The Story of Libraries: From the Invention of Writing to the Computer Age

This work describes the crucial role libraries played in ancient Egypt, Han-dynasty China, the ancient Western Classical world (the great library of Alexandria, which was lost to us in stages over many years), the Baghdad of Harun-al-Rashid, and medieval and Renaissance Europe. It continues with the libraries of colonial America, the Library of Congress, university libraries, and today's large public library system.

The first libraries were established 5,000 years ago as archives for business records and repositories of collections of hymns, prayers, and incantations. Lerner begins even earlier, with the invention of writing, and proceeds to the establishment of those first libraries and the rest of the history of the institution. Much of the book is devoted to the Western world, though separate chapters consider libraries in the Islamic world and in the Orient. Other chapters deal with libraries in academe and with the rise of the public library. Finally, Lerner looks to the future of libraries and librarians. A well-done, readable one-volume history that should be in libraries of all types. Edward Swanson

This is a popular history of libraries and librarianship from ancient times to the present. The author, a librarian who has previously written about science fiction, also includes some cautionary reflections on the future of libraries and digital technology. While similar to Michael H. Harris's History of Libraries in the Western World (Professional Reading, LJ 8/95), his book is not limited to the West. The fourth chapter surveys the history of writing, printing, and libraries in China, India, Korea, and Japan until the 18th or 19th century. In order to broaden his scope and keep the book relatively brief, however, Lerner provides less detail on such topics as the development of university libraries in Europe and North America. Both books have extensive bibliographies, but Harris incorporates more on the new history of the book. Less like a textbook, Lerner's work may appeal more to the general reader.?Thomas F. O'Connor, Manhattan Coll. Libs., New York
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