Library

We explain what a library is and what are the categories in which books are organized. Also, its characteristics, its origin and its types.

Library
A library is a place where you can read, search for information and study.
Summary of Contents

What is a library?

a library it's a place where books are stored and consulted or other types of documents, such as publications, magazines, newspapers, catalogues, articles and manuscripts. The term can also refer to the furniture where books are placed (which is usually made up of several horizontal shelves) or to a collection of books or documents.

Libraries are places where people turn to readlook for information and study. In many libraries, online search services (that is, through the Internet) and consultation of digital books are also offered.

In the libraries, the books are organized according to a certain system. For example, the Universal Decimal Classification (UDC) contains the following categories:

  • Science, knowledge and organization.
  • Philosophy and psychology.
  • Religion and theology.
  • Social sciences, economics, politics, statistics and others.
  • Mathematics and natural sciences.
  • Applied sciences, medicine and technology.
  • Fine arts, sports and entertainment.
  • Linguistics, language and literature.
  • Geography, history and biographies.

In turn, these categories are divided into different subcategories, which allow the different types of materials to be organized according to their theme.

Etymology of the term library: the word library comes from the Latin word library, which in turn was taken from the Greek word bibliotheke, composed of biblion (which means books) and theke (which means closet or box).

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See also: Bibliography

Characteristics of a library

All libraries have a number of features:

  • They are made up of a collection. The collection is the set of books, newspapers, manuscripts, maps, videos and other elements, that is, everything that readers can consult. It is not random, but is planned to cover different knowledge and areas of knowledge.
  • They have a specific organization. The organization includes the classification and cataloging of the material, which can be by topic, in alphabetical, chronological or geographical order, among other options. Computer tools are usually used to carry out the organization, with the aim of making the information easy to find.
  • They provide a service. The service of a library is to preserve the knowledge produced by humanity and ensure that people can access it. Therefore, in addition to storing the books, it allows them to be consulted and also lent.

What is the origin of libraries?

With the opening of universities, libraries were created for scholars and scholars.

Libraries are not a recent invention. In fact, they are known to have emerged in the Mesopotamian culture around 3000 BC. C. with the function of preserving clay tablets. The library as it is known today had its origins in the 5th century BC. C., in Greece. Some were private and others were public. The most famous of Antiquity are the Library of Alexandria and the Library of Pergamon.

During the Middle Ages, Catholic monasteries and cathedrals were responsible for saving and preserving written culture. Thus, in this period, almost all public libraries ceased to exist and non-Christian knowledge had less diffusion.

After the creation of the printing press and the opening of universities, new libraries were built for scholars and scholars. Furthermore, with the humanist and Renaissance perspective, more and more theories and books began to emerge.

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This way, the modern concept of the library began to developunderstood as an institution accessible to all people and that must disseminate relevant cultural information.

Types of libraries

There are different types of libraries. Some of the most important are:

  • National libraries. Generally, they depend on state funds and their function is to preserve the most important printed documents of a country.
  • Public libraries. They usually depend on government agencies or different types of institutions and are information consultation sites for specific communities.
  • School libraries. They depend on an educational institution, which can be a school or a high school, and have a collection related to school knowledge.
  • Specialized libraries. They depend on different types of organizations, such as companies, museums, associations or institutions. Their material is usually oriented towards a specific discipline.
  • university libraries. They depend on a university or a college. They include materials that are related to university knowledge and their users are usually students and researchers.

References

  • Online Spanish Etymological Dictionary. (2024). Library. https://etimologias.dechile.net/
  • Fernández Abad, FJ (2006). Historical evolution of the social function of public libraries. General Magazine of Information and Documentation, 16(2), 93-110.
  • Orera Orera, L. (2020). Reflections on the concept of a library. First University Congress of Documentation Sciences663-676.
  • Royal Spanish Academy. (2023). Library. In Dictionary of the Spanish language. https://dle.rae.es/

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