The 10 oldest libraries in the world still operating are spread across the globe. They hold some of the oldest texts in existence and are important pieces of history themselves. Following are the 10 oldest libraries along with some information about libraries in general.
Open To The Public?
Not all of the oldest libraries in the world are open to the public but they are still functioning. Some libraries, like the one at the Monastery of St. Catherine, are only open to certain groups of people like the monks who inhabit the monastery. This means that if you want to go around visiting some of these oldest libraries then you should know ahead of time that for some you will only be visiting the sites but not the actual collections that they contain.
The Role Of Libraries In History
Libraries have always been collections of information. It can be difficult to understand the significance of libraries from a modern perspective. With libraries being the commonplace institutions that they are now, people do not always stop to consider that they were once much rarer and that materials found within libraries were not always widely duplicated. At some points in history if you did not travel to one specific library then you could not have access to many of the materials contained therein because they may not have existed anywhere else on earth. Libraries held information so that it would be available and so that it would survive for future generations.
Are Libraries Still Relevant?
The next question that looms on the horizon is the relevance of a physical library in a time when information can easily be found on the internet. It is true that many texts cannot be found online at this point but surely their presence there is only a matter of time. The question becomes one that asks what the place of libraries, even ancient and treasured ones like those from the list that follow, is in a world where information can be piped directly into peoples’ homes.
The 10 Oldest Libraries
These are the 10 oldest libraries in the world that are still actually in operation. Each one has survived much and gone on to carry the information that would help to educate future generations. Basically, they have survived to do what libraries are supposed to do. They’ve just done it longer than other libraries.
1. Monastery of St. Catherine – Sinai, Egypt
2. Bibliotheque de Paris – Paris, France
3. The Peterborough Town Library – Peterborough, New Hampshire
4. Library Company, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
5. Redwood Library, Newport, Rhode Island
6. Vatican Library – Rome, Italy
7. George C. Walker Branch Library – Chicago, Illinois
8. Al-Qarawiyin University Library – Fez, Morocco
9. Bodleian Library – Oxford, England
10. Darby Free Library – Darby, Pennsylvania
The 10 oldest libraries in the world still operating are testaments to the enduring nature of knowledge. Each has survived for many years to make sure that its legacy was not lost. The texts contained within these buildings carry the knowledge of the ages so that it is never forgotten.
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