The general purpose of libraries has not changed since their inception. Today, libraries serve as information hubs at the hearts of our communities, providing citizens with opportunities to access information and cutting-edge technologies. Today, innovative technology may include the likes of virtual reality, interactive e-books and 3-D printers. Comparatively, in ancient Sumer, the recording of information on clay tablets using cuneiform writing would have been regarded as revolutionary.
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| Vatican Library Interior (Vatican Library n.d.) |
This blog will be an examination of great historical libraries and the technologies that emerged alongside their foundation. Each post will highlight the significance of a single historical library of note. We will be covering an enormous span of time; beginning in the 7th century BC and continuing into the modern day. Firstly, we will discuss the Great Library of Alexandria in Egypt. Secondly; the library of Congress in Washington, D.C. Thirdly, the Vatican Library in Vatican City, Rome. Fourthly, the House of Wisdom in Baghdad. Fifth and finally, we will discuss the library of Ashurbanipal in Nineveh, the ancient capital of the Assyrian empire (modern day Iraq).
The technologies to be discussed in this blog will include the classification system of the library of Alexandria, and how this evolved into the classification systems we know today, exemplified by the Library of Congress and its system (El-Abbadi, 2018). The Vatican Library’s advancements in regards to preservation in centuries past, and digitization today (Wikipedia contributors, 2018). The cuneiform tablets of Ashurbanipal, and finally, the House of Wisdom’s mass translation of foreign works into the native tongue; Arabic (Wikipedia contributors, 2019).
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References
El-Abbadi, M. (2018, September 18). Library of Alexandria. Retrieved January 14, 2019, from Encyclopædia Britannica: https://www.britannica.com/topic/Library-of-Alexandria
Vatican Library. (n.d.). Vatican Library. Retrieved from twitter.com: https://twitter.com/vaticanlibrary
Wikipedia contributors. (2018, December 4). Vatican Library. Retrieved January 14, 2019, from Wikipedia:
Wikipedia contributors. (2019, January 7). House of Wisdom. Retrieved January 14, 2019, from Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=House_of_Wisdom&oldid=877244809
This is a very interesting blog post about the past and present of how the Library Congress and classification system works. I agree that libraries are significant to provide good communication for patrons in the society and can be easily accessible to technologies. for searching information.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you feel the same way, and that this might inform learning about the system when that time comes in class.
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