21st century libraries - Same as they never were
As a library lover, my recent holiday to Egypt would not have been complete without making the pilgrimage two hours north of Cairo across the desert to the city of Alexandria – the site of the Great Library of Alexandria (285 BC). In ancient times Alexandria came to be regarded as the capital of knowledge and learning, in part because of the Great Library, its vast collection of scrolls and texts, and the many influential scholars who gathered to work there during the third and second centuries BC.
The Great Library is no longer there. Over several centuries the library gradually declined as intellectuals were purged from Alexandria during the reign of Ptolemy VIII, as parts were accidentally burned by Julius Caesar during a civil war and as funding dwindled during the Roman period to 250 AD. The Great Library and its collections were finally destroyed and demolished through further wars and a decree by Coptic Christian Pope Theophilus of Alexandria.
Today, in its place and in its memory on the shores of the Mediterranean Sea stands the Bibliotheca Alexandria – a grand library of the modern era. Designed through an international architectural competition on land donated by the Egyptian Government, Bibliotheca Alexandria was opened to the public in 2002. It is a modern library, a cultural centre and (according to its published objectives) a ‘place for learning, tolerance, dialogue and understanding’. The library has space for 8 million books, a 20,000 square metre reading room over eleven levels, six specialised libraries, four museums, four galleries, a planetarium and a conference centre.
Panorama shot of the Bibliotheca, lower levels on the right
It's also a curiosity (insofar as US$220 million of concrete, steel, timber, glass and circuitry can be a curiosity). Most of the eclectic collection of around 2 million physical items has been donated by other libraries, universities, benefactors and library friends’ associations from around the world. We discovered the works of Shakespeare, Jane Austen and Agatha Christie. I found assorted introductory texts on statistical theories. There were photo books on the Gold Coast, Shark Bay and Melbourne’s Grand Boulevard (St Kilda Road), a biography of John Howard and a collection of tourist maps for almost every country you could visit in the 1990s. And most bizarrely, a 2nd (completely revised and rewritten) edition of Australian Libraries, a 1966 treatise on the origins and development of public libraries in Australia – from State Libraries to mechanics institutes and municipal libraries. There were countless work desks and private study rooms, meeting rooms, a colourful Children’s Library and the usual adult-built Young People’s Library.
The things you find
Bibliotheca Alexandria is architecturally stunning and wired for the future. Walking down the cascading levels you feel surrounded by information and can sense the wonder that fires an imagination. And yet, for all of this, Bibliotheca Alexandria is not that much different from libraries I have wandered through in Broome, Broadbeach and Brunswick. It still offers the same basic services you find in any good public library. That is:
collections to meet the reading, information and educational needs of the community
information and reference services that answer our questions about the world in which we live
programs and activities that feed our minds and warm our souls
access to technology to keep us connected in a global world
safe comfortable places and spaces to read, study, work and relax.
In 1850 the UK Parliament passed the Public Libraries Act, giving local boroughs the power to raise taxation to establish free public libraries. This was a time when civic leaders felt that “libraries would provide for self-improvement through books and reading for all classes … and popular lectures on subjects both entertaining and instructive might draw off those who frequent public houses for the sole enjoyment they afford … leading to greater levels of education and lower crime rates.” That is, in their origin, public libraries offered collections, programs and places that delivered positive outcomes for the community.
From 285 BC through the 19th and 21st centuries public libraries have always been home to collections and activities that bring together and connect people. Places for people of all ages, of all races, of all interests and of all beliefs. So just as we might feel the world around us is ever-changing – and sometimes too quickly for us to cope with – it is comforting to know that there is one constant in life. Which is that for more than 2,000 years the libraries we know and love have been constantly changing too. Public libraries – ever-evolving to meet the needs of their local community.
References: Thanks in part to: my good friend Wikipedia for help on the bits about the Great Library of Alexandria and the Public Libraries Act of 1850; the Bibiliotheca Alexandria website; and my wife, business partner and travel buddy Jacqui.