookselling industry was booming in Athens and even had customers from overseas.
A PUBLIC LIBRARY?!
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Casson (p. 28) argues that
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by the latter part of the fourth century, the prerequisites for the creation of the public library have been met.
Prerequisites included:
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Works on a wide variety of subjects were available
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Scriptoria were able to turnout out multiple copies
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Books were easily acquired
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People had begun to collect books
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A steady increase in the literate class that desired reading for pleasure and profit is implied
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STATE SANCTIONED REPOSITORY
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With so many works being copied by hand, it became a concern that human errors, willful or accidental, were inevitable and would . The Athenian government passed a decree to keep trustworthy copies. Ptolemy desired to attain the sort of library that would serve as a repository for such authoritative copies (Casson, p. 28).
SOURCE
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Casson, L. (2001). Libraries in the ancient world. New Haven: Yale Univ. Press.
LIS 580: History or libraries
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Spring 2020 / professor annette lamb
Submitted by Amy Coleman
ASSIGNMENT DESCRIPTION (link here)
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How do the politics, religions, and culture of a society impact attitudes and actions toward libraries? Select an example from the ancient or early period such as the ancient Greeks or ancient Chinese to serve as the foundation for your discussion.