The History of the Library in Western Civilization
Description:... This set addresses the unique role libraries have played in building and preserving Western culture. Volume 1 reveals the rich history of the early archive libraries from Crete to the famous library of the Ptolemies in Alexandria. The second volume addresses the unique role libraries have played in building and preserving Western culture and reveals the development of the Roman book tradition built from and with knowledge of the Greek tradition. The origins of Latin literature are described and its impact on Roman cultural life, private libraries, booktrading in the Republic. Other subjects are the establishing of the first public libraris in Rome during the era of emperors and the contacts between emperors and authors. Followed by the history of the libraries in Rome in the first 4 centuries AD and libraries in the rest of Italy and the Roman provinces. Volume 3 spans a period of more than a thousand years and covers an area stretching from Alexandria and Trebizond to Calabria and Sicily in the south of Italy. The author explores the end of the ancient world and the closure and destruction of its monumental libraries, and describes the formation, of the great monastic libraries, such as St. Catherine's on Mount Sinai, the Monastery of Studius in Constantinople, the group of monasteries on Mount Athos and the famous library in the Monastery of St. John on Patmos. Finally, he examines all the known palace, public, university and private libraries in the whole of the Byzantine Empire, and discusses the booktrade as well. Through well-researched text and many full-color illustrations, the author guides his readers over 1800 years of mankind's struggle to preserve his knowledge by the written word.
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