Library history

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The library history describes the historical development of the library . The illustration outlines the first collections of literature from the time before the birth of Christ and extends into the 21st century. The type and organization of the book collections and their use differ greatly depending on the various forms of society.

Ancient libraries

Upper part of the stele with the text of Hammurapi's code of law

The ancient Egyptians already owned large collections of books, from which we know the papyrus scrolls , which date back to 1866 BC. To be dated. So-called “ houses of life ” specialized in the reproduction and storage of scientific and religious works. The tablets and cylinders with written characters discovered in the ruined cities of Assyria and Babylonia are also the remains of a type of library. In 1180/70 BC A palace library was found in 1928 when Ugarit was destroyed in the 3rd century BC .

Ancient libraries

Library of Celsus in Ephesus

At the time of the Greeks there are few traces of private libraries in the news of classical authors, while there are significant doubts about the first public collection of books from Peisistratos in Athens. After the fall of freedom, Greek culture was transplanted to neighboring countries, Asia , Egypt and Italy , which also resulted in the establishment of libraries. The most important were the two Alexandrian libraries , donated by the Ptolemies , and the library of Pergamon , which owed its origins and growth to the Pergamon kings. The great Phoenician libraries of Sidon and Tire were burned in 351 and 332 BC, respectively. And the important library of Punic Carthage was built during the destruction of the city in 146 BC. Destroyed.

In Rome , the sense of book collections only emerged after the Second Punic War . The first founder of a public library was Asinius Pollio . Under Augustus , who set up the Oktaviana and then the Bibliotheca Palatina himself , it was considered good form to have a library in one's own house. The writings of Vitruvius and Pliny the Elder , among others, give information about the establishment of such a room . Ä. Information desk. Valuable findings also emerged from the excavation of a library in Herculaneum . In the 4th century there were said to have been 29 public libraries in Rome, which the noble Romans were busy visiting. The supervision was entrusted only to freedmen .

middle Ages

Library of the St. Florian Monastery, Austria
Pope Sixtus IV. In the Greek hall of the Vatican, discussing the functions of a librarian with Platina

In the course of the migration of peoples , many of the old libraries were destroyed, knowledge accumulated over thousands of years was partially lost forever (see Loss of books in late antiquity ). In the Middle Ages it was above all monasteries where educated monks saved the still-preserved writings of ancient authors from oblivion; so z. B. the library in the monasteries of Athos (compare Boltz: The libraries of the monasteries of Athos , Bonn 1881). The Benedictines were particularly distinguished by the fact that their religious rule made it compulsory for the conventuals to study the classics and copy manuscripts in order to prevent idleness . In his medieval novel The Name of the Rose, Umberto Eco set a monument to this monastic library system.

Well-known monastery libraries , also called Armarien , were to be found in Monte Cassino , Lorsch , Corvey (in Westphalia), Fulda , where Rabanus Maurus employed monks as scribes, Reichenau , but above all in St. Gallen , where Abbot Gozbert (816-836 ) laid the foundation for the famous library, which surpassed all collections of the time. In the fourteenth century every pen had at least one scriptorium over which Armarius supervised; the writing material was supplied by Camerarius or Cellarius , the selection of the books to be written was done by the abbot, and the library administration was also the responsibility of the Armarius. The revival of ancient studies in the time of humanism favored collecting. Scholars like Poggio or Franciscus Philelphus began collecting books, and many princes and wealthy patrician families followed their example.

In Florence the Medici collected writings from which the Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana emerged . Pope Nicholas V , who bought around 3,000 manuscripts, created the great Vatican library . In Hungary, King Matthias Corvinus in Italy had trained fine scribes in his wages to enrich his library, the famous Bibliotheca Corviniana . This precious treasure trove of books, distinguished less by its intrinsic value than its external splendor, was scattered to the wind when Oven was conquered by the Turks in 1526, so that remains can be found in the most important libraries in Europe. The 35 works that Sultan Abdülhamid II returned to the Hungarians are only a very poor remnant of the 50,000 volumes of the former Corviniana. Today's Nuremberg City Library , the oldest municipal facility of its kind in Germany, was built as a council library as early as 1370.

During the time of the Inquisition , the Roman Catholic Church burned numerous books that did not fit into its teaching. Many a valuable collection in monasteries was irretrievably lost.

Modern times

Renaissance to the 19th century

Library of the Francke Foundations

A new era in the history of libraries began with the invention of the art of printing . From now on, collecting a library was no longer associated with as great costs and difficulties as it used to be. After the abolition of the monasteries as a result of the Reformation , their libraries fell to either the towns and churches or the sovereigns and learned educational institutions, which brought about a more general usability of the book treasures. Libraries that opened their reading rooms to the public in the early 17th century were the Bodleian Library in Oxford and the Biblioteca Ambrosiana in Milan. In Germany, the former, mostly Protestant, Free Imperial and Hanseatic cities in particular have a long tradition of public libraries for the bourgeoisie. In addition to the example from Nuremberg already mentioned, Hamburg with today's state and university library or Augsburg with its state and city library should be mentioned. The Leipzig City Library also dates back to 1677.

The Thirty Years' War destroyed many a freshly blossoming collection, for example the Heidelberg Bibliotheca Palatina , the most excellent manuscripts of which were brought to the Vatican in Rome in 1622 after Tilly had taken the city . With the outbreak of the French Revolution , a large part of the libraries that had been produced with great effort and expense perished. In 1797 the victors abducted several thousand manuscripts from the Vatican to Paris, and in 1809 quite a few German libraries, especially the Viennese, were exposed to similar looting . Napoleon's fall resulted in the previously stolen treasures being returned; Heidelberg received not only the manuscripts brought to France in the last war, but also some of the manuscripts that had come to the Vatican during the Thirty Years' War.

This article or paragraph presents the situation in Germany . Help us to describe the situation in other countries.

19th century

Public libraries

The first library in Germany with the aim of addressing all sections of the population was created in 1828 when Karl Benjamin Preusker founded the Vaterländische Bürger-Bibliothek in Großenhain .

Another well-known attempt to establish public libraries took place in Berlin , when four such institutes opened on August 1, 1850 under the name of the lending library , which were open three times a week for one hour each, and later for two hours each. This took place at the suggestion of the historian Friedrich von Raumer , who in 1841 on a trip to North America had got to know the popular libraries that were already widespread there. The company was under the protection of the Prince of Prussia, who later became Emperor Wilhelm I. The four municipal public libraries with 7,411 volumes had grown to 27 (1905. 28) with 62,437 volumes by 1892. In the meantime, numerous other cities and rural communities have founded public libraries, the latter mostly in the form of traveling libraries . Non-profit associations, partly local, partly general tendencies and organizations played an essential role. Particularly noteworthy among these are the German Society for the Dissemination of Popular Education (founded in 1871) and the Society for Ethical Culture (1893). Everywhere, with the supply, the demand in the broader strata of the people grew.

In addition to the academic libraries, many public libraries ( municipal libraries ) came into being at the end of the 19th century. The citizens of a city, municipality or district were offered classic literature, fiction and non-fiction books to borrow for free or for a small fee.

Other pioneers included Heinrich Stephani , Constantin Nörrenberg , Eduard Hallier (1866–1959), Gottlieb Fritz (1873–1934) and others.

20th century

Important stations were:

  • 1900 Foundation of the Association of German Librarians (VDB)
  • 1900 first German Librarian's Day in Marburg
  • October 3, 1912 Foundation of the Deutsche Bücherei in Leipzig

→ Main articles: Book hall movement , Althoff system , libraries under National Socialism

During the National Socialist period

Empty bookshelves under a solid glass pane on Berlin's Bebelplatz are a reminder of the book burning that took place here in 1933.

The Nazis persecuted the objective, all the ideologically unwanted eliminate Literature: They burned for. B. on May 10, 1933, mainly books by communists and Jews in public in Berlin on Bebelplatz . In addition, the holdings of many libraries were expanded to include looted property and library staff and library organization were brought into line.

German division

The division of Germany after the Second World War also made itself felt in the German library system. The holdings of the Berlin State Library (which was located in the eastern part of the city ), which had been relocated to West Germany, were not returned, but made accessible to the western public in Marburg, initially as the Hessian library and later as the West German library . In 1967 the Scharoun Building (since the end of the 20th century, House 2 of the Berlin State Library) was built near the border and the holdings were at least brought back to Berlin. They became part of the Prussian cultural heritage as part of the new cultural forum on Potsdamer Strasse. Only after the fall of the wall could they be reunited.

At the same time, the Western powers no longer trusted the Deutsche Bücherei in Leipzig under the rule of the SED to collect all German documents, so that as early as 1949 the German Library was established in Frankfurt am Main .

In the big cities of the old Federal Republic , the municipal libraries had survived and their assortments were constantly expanding.

In the districts of the GDR including East Berlin , public libraries were also maintained or newly established. At that time they were called public libraries . Their use was free of charge for every citizen, fees were only incurred if the loan periods were exceeded. A central institute for librarianship was established as early as 1950 , which was intended to promote cooperation between all public libraries. Book lending was later expanded to include art lending options , particularly painting copies and records.

After 1990

After the reunification of the two German states in 1990, the German Library (DDB) was founded as the German national library with three locations, as a merger of the German Library (Frankfurt / Main), the German Library (Leipzig) and the German Music Archive (Berlin).

In addition to the “classic” printed media - such as books, newspapers and magazines - libraries also offer the full range of electronic and audiovisual media (audio and video cassettes, CDs, CD-Roms and DVDs). Even computer workstations at which users can research databases or union catalogs are often part of the equipment of a larger library today. Modern libraries are also providers of events such as workshops, exhibitions, seminars and colloquiums. In special training courses they also teach how to use the electronic information they have on offer.

The University Library of the Technical University of Berlin has also been running a digital library since 2006 . In 2007 the competence network for the implementation of the German Digital Library project was founded. The first inter-municipal cooperation (Schwerin and Wismar) has existed since 2010, which enables readers to use the digital holdings of both city libraries.

See also

literature

General
  • History of book culture . Academic printing and Verlagsanstalt, Graz 1999-running. (9 volumes are planned, 4 volumes in 6 parts will be published by 2008).
  • Matthew Battles: The World of Books. A history of the library. (Title of the American original edition: Library. An Unquiet History ). From the American by Sophia Simon. Patmos Verlag, Düsseldorf 2003. ISBN 3-538-07165-9 .
  • Michael H. Harris: History of Libraries in the Western World. 4th edition. Scarecrow Press, Metuchen NJ et al. 1995, ISBN 0-810-82972-X .
  • Uwe Jochum : Short library history . 3rd improved and enlarged edition. Reclam, Stuttgart 2007, ISBN 978-3-15-017667-2 , ( Reclams Universal-Bibliothek 17667).
  • Stefanie Seidel: Libraries. The most beautiful rooms, the most valuable collections. Germany, Austria, Switzerland . Munich, Callwey 1995, ISBN 3-7667-1156-3 , ( Das Reiselexikon ).
  • Joris Vorstius / Siegfried Joost: Fundamentals of library history . 8th edition. Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden 1980. ISBN 3-447-01909-3 .
  • Karl-Heinz Weimann : library history. Textbook on the development and topography of librarianship . Verlag Documentation, Munich 1975, ISBN 3-7940-3179-2 .
Antiquity
  • Theodor Birt : The ancient book system in its relationship to literature, with contributions to the text history of Theokrit, Catullus, Properz and other authors . Hertz, Berlin 1882, (2nd reprint: Scientia-Verlag, Aalen 1974, ISBN 3-511-00012-2 ), (standard work on ancient library history).
  • Rudolf Blum: Callimachos and the bibliography of the Greeks. Studies on the history of biobibliography . In: Archiv für Geschichte des Buchwesens 18, 1977, ISSN  0066-6327 , Sp. 1–330.
  • Kai Brodersen : Galenos: The burned library , Marix, Wiesbaden 2015, ISBN 978-3-7374-0962-9 .
  • Luciano Canfora : The missing library. The knowledge of the world and the Alexandria fire . Europäische Verlags-Anstalt, Hamburg 2002, ISBN 3-434-46182-5 , ( Eva-Taschenbuch 239), (Original edition: La biblioteca scomparsa . Sellerio, Palermo 1986, (Università di Palermo, Facoltà di Lettere e Filosofia (ed.)) : La memoria 140 )).
  • Wolfgang Hoepfner: To Greek libraries and bookcases . de Gruyter, Berlin et al. 1996, (annual edition of the publisher), (abridged and slightly modified version in: Archäologischer Anzeiger 1996, ISSN  0003-8105 , pp. 25-36).
  • Jean-Claude Margueron: Les Mésopotamiens . 2 volumes. A. Colin, Paris 1991, ISBN 2-200-37173-9 (vol. 1), ISBN 2-200-37174-6 (vol. 2).
  • Hans J. Nissen / Peter Damerow / Robert K. Englund: Information processing 5000 years ago. Early writing and techniques of economic administration in the ancient Near East. Information storage and processing 5000 years ago . Franzbecker et al., Hildesheim et al. 2004, ISBN 3-88120-400-8 , (Earlier editions: Early writing and techniques of economic administration in the ancient Middle East ).
middle Ages
  • W. Wattenbach : The writing system in the Middle Ages . 4th edition. Unchanged impression of the 3rd increased edition Leipzig, 1896. Photomechanical reprint. Graz, Akademische Druck- und Verlagsanstalt 1958, (first edition: Hirzel, Leipzig 1871), (standard work on the libraries of the Middle Ages).
  • Ladislaus Buzas: German library history of the Middle Ages. Wiesbaden 1975 (= elements of the book and library system. Volume 1).
Modern times
  • Wolfgang Thauer / Peter Vodosek : History of the public library in Germany . 2nd expanded edition. Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden 1990, ISBN 3-447-02974-9 .
  • Holger Simon : Library, in: Enzyklopädie der Neuzeit , Vol. 2, Stuttgart / Weimar 2005. pdf

Web links

Commons : Memorials  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Article from Maier's Konversationslexikon revised and adapted. For comparison, the digitized online version: Library . In: Meyers Konversations-Lexikon . 4th edition. Volume 2, Verlag des Bibliographisches Institut, Leipzig / Vienna 1885–1892, p. 890.
  2. ^ Gustav Parthey: The Alexandrian Museum. Berlin: Nicolai, 1838.
  3. ^ Friedrich Wilhelm Ritschl: The Alexandrian Libraries. Breslau: Aderholz, 1838.
  4. ↑ Modern library history from 1800
  5. ↑ Grossenhain Museum
  6. ↑ cf. Buchholtz: The public libraries and the city of Berlin 1850-1900 , Berl. 1900.
  7. ^ Sven Kuttner, Peter Vodosek: People's librarians in National Socialism: room for maneuver, continuities, patterns of interpretation . Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden, ISBN 978-3-447-10720-4 .
  8. ↑ Robert Langer: The ways of stolen books: the Bautzen City Library and the Hertie Collection . Dresden, ISBN 978-3-9814149-3-6 .
  9. ↑ Heike Walter: Libraries: From the public library to the media information service. on www.bpb.de; accessed on October 21, 2018.
  10. ↑ Onleihe ( Memento from June 1, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) of the Schwerin and Wismar City Libraries (PDF)
  11. ^ Second Thuringian Library Day in Jena on October 26, 1996 on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the Ernst Abbe Library. Jena, 1996 (PDF file; 302 kB)