0_Wizard
I am a big fan of the public library.  I find it amazing that the first libraries can be traced back to 2600 BC.
The first libraries consisted of archives of the earliest form of writing—the clay tablets in cuneiform script discovered in temple rooms in Sumer, some dating back to 2600 BC.
chosen_History_of_libraries_0
History of libraries
chosen_topic_0_History_of_libraries
Library
A library is a collection of sources of information and similar resources, made accessible to a defined community for reference or borrowing. It provides physical or digital access to material, and may be a physical building or room, or a virtual space, or both. A library's collection can include books, periodicals, newspapers, manuscripts, films, maps, prints, documents, microform, CDs, cassettes, videotapes, DVDs, Blu-ray Discs, e-books, audiobooks, databases, and other formats. Libraries range in size from a few shelves of books to several million items. In Latin and Greek, the idea of a bookcase is represented by "Bibliotheca" and "Bibliothēkē" (Greek: βιβλιοθήκη): derivatives of these mean "library" in many modern languages, e.g.
History of libraries
The history of libraries collections of documents. Topics of interest include accessibility of the collection, acquisition of materials, arrangement and finding tools, the book trade, the influence of the physical properties of the different writing materials, language distribution, role in education, rates of literacy, budgets, staffing, libraries for specially targeted audiences, architectural merit, patterns of usage, and the role of libraries in a nation's cultural heritage, and the role of government, church or private sponsorship. Since the 1960s issues of computerization and digitization come to the fore.
Public library
A public library is a library that is accessible by the general public and is generally funded from public sources, such as taxes. It is operated by librarians and library paraprofessionals, who are also civil servants. There are five fundamental characteristics shared by public libraries. The first is that they are generally supported by taxes (usually local, though any level of government can and may contribute); they are governed by a board to serve the public interest; they are open to all, and every community member can access the collection; they are entirely voluntary in that no one is ever forced to use the services provided; and they provide basic services without charge.
Public libraries in North America
A public library is a library that is accessible by the general public and is generally funded from public sources, such as taxes. It is operated by librarians and library paraprofessionals, who are also civil servants. As the United States developed from the 18th century to today, growing more populous and wealthier, factors such as a push for education and desire to share knowledge led to broad public support for free libraries. In addition, money donations by private philanthropists provided the seed capital to get many libraries started. In some instances, collectors donated large book collections.
History of public library advocacy
Public libraries in the American Colonies can be traced back to 1656, when a Boston merchant named Captain Robert Keayne willed his collection of books to the town. Church collections of books used by the public served as early versions of libraries in New England around the 18th century. One such example is the Kings Chapel Library in Boston, which was founded in 1698 with book donations from the Bishop of London. Reverend Thomas Bray was instrumental in the establishment of libraries for public use. This Anglican clergyman had sponsored several parish libraries in England, and from 1695-1704 he managed to establish 70 libraries in the American Colonies.
Assyria
Assyria was a major Mesopotamian kingdom and empire of the ancient Near East and the Levant. It existed as a state from perhaps as early as the 25th century BC in the form of the Assur city-state, until its collapse between 612 BC and 609 BC, spanning the Early to Middle Bronze Age through to the late Iron Age. From the end of the seventh century BC to the mid-seventh century AD, it survived as a geopolitical entity, for the most part ruled by foreign powers, although a number of Neo-Assyrian states arose at different times during the Parthian and early Sasanian Empires between the mid-second century BC and late third century AD, a period which also saw Assyria become a major centre of Syriac Christianity and the birthplace of the Church of the East.
History of writing
The history of writing traces the development of expressing language by letters or other marks and also the studies and descriptions of these developments. In the history of how systems of representation of language through graphic means have evolved in different human civilizations, more complete writing systems were preceded by "proto-writing", systems of ideographic or early mnemonic symbols. "True writing", in which the content of a linguistic utterance is encoded so that another reader can reconstruct, with a fair degree of accuracy, the exact utterance written down, is a later development.
1_Apprentice
I have not been to one in a few years I should go