Public Library

Public Library - A collection of books that can be accessed freely by the general public

A public library requires not only books and manuscripts on shelves, but also a public body to own them and a literate population to read them. This combination of circumstances first occurred in Renaissance Italy, although libraries themselves are a far older idea.

The world's first libraries, containing archives of clay tablets, were founded in Sumerian temples in around 2600 BCE. The Egyptians built a major reference  library at Alexandria in around 300 BCE, while rich Romans established their own private libraries in the first century BCE. Christian and Buddhists monks kept rooms of manuscripts, while reference libraries first appeared in Islamic cities during the ninth century. These libraries were known as "Halls of Science" and they were endowed by Islamic sets to promote their beliefs and to disseminate secular knowledge. All these libraries were privately owned and were used only by the few enthusiasts and scholars able to read. It was not until 1452 that the first world's publically owned library opened in Cesena in central Italy. Commissioned by Malatesta Novello, lord of Cesena, and known as the Biblioteca Malatestina, the library belonged to the city of Cesena. It contained 340 manuscripts on subjects as varied as the classics, medicine and science, which the literate public could read on one of fifty eight desks.

The idea of a library funded by public monies and open to the general public soon spread throughout Europe, with the royal National Library of France, founded in 1368, opening its doors to the public in 1692. Public libraries were established in U.S. cities during the nineteenth century, while an act of parliament in 1850 allowed British times and cities to setup free public libraries paid for by local taxes. Public libraries became an important feature of local communities, giving anyone with the motivation the opportunity to improve their knowledge.